Heater loop

[Alexr54]

I am working on fixing a bunch of small leaks at my pool/spa equipment and trying to simplify my crazy plumbing which i inherited from the PO.
The plumbing to the heater is troubling me and i am not sure if its necessary to keep it the way it is. I am not sure if its required to have a valve to eliminate the flow going directly into the heater and divert it directly to the spa.
Currently when the valve is open it limits/divides the flow and somewhat bypasses the heater and goes directly into the spa. When the valve is closed the flow goes directly into the heater then to the spa. There is a check valve which stops flow from diverting when the valve is closed. I know... Super over complicated...
It is a manual valve which i have never opened since I've owned the house. I do not see the point of it - but what do i know...

The valve opens up the flow from the filter to the spa and to the heater at the same time. Is something like this really necessary? Is there a purpose to it?
The previous heater was a 200k BTU unit, its been recently replaced to a 400k BTU unit. Can this plumbing setup with release be because of the previous heater being not strong enough for all the flow from the pump/filter?
I would really like to eliminate all of these loops and remove unneeded valves is they are really unneeded. That is my question. Is there a point to having it plumbed like this?

My pool is on a different pump/filter then the spa.

I've attached a picture of the plumbing.

 

[Alexr54]

Here is another picture but with a flow chart. Hopefully i did it well enough so it can be seen where in and out converge at the valve.

I would like to eliminate the valve if it’s not necessary. Get rid of all the 90° elbows and use either 2x 45° or the extended 90°. Plus fix some small leaks.
Pretty much redo this entire mess of tubes.
From all the diagrams I have saw online this valve is totally unnecessary. Nothing like this is any diagrams I have seen online.
But I am no professional and have limited experience with plumbing for pool heaters. Any advice is really appreciated.

 

[Alexr54]

I think I’m going to just redo it and get rid of this loop. I can always add a valve to cut off the heater intake if needed. But having it the way I have it now is kind of ridiculous I think.

 

[ajw22]

I do recommend you have a heater bypass to take the heater out of the water flow if it needs maintenance. I can’t tell from your pics exactly what your setup does.

Heater Bypass - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Alexr54]

It’s hard to tell with the pics. I know. Right now there is a loop. The heater is on a closed system for the spa only. All I really need to do to service the heater is not turn on my spa pump which is hardly on anyway.
my pool pump has an spa overflow using my caretaker99 valves.
the spa pump is only used when we heat the spa and no other time.
but I can add a valve before the heater inlet.
right now all the valve does is limit flow and opens a loop. It does not stop it completely. Useless I think.

 

[ajw22]

To help you we need top understand your equipment. That is why we ask you to create your signature with details of your pool and equipment.

What model pumps do you have? What HP?

Heaters have a maximum flow rate. Exceeding the maximum flow rate can erode the copper heat exchanger.

I think you have a bypass loop to ensure that your water flow does not exceed the heater flow rate. You crack the valve open so water flow gets split between the heater and the bypass loop.

See page 11 in https://www.pentair.com/content/dam...heaters/Max-E-Therm_Owners_Manual_English.pdf

 

[Alexr54]

Thanks. Yes i will update my signature with all of my equipment. Something i should have done a while ago. The spa pump has a 2.5HP motor (3450RPM) the pool pump has a 1.5 HP motor (3450RPM).
The heater is a Sta-Rite MAX E-Them 400k BTU LP.

 

[Alexr54]

I’ve updated my signature with all the info I have.
May spa pump is a Hayward Northstar sp4000 with a 2.5HP motor.
My pool pump is a Hayward super 2 with a 1.65 HP motor.
Both motors are rated at 3450rpm.
Currently only my spa pump is connected to the heater. I will soon add my pool line to the heater. Using automatic valves to switch between them.
I think the spa pump with my 2” pipes has a max flow rate of 80 GPM.
Would you keep the bypass loop in place of you were updating and redoing the plumbing?

 

[ajw22]

Which pump will you be using when you change to a single pump system?

@mas985 you think the bypass is necessary?

 

[mas985]

A bypass is only necessary if the flow rates were to exceed 120 GPM. But there is no way for that to happen with that setup so I don't think you have to worry about that. However, having a bypass is nice to have should you ever need to remove the heater from the loop. There are several situations where it would be useful to be able to fully bypass they heater for maintenance or a chemical treatment.