Hard Plumbing Q -union & valve location

[KurtG]

Finally have permit in hand and am going to be installing a new AGP and want to hard plumb the system.

I'm trying to think through where to locate valves and unions. Not sure where it makes the most sense for the unions to be able to disassemble the system.

I was thinking skimmer> ~9" pipe> valve> ~4-5' pipe > union> ~9" pipe to pump> pump>filter> Aqua trol/cell>~4-5' pipe>valve>9" pipe> return.

I have 2 unions, but the aquatrol seems to have unions on either end so not sure I'll need the 2nd. I was leaving the 9" gap around the union & valve to allow future repairs if I need to cut something.

Comments appreciated.

 

[JasonLion]

For an above ground pool, where you store the equipment over the winter, you sometimes want two unions on each pipe. One close to the pool, so that there isn't a long piece of pipe sticking out of the pool that could get tripped over or broken off, and another one close to the equipment so there isn't much pipe attached to the equipment when you move it for storage. It doesn't always come out that way, if the pipes come down to the ground from the pool and don't pose a hazard then they can be left in place and you don't need a union near the pool.

Yes, leave some room to cut pipes off in the future and still have enough left to glue a new fitting on.

 

[MikeInTN]

Kurt,

I just recently hard-plumbed my AGP. Here's the thread, with a couple of pics;

finally-plumbed-my-agp-with-pvc-t20041.html

I used five unions and three valves, total. Two for the pipe from the skimmer to the pump, two for the pipe from the SWCG to the returns, and one between the filter and the return. Well, there are actually six of them, but the union between the pump and the filter came with the skidpack. To each their own, but I wanted to be able to remove the piping sections completely when I close the pool in the fall.

 

[KurtG]

Thanks both.

The photos help. I saw the thread, but didn't pay enough attention to the photos at the time.

These unions and valves are not easy to come by (visited 2 HDs to get them) so I may have to cut in a few more later if I don't like what I end up with using what I have.

The valves are also hard to turn. Thinking about putting some white lithium grease on them first.

 

[MikeInTN]

Yes, they are. I tried using some silicone O-ring lube I have, and it didn't seem to help much at all.