Hello, new to the site and hoping I’m in the right place. I was searching the ‘net about an issue in my auto fill and saw a year old thread that posted a photo of the root I have growing in mine, but his was in the ‘bucket’, mine is in the fill tube between the bucket and the pool. My auto fill is in my cool deck, so I was wondering if it’s possible to ‘sleeve’ that fill tube to avoid having to tear up concrete to get to it. I have ’snaked’ it with a good old fashioned wire clothes hangar and removed the current blockage, but I know this is a temporary fix because I did it two years ago thinking I had solved the issue. I’m in Scottsdale AZ, the pool is old, maybe built when the house was in 1990, it was here when I purchased the house, formerly plaster but I redid it with pebble tech. I am my own ‘pool guy’. Any help or suggestions welcomed, thanks!
Auto fill Root problem..
- Thread starter LG1979
- Start date
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,961
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Hi, and welcome to TFP!
How is the root getting inside the tube? And is that a PVC pipe? And by sleeve, do you mean inside or outside the tube?
A little drawing of the situation would help me, if not others...
How is the root getting inside the tube? And is that a PVC pipe? And by sleeve, do you mean inside or outside the tube?
A little drawing of the situation would help me, if not others...
Well, I can’t actually see inside the tube, but it appears to be pvc. I do mean sliding a ‘liner’ of some sort inside the fill tube, but I think it would be difficult, as the fill tube is curved at some point between the pool and the bucket. We had an old, huge Oleander bush removed about seven years ago, and here in AZ, there are some plant and tree varieties that are relentless in trying to survive. I think the old root system was drawn to the water, I have no way of seeing anything but the ends of the fill tube. I removed a much larger piece of this root two years ago and I’m certain there has to be a breach in that tube somewhere. Thanks for the reply, I hope this helps clarify it somewhat, and any suggestions are welcome.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 53,883
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Get a camera on a snake that can be put down the fill pipe to see what is going on. That will give you a better understanding of what you should do.
Plumbers have them or you can find them on Amazon.
Plumbers have them or you can find them on Amazon.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,961
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Your setup must be similar to my PoolMiser. A tank in the deck, with a toilet-tank-type valve inside and a PVC pipe that leaves the bottom of the tank, makes a bend and then exits in the pool a few feet below the surface. Is that close?
If your equalizer tube (it's called) is making such a bend, that'll be a 90° PVC elbow and won't allow anything to slip inside the tube. Not all the way. Besides, if the "barrier" you're thinking of is inside the tube, that won't stop the root from doing what it's doing. It'll just crush whatever is slipped in there and probably make things worse. Some sort of barrier on the outside of the tube might work (like steel or thick PVC), but unless you're willing to dig all that up, tunneling under or removing the deck, I don't know how you'd get at it.
Has the root burrowed through the PVC somewhere, and gotten in like that? Which means if you defeat the root, or clip it or remove a chunk of it from the outside, then what's penetrating the PVC will shrink and die and leave you with a leak in your pool!
This is a head scratcher. I'm not sure there is any real fix other than digging it all up, patching the pipe that has been compromised by the root, and then wrapping the pipe in some sort of root-proof barrier. Or encasing it in concrete. I'll think more on it...
What is the diameter of the tube?
If your equalizer tube (it's called) is making such a bend, that'll be a 90° PVC elbow and won't allow anything to slip inside the tube. Not all the way. Besides, if the "barrier" you're thinking of is inside the tube, that won't stop the root from doing what it's doing. It'll just crush whatever is slipped in there and probably make things worse. Some sort of barrier on the outside of the tube might work (like steel or thick PVC), but unless you're willing to dig all that up, tunneling under or removing the deck, I don't know how you'd get at it.
Has the root burrowed through the PVC somewhere, and gotten in like that? Which means if you defeat the root, or clip it or remove a chunk of it from the outside, then what's penetrating the PVC will shrink and die and leave you with a leak in your pool!
This is a head scratcher. I'm not sure there is any real fix other than digging it all up, patching the pipe that has been compromised by the root, and then wrapping the pipe in some sort of root-proof barrier. Or encasing it in concrete. I'll think more on it...
What is the diameter of the tube?
It is like your set up, with the toilet type valve. The equalizer tube is approximately 1” in diameter, and there is a 9” drop from the bottom of the tank to the exit at the pool. It’s about 29” from end to end in the equalizer tube, and about 4 feet of cool deck to the area he root apparently came from. I don’t think I can do anything but tear it up to get to it, but I will dig at the edge of the cool deck to see if I can find the root...when it cools down, if it ever does! Thanks for the info and your input.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,961
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I suppose it's possible to tunnel it out, instead of ripping up the deck. Some of our builder experts would have to weigh in on that hair-brained scheme before I'd try that. The problem with killing the root the way you describe is what happens to the piece that has made it through your pipe? Will it continue to hold water, or will it shrivel and die and leave the hole behind, which will leak pool water, but worse will leak it under deck and behind your pool wall, which is not ideal. Depending on the size of the hole, that could be a significant problem.
You’re right, my temporary fix will be to block the auto fill and fill the pool with a hose. I am going to attempt to at least locate the root outside of the cool deck, but as you said, there really are too many ‘ifs’. I pulled the first growth out two years ago, and it just recurred again this month. I think replacement will be the final solution, but that will wait for the entire cool deck replacement, which it needs sooner rather than later. Thanks for the replies and helping me reach some type of conclusion.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,961
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I'd love for you to try this out and confirm. If you find out your equalizer tube is leaking, and you have to block it off, grab a piece of clear 1" (or so) tubing, a few feet long. Fill the tube with water and place one end in the pool and the other in the auto-fill well. Tube would have to be completely full, no bubbles. I think it will still work as before: the water will seek its own level in both bodies of water, and when the pool level changes, the auto-fill valve will kick on and fill the pool, or excess water will flow the other way and drain out the well's overflow. It seems like it shouldn't work, but I think it might. A bit unsightly, but if it works you can ignore the water level as you normally would, at least until swim season resumes (when the hose will be a nuisance).
Interesting. So you think that even with the elevation of the tube it would still set the pool level? I’ll give it a shot if it comes to that, and post the results.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,961
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Yah, I think so. It's basically a siphon. As long as the tube has no air in it, and the ends don't leave the water, it'll draw water in either direction, depending on which body of water is lower/higher, until both bodies are of equal level. It doesn't matter if the two bodies are of different volume.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 11,961
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Apparently, you use the same principle if you want to add barrels to a rain collection system. The illustration shows barrels of different sizes and depths. For your use, the "Downspout from Rain Gutter" would be the toilet-tank valve in the well.
The good news: even if the tube gets kicked out of either well or pool, it won't siphon out either. It'll just stop working.
The good news: even if the tube gets kicked out of either well or pool, it won't siphon out either. It'll just stop working.
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I thought about the siphon aspect after I posted last. I think you’re right, it will work.