Pop up system...repair or abandon?

[aseigler]

Greetings!

I purchased a home here in sunny Sanford, Florida two years ago in 2011. It had been foreclosed and was a serious fixer-upper. There is a screened in rectangular pool in the back that is about 4 feet deep in the shallow end and 8 feet deep in the deep end, in ground, gunite, around 24000 gallons. This is the first pool I have owned.

This post is specifically about the built in pop up cleaning system that seems like it is missing parts. I have a strong suspicion that the people who moved out cut alot of stuff out and took it with them. The manufacture date on the pump is after the foreclosure date, so I'm pretty sure the bank put in the pump. Anyhow, there is a pop up system built in this thing. There are three pop ups that run down the center of the pool the long way. They all pop up and water comes out of them when the pump is running and the three way valve is turned toward the zone that seems to operate them. They have Caretaker 99 stamped into the top of them. I get the impression that there is supposed to be some sort of automatic valve thing that either switches these things off and on, or something like that to make them rotate? They don't rotate unless the pump is turned off and back on, or they can be rotated manually by pushing down on them and turning. This seems far from ideal.

Can a replacement valve switcher apparatus be obtained, or should I just abandon the in floor circuit and pretend it is not there? If so, would it be worth it? Studying how I think the thing would work, I don't see how it could possibly be much help. Currently I run the valve so that about 20% of the pressure goes to the in floor cleaner, about 30% goes to the returns near the surface, and about 50% goes to the pressure cleaner. I appreciate any suggestions or ideas.

Thanks!

-aseigler

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

You are correct that there is usually a dome with gears in it that automatically switches from 1 zone to the next which then allow the jets to rotate. Looks like this:

Kind of odd that there are only 3 pop-ups (there are usually 3-5 pop-ups per zone and 4-5 zones). So, maybe this was a basic setup with each zone only having 1 pop-up. The idea is to keep the debris suspended so that it gets filtered out.

If you have a different set of returns and are using a pressure side cleaner, there is not problem abandoning the in-floor system. Try it without and see how things go.

Should stay pretty clean being screened in. Likely if it was functioning correctly, you may not need the pressure side cleaner very often.

 

[aseigler]

Looking at how the thing is set up, I don't see how it could have possibly been effective even when it was brand new. I would think there should be 6 pop ups, because the distance from the pop ups to the side of the pool is so far, I don't see how pressure could possibly get anywhere near the sides. The only thing it seems to be good for is putting warm water at the bottom of the pool so that the bottom isn't 10 degrees colder than the top. I don't have anything resembling that picture. All I have is a pump, cartridge filter, and several valves that control how much suction comes from the bottom drains vs. the skimmer, how much goes to the 3 return systems, and whether or not anything goes up to the on roof solar heater.

 

[duraleigh]

Regardless of the brand, pop-ups seem to be a bit problematic. I know if I had inherited a system that was even working, I probably wouldn't pay to fix it if it ever went down.

 

[aseigler]

Here's how the popups are placed:

[attachment=0:1ptwq2u2]popups.jpg[/attachment:1ptwq2u2]

I don't think I'll bother doing anything with them. The fewest number of valves I've seen on any of the stuff that is still sold is 5, and I only have 3. Not sure what I'd do about that anyway.

Thanks!

-aseigler

 

[Bama Rambler]

If they're plumbed back to the pad I'm not sure I wouldn't just manifold them together and make floor returns out of them. then you'd have the option of turning them on whenever you want.

 

[jblizzle]

I think that is the current setup. Where they are valved and selectable together already.

 

[aseigler]

Yep, that is how they work today. They are good for getting hot water to the floor, and that is about it. I am ok with that.

 

[keastman]

If the are functioning, I'd leave them so that they do help circulate hot water and chemicals. If you have a heater, maybe that's why they built it that way and not for cleaning. Also if you close that circuit off and forget about it, that's a great place for algae to hide out. I pulled all the head on mine since they were falling apart and I had 21 of them at $50 a piece to replace. They also didn't clean worth a Crud when they they were working since we have an outdoor pool with live oaks surrounding it.