Above Ground Plumbing Advice

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L

LegSweeper

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Oct 19, 2013
11
Hello All! I have been a lurker since last year reading all of the great advice and mods that you guys come up with. I am going to put in a Hayward wide mouth skimmer this year and decided to plumb the pool, pump, and sand filter with PVC. My question may have been answered in one of the many very detailed spreadsheets created for proper water flow. I have a Hayward pump that is rated at 70gpm, and I was going to plumb everything with 1 1/2" PVC. Is this going to be too big of pipe? or will I be good?

Thanks for all of the great info, and if someone can point me in the right direction or answer this that would be awesome.
 
The industry standard for above ground pools with hard PVC is 1.5", no bigger, no smaller. Sometimes you'll see 1.25" plumbing on above ground pools however it is always a corrugated hose, not PVC.
 
Hi, welcome to TFP! 1 1/2" pipe is common on above ground pools, but to best answer your question we need to know how big the pool is, and the horsepower of the pump you plan to use.
 
I think you'll be fine with 1.5 inch pipe. Are you running any solar panels ? Do you have a long pipe run ?
That is a lot of pump for your pool. You would be better off with a 1 hp 2 speed. You would save a lot in electric.
If you could add all your pool and equipment info to your sig it will help us better help you. ?
 
Ok, I updated my sig with my info. I have been running this pump and sand filter for a while using the standard hoses, so I figure once I put the through wall skimmer in it should do nicely with the PVC instead of the hoses. Thank you for all of your help. I will post pics as I do the install.
 
So the install is in progress, here are some images:

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Pre-Install

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2" Union from Home Depot - I chose this one so I could disengage the whole thing if needed

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T for the Fountain and return

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I put the Gasket up to the pool, used a sharpie to Mark the 4 corner holes, then used a small bore awl to poke
holes. Then I put the screws in to hold it in place while I poked all the rest of the holes and put screws to hold
it in place

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Post Cut - This was the moment of truth. I put a fresh blade in my utility knife, and it sliced it like it was butter.
Go slow, and minimize distractions while doing the cut, and it will turn out great.

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Here is the gasket placed into the hole. It may require some trimming to make fit correctly, but if you make a nice
cut, and fit it into place it will save you time and headache.

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Here is the Hayward Through-Wall Skimmer installed after putting the gasket in. You will want to hand tighten the whole
thing, and alternate screws just like when putting a tire on a car. Be careful with your screws though, if you are not set
up to be in the pool dropping one in can put a big damper on your install.

086.jpg

Inside of the pool with the Skimmer installed. My son in the background, he doesn't know I caught him in this one, he
avoids pictures at all costs.

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Outside of pool after Skimmer Install

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Skimmer and Drain lightly connected to verify distances for PVC.


Thats where I stopped today, will work on the rest tomorrow and get the sand filter filled and running hopefully in the next couple of days. I will update this post with the rest of the pictures as they happen.
 
That's nice, clean work.....good job.

Just adding a bit of reassurance, 1.5" plumbing is just right for that system.

The exact size of the pipe you use will not cause the system to fail or cause any harm.

It's sorta' like picking the right car for the job.

A family of four can make a long trip in one of those little Cooper's or a 10 cylinder Suberban but something like a smaller SUV is just about right for the job.
 

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Is the piece to the right of the skimmer (the 2 " union from Home Depot) screwed directly to your original intex hose fitting on the pool wall? Meaning you unscrewed the plunger and were able to screw something else on without any adapter pieces? I am planning to get rid of my plungers this year and it would be great if that was the case.

Looks like we have the same pool except I'm pretty sure mine is older because I'm the lucky one with the lovely sea creature print on the inside of the pool whereas everyone else seems to have those nice blue squares. lol

*edit* I see you are 54" so not exactly the same but the pieces look the same...
 
The 2" union is screwed directly onto the stock Intex fitting. I have more pics to come after I upload them. Thanks for the feedback guys. I was really worried this was going to turn into a mess and look terrible.
 
More pics!

003.jpg

Pump to Inlet on Sand Filter

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Outlet from Sand Filter to Return on the pool. Note, the T that is installed will eventually have a 3/4" reducer to pipe that will have a valve and a 90 to another T for a fountain. Someone forgot to buy the T at HD though, and has to go back....

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And the waste for the backwash running off to the right. This is the whole install so far, minus the Fountain.


I plan on getting that done tomorrow, and then early May my nephew and I are going to build a quarter deck with stairs to wrap around the pool so the dogs and kids can jump into the pool.
 
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Mueller-Global-2-in-Schedule-80-PVC-S-x-S-Union-164-638HC/100123900

Is this the union? I might try getting one of these today... I guess I need to come up with something to attach the hose to it... not ready for all pvc yet. I'm just not brave/motivated enough.

Also for all you people who know about this plumbing/pvc stuff... if there are joints involved is the glue/cement (whatever) required otherwise it will leak? If so, I'll have to buy some of that too.

In the grand scheme of things I'm trying to get rid of intex plungers in the simplest way possible, using items I can buy locally and that don't need modification (cutting/filing etc.) if that is at all possible...

I'm totally in love with those red valve thingies...I love them every I see a pic posted. lol I love the weirdest things..
 
Ok, so I put water in today to start seeing how the system would perform and if I had any leaks. Then, I had leaks. Lots of leaks. Pretty much every threaded fitting I had.....leaked. I used teflon tape, but it is not enough to stop the leaks. I am going to have to pull everything apart this weekend, and take all of my fittings off and use some dope to seal everything up correctly. Honestly the leaks are not that terrible, but I swear its like shining your car, and you look at it and see one tiny spot that you missed and you just can't leave it that way.

Edit, and yes, that is exactly the union that I bought. That leaks....
 
Ok folks, so cut and re-sealed all of my threaded connections with pipe dope

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rectorseal-T-Plus-2-4-oz-Teflon-Pipe-Thread-Sealant-23631/100201204

This stuff is amazing. Then put couplings on all of my cut pipes, and sealed it with the Christy's pipe glue

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Christy-s-8-fl-oz-PVC-Pipe-Cement-RH-RHBV-HP/100151698?cm_sp=BazVoice-_-CAT-_-494eb42d-3a1b-4f77-b40a-cbcea5df79bf-_-x

Again, amazing stuff, and finally, I have no leaks. So for anyone doing this the first time, honestly, its worth the time and the money and the effort to use the pipe dope the first time.

Here it is running finally!!! No Leaks!!

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