Need plumping help

[whixkid41]

Hi All,

Had a pool installed late fall, just about to fire it up in about 4 weeks to have a heater installed and to have some landscaping work done. However, I am looking at the plumbing for the heater and the guys that did the filter, pumps, & salt generator did not exactly leave me in a good spot to simply drop a heater in. I currently have a Pentair salt spacer in place and its tucked between two valves. What the heck do I do here? The manual says I should have 18 inches or so before the Salt cell to ensure proper flow. Is it good as is or should I bite the bullet and move it

My brother in-law who is an hvac expert is going to install the heater so I am sure he can help out moving the salt cell as long as I know where to put it.

BTW, the red valve is a water line for a future slide, the valve to the right of the salt water pass thru is for a future water-feature, everything to the left is for the Spa & pool (I hope - nothing is labeled)

Any advice ?

 

[Jimrahbe]

41,

While it is always a good idea to follow the manual, in this case the world will not end if you don't have 18" before the cell.. My IC40 only has about an inch of straight pipe before the cell and it works just fine..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[mknauss]

Not having the straight pipe before the SWCG may require a higher flow rate to close the flow switch. In my setup (with a heater) I had to run my VS pump at 2100 rpm to close the flow switch before having the plumber redo the set up getting just under 12" before the flow switch. I now can run the pump at 1500 rpm to close the flow switch.

 

[whixkid41]

41,

While it is always a good idea to follow the manual, in this case the world will not end if you don't have 18" before the cell.. My IC40 only has about an inch of straight pipe before the cell and it works just fine..

Thanks,

Jim R.

Good to know.

I suppose I can make sure I get a nice straight run with the heater install just-in-case I need to move the salt cell. That's probably the easiest thing to do....just plan to move it and hope I don't have to. Just concerned about that valve in front of it as well.

Thanks!

 

[jimmythegreek]

just cut right after the T that jumps to the future slide deal and go into the heater then cut close to the 3way valve on other side from the salt cell and go back in there. nothing you can really do to improve the distance in front of salt cell with the 3way being there. To fix the distance you could cut the 3way valve out and move it to the other side of the future water feature and use some sweep bends or 45's close to the ground to get on the other side and that would increase your distance. If you do this I would dig down a little and put your coupling or elbow below grade then nobody will ever know it came up where it is now

 

[Fuldo]

I don't see a flow switch! Is there one and if so where is it? It's supposed to be in-line with the cell and I don't see how that's even possible in this case.

 

[mknauss]

The flow switch for an Intellichlor SWCG is integral to the unit.

 

[whixkid41]

The flow switch for an Intellichlor SWCG is integral to the unit.

are you suggesting I am missing a 'flow switch'? or did you mean 'Integrated' into the unit...lol. I do have a bunch of boxes I still have to go through but I assumed it was stuff like the automatic valve actuators, the salt cell.

Thanks all for the suggestions....

 

[mknauss]

The flow switch is 'integrated' into the Intellichlor unit. It will have two wires coming out of it that go to the ET8.

 

[Fuldo]

Interesting that the flow switch is integrated into the cell. My daughter has an IC-40 and I could have sworn it had a separate switch, I wonder if the PB added a secondary one. I'm not sure I like the integrated concept, just one more thing that could go wrong with the cell. I'm assuming the flow switch can be repaired/rebuilt within the cell but even a simple internal wiring problem could cause problems and malfunction. Do any other brands integrate the flow switch?

 

[mknauss]

Integrated may be too strong a word. It is screwed into the body of the cell. It has separate wiring and can be easily replace. In fact it is the weak link of an intellchlor. I have replaced mine once in 4 years. You can get aftermarket versions for around $60.