This plumbing is now covered up, but I have a photo. I'm trying to determine if this is 1.5" or 2.0" PVC. Can someone tell from the adapter that's connected to the bottom of this Hayward skimmer?
Is this 1.5" or 2" pipe connected to this Hayward Skimmer?
- Thread starter dw886
- Start date
Measure the pipe OD... if that's an in-person picture. Check this for conversion from OD to nominal sizing. PVC and CPVC Pipes - Schedule 40 & 80
If I had to throw a wild guess, I'd say it's 1.5" PVC.
If I had to throw a wild guess, I'd say it's 1.5" PVC.
That's the problem - it's covered up. The picture is from November.
Since it's tough to get the scale from any pictures that I have, I'm hoping someone familiar with how the Hayward skimmer is plumbed may be able to tell just based on the fittings...
Still hoping to find someone familiar with the underside of a Hayward skimmer than can tell if that's a 2" pipe or 1.5" pipe on the underside. My PVC at the pad is all 2", but I'm questioning whether or not the runs to the pad with Flex are 1.5" or 2.". I can't see the transition without digging up a line.
I'm only questioning it because it seems that I need to run my VS pump at 1500 RPM for the flow sensor on my SWG to trip turning off the Low Flow warning. My flowVis shows about 25GPM at that RPM, which would seem about right for the Flow Sensor. Now I'm just questioning my plumbing because in my head I'd think that I should be able to run the pump at a little lower RPM. I have a main drain, 2 skimmers, 3 returns and a separate return run to the slide.
I'm only questioning it because it seems that I need to run my VS pump at 1500 RPM for the flow sensor on my SWG to trip turning off the Low Flow warning. My flowVis shows about 25GPM at that RPM, which would seem about right for the Flow Sensor. Now I'm just questioning my plumbing because in my head I'd think that I should be able to run the pump at a little lower RPM. I have a main drain, 2 skimmers, 3 returns and a separate return run to the slide.
dw,
I doubt the skimmer pipe size has much to do with your flow switch issue...
When I run at 1,100 RPM, my flow switch is intermittent. So I run at 1,200 with the same basic pump, but then I don't have to push anything through a heater.
My guess is it is more a function of how everything is plumbed.
How about a picture of your equipment pad for reference.
Jim R.
I doubt the skimmer pipe size has much to do with your flow switch issue...
When I run at 1,100 RPM, my flow switch is intermittent. So I run at 1,200 with the same basic pump, but then I don't have to push anything through a heater.
My guess is it is more a function of how everything is plumbed.
How about a picture of your equipment pad for reference.
Jim R.
Thanks Jim - Correct, I'm guessing it's not just the skimmer, but the fact that all of the returns and drain / skimmer lines are 1.5", but I don't know that for sure. The skimmer just happens to be about the only picture that has some factor of scale to it. I have quite a few other pictures of the plumbing, but they're next to the steel pool walls so there's not much for size context.
Here's what my pad looks like. If there's any suggestions on obvious choke points, let me know. Excuse the mess - landscaping is a work in progress at the moment.
I would have guessed 2" ... have you blown it up and googled the numbers on the pipe?
Ah, bummer.
Well I would highly doubt they would reduce the size mid run of the flex PVC.
Well I would highly doubt they would reduce the size mid run of the flex PVC.
dw,
Thanks for the pics.. I was looking to see if the same idiot that plumbed my SWCG also did yours, but that does not appear to be the case. I have a 90 right before the SWCG.... Sigh!! That has got to mess with the Flow switch.. It appears you do not have that problem.
I would assume there has to be some extra resistance to the flow when a heater is installed?? Too bad you don't have an external by-pass, because that was going to be my next suggestion.
For reference, when I'm running at 1,200 RPM I get about 2 or 3 lbs of pressure on my filter. What are you getting? Your filter is not dirty is it?
I guess my thought is.. unless you plan to dig everything up, it is what it is...
Sorry I can't be much help with this one,
Jim R.
Thanks for the pics.. I was looking to see if the same idiot that plumbed my SWCG also did yours, but that does not appear to be the case. I have a 90 right before the SWCG.... Sigh!! That has got to mess with the Flow switch.. It appears you do not have that problem.
