We have a 2' X 20' manifold type solar heater to plumb in and I'm getting myself confused. On one hand we've learned "run the pump at night - never when swimming, just needs eight hours a day". But now we have a solar bit to add to the fun which means you WANT the water flowing during the hottest part of the day and DEFINITELY not at night (it'll cool instead of heat).
I've seen an "H" sort of diverter setup which bleeds off back pressure (to the pump) which makes sense and one simple additional ball valve could shut off the solar loop and send everything through the diverter straight to the pool for night time pump running. This method seems the simplest by far. However this setup does not isolate either pathway (if for instance maintenance was required). Of course ball valves are relatively inexpensive.
I've seen two and three valve setups where the output from the pump/filter is teed off, one run to the pool, one through the loop, rejoined just before the pool at a second tee but I think this setup requires at least one check valve somewhere along the line.
And then the "pump on while swimming" issue.....As I understood based on the way the manufacturer wrote it, it was a safety thing. Almost like "no electrical pump running while people are in the pool". But I figured this was just being over paranoid in our "I'll sue you" society.
What I'm wondering is if there is an even better solution in a secondary, inline, lower volume per hour pump on the solar loop so the water can absorb a little more heat from the solar runs? I'd imagine it still needs to have some sort of filtration to protect the pump?
My apologies if this has been covered 1,000 times before. I'm finding a lot of my searches here are coming up with old threads with disappeared photos.
I've seen an "H" sort of diverter setup which bleeds off back pressure (to the pump) which makes sense and one simple additional ball valve could shut off the solar loop and send everything through the diverter straight to the pool for night time pump running. This method seems the simplest by far. However this setup does not isolate either pathway (if for instance maintenance was required). Of course ball valves are relatively inexpensive.
I've seen two and three valve setups where the output from the pump/filter is teed off, one run to the pool, one through the loop, rejoined just before the pool at a second tee but I think this setup requires at least one check valve somewhere along the line.
And then the "pump on while swimming" issue.....As I understood based on the way the manufacturer wrote it, it was a safety thing. Almost like "no electrical pump running while people are in the pool". But I figured this was just being over paranoid in our "I'll sue you" society.
What I'm wondering is if there is an even better solution in a secondary, inline, lower volume per hour pump on the solar loop so the water can absorb a little more heat from the solar runs? I'd imagine it still needs to have some sort of filtration to protect the pump?
My apologies if this has been covered 1,000 times before. I'm finding a lot of my searches here are coming up with old threads with disappeared photos.
