We finally pulled the trigger and are installing our pool. It is going to be 18x36 inground vinyl liner, and completely DIY (well,mostly). While I am waiting for the excavator to show up I am trying to finalize my plumbing plan and I have a question. I am planning on 4 inlet lines (1 for main drains, 2 for skimmers, and 1 for a dedicated suction line) and 4 return lines (2 for wall returns, 2 step returns on one line, and deck jets on the last line). All will be 2" pipe. I see that most people use the 3-way valves and I cannot for the life of me understand why that is preferable to installing 2-way valves on each line. Seems to me this would offer maximum flexibility. Please enlighten me.
2-way or 3-way valves
- Thread starter fiveclines
- Start date
It depends on what you are doing. Your pool doesn't have very many things where a 3-way valve would tend to be used. But there is at least one, it might be handy to have a 3-way valve to choose between the skimmers and the main drain.
JasonLion - thanks for the input.
Would it be better to run each skimmer all the way to the pad on separate 2" lines, or can I combine them and run 1 2" line to the pad?
Would it be better to run each skimmer all the way to the pad on separate 2" lines, or can I combine them and run 1 2" line to the pad?
I just re-did my pool plumbing and went with 3 Jandy 3 way valves mainly for the quality of the valve but also for the neatness of the install. They last forever and just in case they don't parts are available. It seems everytime I used a ball valve like Hayward or whatever I was always replacing the handle or cutting out the whole valve a few years later. Jandy does make a quality 2 way stop valve but it costs almost the same as the 3 way.
Ideally you want to plumb each skimmer to the pad separately. That allows you to do things like direct more suction to one of the skimmers should that happen to be needed for manual vacuuming (just for example).
I used 3 ways. On the suction side, I can select MD OR Skimmer OR both. On the pressure side, I can first send the return to the return jets OR to the step jets OR both. I can then bypass those jets and send returns to deck jets or waterfall OR both.
Honestly it seems I have a million possibilities. I will say though that my excavator, who had his pool professionally installed, just stopped by and was in awe of my pad setup. He said he had no options, simply the water came in from point A and returned to point B lol.
Honestly it seems I have a million possibilities. I will say though that my excavator, who had his pool professionally installed, just stopped by and was in awe of my pad setup. He said he had no options, simply the water came in from point A and returned to point B lol.