Optimal return jet orientation - advice needed

[Rich Purdum]

With my new WFE-3 up and running, I need to approach the proper orientation of my return 3 1" return eyeball outlets. I'm getting (as near as I can tell) excellent flow from all, based on the amount of movement from the "far end" outlet. My pool is rectangular 16 x 34 and all of the return outlets are down one of the long sides. The skimmer is located in the short wall corner on the opposite side from the returns.

The first return (#1) is about 6 feet down the wall from the deep end. The second (#2) is 12 feet from the shallow end and the last (#3) is 5 feet from the shallow end corner by the steps.

After doing some searching at this site and observing the surface movement, here is my initial plan.

#1 - direct it straight out from the wall to promote deep end mixing
#2 and #3 - direct to optimize surface movement toward the deep end skimmer

One thing I have noticed is some new "blind spots" where the Kreepy is missing. I think this may be due to the new interference from the surface movement against the portion of the suction hose that is floating. I figure another weight or two might submerge the line enough to minimize this effect.

Any thoughts or suggestions are very welcome. I can post pics if that would be helpful.

TIA

Rich

 

[257WbyMag]

It sounds like you have got the right idea. You do want some circulation below and you appear to have done that with one return. With the other two returns moving the water on the surface and orienting the flow toward the skimmer, you have that angle covered as well.

Most all pools have dead areas to some degree. My pool is less than half the size of yours and yet, I have twice as many returns as you do. There are still some sports that collect "dust" and that, despite all of my adjustments, my cleaner just refuses to go there. I make up for this by brushing every couple of days for a few minutes.

Mess with the weight on your cleaner and your return angles as you need to. Sometimes you have to just sit and watch things and make a tweak here and there.

 

[Lana537]

I think a photo would be nice--love to look at photos!

Do you have the kind of returns with adjustable eyeballs?

Our pre-renovation pool (we're in the middle of renovation now) had only 2 returns, buy wow did they do the job!

If the pool were a rectangular clock with the deep end on the top half of the clock, our skimmer was at "10" on the left long side, the first return was beyond it on the long wall near the corner at "11", and the other return was on the short end of the deep end at about "1" oclock.

The point of my post is: Both my returns were fixed directional and they pointed down at an angle (again with the clocks) of about 4 o'clock. It was amazing how those two returns, along with a healthy pump and plumbing system really moved that water around. On a calm day with nothing in the pool except this little yellow ball we keep for the purpose, the water would slowly but steadily circulate. The yellow ball made it all around the 16 x 40 foot pool, and all the leaves and bugs would efficiently end up in the skimmer. You wouldn't see a ripple on the water. Seeing the bottom to vacuum or find a lost earring was easy.

Most of the dirt would accumulate on an area of the deep end past the second return, which made vacuuming a cinch.

Have fun with experimenting with your returns, but they don't have to be pointed up or even horizontally flat out to get that surface water to continually come around and around. If we left rafts in the pool, they'd just go in a big circle.

Our pool builder has given us 4 returns now going in the opposite direction. I so hope the current work as well, now that we've added steps and a shallow and a deep end bench.

Happy swimming!

Lana

 

[Rich Purdum]

Lana

I'm still not sure if I've got the results I'm hoping to see. We've had a few storm fronts through my area in the past few weeks but I have not felt a need to use a net to get stuff off the surface so perhaps I'm overly concerned. My three return outlets are the eyeball type and I've got the two toward the shallow end angled up and the deep end one pointed down as per my original plan of attack.

I found it interesting that your "old" setup had the returns pointing downward and you were getting good results.

Pics of my pool can be found at this post.

As you can see, I've got some fence mending to do so maybe I'll have a chance to post some more soon.

Hope your remodel goes as well as mine did.

Rich

 

[duraleigh]

Hi, Rich,

I was never able to figure out a way to keep the flow from the returns from influencing the vac hose. No matter what, it seemed like the current would push that hose regardless of what I tried.

Generally, most folks think simply alligning the eyeballs so you get as much "rotation" of the pool water as possible is the best directional idea. I personally like to point mine up just a little, but it's because I like the pleasing aesthetics of the visible, moving water......it doesn't seem to make too much flow difference whether they're up or down.