Polaris PB4-60 installation questions - NEWBIE

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B

Baethe

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Oct 12, 2016
4
Houston
Good day to you all, this is my first post on the site, and any information obtained will be used to assist my neighbor. Obviously, any advise/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

My neighbor was quoted $400 to replace/install a Polaris booster pump and I told her I would help her install a new one it if she wanted to save some money on installation. I think she bought the new unit (Polaris PB4-60) for about $100 or so.

I've read the installation and operations manual and watched a few videos online and believe I have the steps down, but I have a couple of questions about the fittings.


1 - The old unit pvc plumping is hard-piped to the booster pump. Where do I buy the connector barb to hard pvc fittings? Assuming Leslie's pool supply or similar? The kit came with the flexible reinforced pipe and 2 barb fittings to be used at/for pump...So, I guess I need 2 other barb to PVC fittings. Depending on the fittings, please suggest best glue and/or tape type.

2 - What is the best recommended fitting to the supply lines (which I believe are 1./5" - pics embedded below of entire system and one of the hard pipe fittings)?

3 - The old booster unit was not bolted to the concrete pad. I intend to bolt the new booster unit to the pad as directed per instructions. Any do/dont's...thinking concrete anchor bolts and appropriate sized washers (if needed) is the way to go..

4 - Power to the system will be off. I do not believe I need to turn any water supplies off to do this equipment swap. Can anyone confirm?

Thanks so very much for any responses....very very grateful...in addition, I may have a follow up or 2 once I get all the pieces together.






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:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

1. If the flex hose is just flex PVC, then you just need a female fitting that you can use PVC solvent to attach to the hose.
2. You would just use a reducer bushing from the full size pipe to the size you need for the hose to the pump
3. Bolting down is generally not needed if the pump is hard plumbed, although if using flex hose connections, might be a good idea so the pump does not wander. The anchor bolts should be fine. Or maybe even just drill the holes and put a rod in so the pump can not move laterally ... thinking outside the box ;)
4. As long as the main pump is not running and the equipment is above water level, there should not be any problems.
 
Thank you Jblizzle, here's a follow up....

So in the photos I've included, you can see that the installers used 90 degree elbows and reducers. I'm assuming they used 90s with slip fit reducers with female threads...but who knows.

Looking at image 2, should I cut the black pipe and couple to it? or, figure out how to use the existing elbow's threaded connection if that is what it is, or just redo the 2.5" supply lines?

Will HD or Lowe's have what I need, or do I need to visit a specialty store too?
 
1. Brand new in the box the pump comes with 4 quick connections. So you only got 2? Leslies should have a pack of 4 or maybe singles to get the other two for you. Also the Polaris pump got a makeover and is slightly different on the intake port height wise. The two will not be an exact match there. That is unless you have an exact match ( the new one looks completely different). Hard to see the intake line on the existing pump but if you have pvc enough to cut and glue a fitting on it you can glue a 3/4 female to take the provided barbed fitting. At that point just use the flex. **Very important note here especially on the discharge port but on both ports on the pump. Be careful as its too easy to crack the housing from over tightening the fittings into the pump. My best result includes 1 full wrap up and 1 full wrap down the threaded part with Teflon tape ( not the thick wax kind, just regular tape) followed by a bead, or ring if you will, of silicone around the middle. Hand tight only, I cannot express this enough. As far as the plumbing on the discharge, just cut below the 90 heading into the ground so you have a straight pipe left behind. Get a 1.5" coupling as well as a 1.5" to 3/4 threaded reducer and glue them together. Thread the barb fitting in and connect the flex between the pump and the piping.

2. Supply lines are 1.5" reduced to a 3/4 nipple which is threaded into the pump

3. No real need to bolt the pump unless you have rogue equipment thieves running around. As long as the pump is on a solid surface and plumbed correct it'll be fine.

4. As stated above make sure the filter pump is off and you're golden. Do double check the timer wheel though, nothing worse than it turning on while you're working on it.

GL!
 
Well, that is a really bad idea to use silicone caulking IMO and am sure most plumbers would agree. If you need that, then the fittings are not being put together properly.

For small fittings, Teflon tape should be fine. For larger fittings (1.5-2", etc) I think the Teflon pipe dope works better.
 
+1 to no silicone caulk being used on threaded plumbing fittings. Or plumbing at all for that matter. Teflon tape or pipe dope are the right products to use on threaded fittings. Silicone grease should be used on o-rings.
 

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-1 to not use silicone, been using it over 15 years on all booster pumps due to the high probability of cracking the housing. Pipe dope lubricates the threads and allows you to hand tighten too far, trust me, I learned the hard way.
 
Hi all - so right or wrong, the booster pump has been installed, and no leaks so far. Used cheap T-tape wrap, up and down threads, and small bead of 100% silicone in middle of threaded joints.

I appreciate ALL the comments, suggestions and insights.

Hopefully I'll have my own pool one day, but until then, I'd like to help keep my neighbor's pool running well. This board is certainly a great resource.

Pic embedded/linked of install, not crazy about the loop, but seemed like my best option.

Thanks again to all

pump install.jpg
 
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