I would assume there has to be some extra resistance to the flow when a heater is installed?? Too bad you don't have an external by-pass, because that was going to be my next suggestion.
For reference, when I'm running at 1,200 RPM I get about 2 or 3 lbs of pressure on my filter. What are you getting? Your filter is not dirty is it?
I guess my thought is.. unless you plan to dig everything up, it is what it is...
Sorry I can't be much help with this one,
Jim R.
- Jun 12, 2011
- 3,761
- Pool Size
- 19500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pureline Crystal Pure 60,000
I also have to run my VS pump at 1400 to reliably trip the flow switch, but that's still only 200 watts. No a big additional cost to run the pump 200 rpm higher for the few hours it takes to generate my chlorine for the day. What, are you concerned about burning an extra 50 watts or so of electric times a couple hours?
That was one of the first things that I did. I have about 30 pictures of the piping that I took so I knew where everything was, and I scoured the pictures for some sort of a clue. Seems that about everything on the pipe has to do with its rating and not its size...
I'm guessing that the heater may add some resistance as well. I swapped out the check valve for a FlowVis last week once I got done hooking up all of the automation equipment, and when I did it, I replaced 3 90's (coming out of the heater just before the SWG ) with long sweep 90's and made sure that I had a good run of pipe before the SWG.dw,
Thanks for the pics.. I was looking to see if the same idiot that plumbed my SWCG also did yours, but that does not appear to be the case. I have a 90 right before the SWCG.... Sigh!! That has got to mess with the Flow switch.. It appears you do not have that problem.
I would assume there has to be some extra resistance to the flow when a heater is installed?? Too bad you don't have an external by-pass, because that was going to be my next suggestion.
For reference, when I'm running at 1,200 RPM I get about 2 or 3 lbs of pressure on my filter. What are you getting? Your filter is not dirty is it?
I guess my thought is.. unless you plan to dig everything up, it is what it is...
Sorry I can't be much help with this one,
Jim R.
My filter gauge shows just under 3PSI right now - I still have the Pentair OEM unit - I haven't gotten around to replacing with a glycerin unit just yet but it's on my to-do list. I just cleaned the filters last weekend - not sure how much they needed it, but I saw what was in my pool from construction, and since it was now clean on the bottom, I knew it had to have gone somewhere. That being said, the filters weren't as bad as I thought they'd be - they clearly can hold quite a bit. Funny thing is that pre-clean, my PSI was 2. Post-clean it was just under 3. There was a lot of sediment in that screen just under the pressure gauge, so I'm guessing it wasn't accurately measuring the pressure...
Noticeable difference nonetheless...
I'm literally right at 1500 RPM. 1490 won't do it. I burn 186 watts at 1500. I guess I was just expecting that I'd get by with closer to 1000 RPM. At 186 watts vs 100 watts, it's all going to get lost in the overall electrical of the house. It's not going to make much of a difference, I'd just like it to be as efficient as possible. I'm running the pump 24x7 at the moment - not really sure why - I was doing it right away just to aid in filtering out the construction dirt.
When I was reading (I tend to research a little more than I need to) about the best elbows to use since I had to rebuild part of my plumbing anyway for the FlowVis install, I read an article that said that there was 12% less flow restriction on a long sweep elbow than a straight 90 (Do Different PVC Fittings Really Make a Difference in Water Flow? - POND Trade Magazine). That got me curious. I then landed in the state of California, where they seem to have laws that govern all sorts of environmental things. I landed in a Lasco letter trying to modify the title 24 standards (http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/2008standards/rulemaking/documents/comments/Lasco_Fittings_on_Water_Piping.PDF). They claim that going from 1.5" to 2" pipe results in 70% less friction loss (seems like a lot?), so that got me wondering if I really had 2" pipe, and that the use of long sweep elbows was really negligible. The 2" pipe claim is inline with what everyone on here recommends as well, so I'm guessing there's probably a lot of merit in it.
From what I can tell, replacing 3 elbows in my piping seems to have had no effect. Cleaning my filter has had *some* effect, as it dropped the power consumption on the pump by about 10w.
All of your manifold plumbing is 2", the only place I see a reducer is on the backwash line. I believe the skimmer and the rest of the plumbing from your first pic is also 2"
