techguy said:
I saw the barbed fittings at my Lowes in the pool chemicals area, outside in the garden area of the local store
Unfortunately no chems or supplies sold here anymore, they stopped carrying them a few years ago.
I checked @ HD, here's what I discovered.
No barbed black poly fittings for pex over 1". Used to have them said an associate.
They had a 1-1/2"-1-1/4" dual size threaded slip adapter in the sump pump section, just like you'd get at a pool place, but it didn't have barbs on it. Smooth only.... not good! Plus it had a check valve in it.
So not what I needed, although I could have made the check valve work if it had the proper hose fitting.
I even thought of using a dual male threaded coupler of the right size, this way I could get a threaded ball valve, remove the existing hose to thread adapter from the filter, attach it to one end of the ball valve, then attach the other end of the ball valve to the multiport using the threaded coupler. Nope, didn't have that either, fail there too!
In fact, they didn't even have a threaded 1-1/2" ball valve, only slip. Uuuuggghh!
EPIC FAIL!
Need to check the pool stores, I know Lowes doesn't have the barbs, least not last year. But I'll check once more, as well as for the coupler alternative. There's also a plumbing supply place here that I need to check.
I'll report back as soon as I can. Thanks for the tips.