Ideas needed for elevated equipment pad

[mnormington]

I have a VERY small yard that is graded in a way that drains all of the water in the yard to one corner. I did this on purpose so that I could get it all out with a sump pump. In this wet corner there is a small sump with a pump in it for drainage purposes. This works out quite well in my situation.

There is really only one way to shoehorn a pool into my yard and have it meet all the code requirements (clearances, distance from power lines, etc.) for my area. As a result, it turns out that the most logical place to put my equipment pad is right in the corner where my sump pump is.

I want to build my equipment pad a foot or so above the ground in the corner above my sump pump. I have been kind of wondering if this will be noisy (vibration) with the pump (1/2 hp whisperflo) running on top of what is essentially a small wooden deck. The deck would be L - shaped, about 4 x 4 with a 2 x 2 square cut out of one corner. The sump would be directly below the cartridge filter, which will be in the corner of the L.

Does anyone have any ideas if the noise will even be an issue? Anybody know a better way than putting the equipment on a wooden deck?

I know I could isolate the pump vibration with some rubber feet or something. I'm just looking for something I may not have considered.

 

[duraleigh]

Well, only an uneducated opinion but I think you have no worries. That wooden deck should provide very little resonance so I think it will be naturally quiet....but that's guessing.

As an insurance policy, I would design that deck so I could put a soundproofing wall on two sides...maybe three. If the noise is bothersome, building the wall will probably come close to eliminating it and you may be able to make it a little more aesthetic as well.

 

[mnormington]

I added some pics for funnzies. I went ahead and put the pad together. Ground is still too frozen to install it, though. I'm thinking about putting a little roof over it. Also, I am going with putting rubber or something like that under the pump. I think that will absorb any vibration it may cause.

 

[Hotrod30]

With this set-up.... can you pull the sump pump out for maintance/replacement without moving the filter and pool pump?

 

[mnormington]

With this set-up.... can you pull the sump pump out for maintance/replacement without moving the filter and pool pump?

Excellent question. It's a Zoeller pump, so I shouldn't have any problems with it (they are the BEST IMHO) but if I have to I have to. I am making the section in the corner easy to remove just in case so all I would have to do is move the filter. It's not an ideal setup, but I think it's pretty good for my situation. I have a Zoeller in my crawl space and I basically never have to touch it. I am pretty sure I will only have to screw around with this one to bring it inside for the winter.

 

[mnormington]

For anyone that is interested, I put the pad in today. Looks kinda cool. I'll post more pics when I get the equipment all set up on there.

 

[TresW]

You really need to incorporate access to that sump pump, it is probably even a code violation to block it off. If you put your filter in the corner per your upper pic, once it's hardpiped you're not going to be able to get to the pump without cutting some pipe. Is it possible to switch your "L" to point into the yard so your sump pump has nothing over it?

As for noise, I agree with the others that it shouldn't be any louder than a pad-mounted pump.

 

[mnormington]

You really need to incorporate access to that sump pump, it is probably even a code violation to block it off. If you put your filter in the corner per your upper pic, once it's hardpiped you're not going to be able to get to the pump without cutting some pipe. Is it possible to switch your "L" to point into the yard so your sump pump has nothing over it?

As for noise, I agree with the others that it shouldn't be any louder than a pad-mounted pump.

I agree with you on the needing to access the pump underneath. The whole pad lifts out of there. It's just sitting on the concrete footing blocks. I've got 4x4 posts on all the corners so they lock into position in the center of the blocks. I figure that between the weight of the wood and the equipment that'll be on it it's not going to go anywhere. So if need be I can disconnect everything and lift it out to get at it. It's a pain to be sure, but its do-able. Of course, I'll have unions on the plumbing so that I'll be able to disconnect everything pretty easily.

For sure, I would rather not have it like this. It's certainly not optimum. I can't point the L outward because it would run into the end of my pool - which, of course you can't see because it's not there yet. Soon, very soon. <--- that's my mantra to my daughter who wonders why I can't just snap my fingers and make it appear.

 

[waste]

Just 1 quick thing:

If the filter is going to sit where it is in the first set of pics, plumb a drain line onto it before you plumb it up - the way you have it situated will make getting to the drain plug a PITA - in the unfortunate (and hopefully unlikely) event you need to quickly drain the filter to access the sump pump, it'll be a lot easier. (if you want/ need a few ideas on doing this, just let me know)

BTW - is that a cart filter or DE? (I'm thinking it's cart, but the two look so similar I can't tell )

 

[mnormington]

Just 1 quick thing:

If the filter is going to sit where it is in the first set of pics, plumb a drain line onto it before you plumb it up - the way you have it situated will make getting to the drain plug a PITA - in the unfortunate (and hopefully unlikely) event you need to quickly drain the filter to access the sump pump, it'll be a lot easier. (if you want/ need a few ideas on doing this, just let me know)

BTW - is that a cart filter or DE? (I'm thinking it's cart, but the two look so similar I can't tell )

It's a cart - one of those 4 in 1 deals. Plumbing in a drain line - there's something that didn't occur to me. I was kinda wondering how to make draining it easier. The drain plug on the filter is on the side opposite the send and return holes. It'll be a real pain to get to. I could use some ideas on doing this. Fire away.

 

[waste]

The drain port is standard 1 1/2" female threads so will take a male adapter (I'd use both teflon tape and permatex to seal the threads!! - you don't want this leaking). Then it's a couple of 90s and a female adapter at the end to take the drain plug you removed from the back of the filter. That's the simplest and easiest way However: the pipe will hold water and may become a source for breeding bionasties Periodic flushing of the pipe would probably prevent it from becoming a problem. The other alternative is to put a valve on the line close to the filter so that there isn't much stagnant water in the first part of the line, but given the placement against the fence, that might be just as much of a PITA to get to.

As I was just trying to figure out the way to do this, a thought struck me - turn the filter 180 degrees and put it at the long end of the "L" - the pump would have to slide over towards the corner a little, but it should work (you can put the Liquidator container where the filter was and have the short leg of the "L" free for whatever you may want to use it to hold (If I were working on my pool equipment, I'd use that space for my tools and to set a beer on :lol. If it's feasible to do this, youd have ready access to the drain plug and wouldn't have to reach over the pump or Liquidator to remove the carts for cleaning.

Just my $.02

 

[mnormington]

Those are some good ideas. "relocating" the drain plug seems doable for sure. I don't mind opening it up every now and then to keep the water in there from getting stale. I'll let you know how it works out.

As far as access to the pump underneath goes (for the other poster), I can pull it out without moving anything. I didn't plan it that way but it sure does come out with minimal effort. er, I mean i did it on purpose. Yeah! That's the ticket.

 

[TresW]

Soon, very soon. <--- that's my mantra to my daughter who wonders why I can't just snap my fingers and make it appear.

Haha! Well my kids were also very impatient. Once the pool was filled they each took a swim (in 61 degree water) that lasted about as long as it took to get from inside the pool up the steps and back out again! They haven't bugged me about swimming in it since then :lol: