Pipe in my yard - no idea what it's for

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berniedp

Silver Supporter
May 3, 2020
66
Saint Johns, FL
Pool Size
6400
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair iChlor 30
Hi all,

Since purchasing my house, I've been wondering about this pipe (capped with an open T):
pool_pipe_1.jpg
pool_pipe_2.jpg
pool_pipe_3.jpg

As I'm doing a SLAM at this time (and my water is crystal clear but still something is consuming quite a bit of chlorine), I'm wondering if this could be linked to the issue...

Thanks,
Bernard.
 
Probably a SLVS.

(II) SUCTION-LIMITING VENT SYSTEM - A suction-limiting vent system with a tamper resistant atmospheric opening.

CPSC Staff interpretation: A suction-limiting vent system is also called an atmospheric vent.

It is a pipe teed to the suction side of the circulation system on one end and open to the atmosphere on the opposite end.

The pipe is normally full of water equal to the same height as the pool.

When a blockage occurs at the main drain, air is introduced into the suction line thus causing the pump to lose prime and relieving the suction forces at the main drain (suction outlet).

 
It's something used mostly in Florida.

90
 

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JamesW said:
The problem with the SLVS is that there is always stagnant water in the lines and this can breed algae, bacteria and other nasty biological hazards.
Click to expand...
Marvelous - thanks @JamesW for sharing - that explains why it's there...

I also agree with you on the stagnant water - could any of it seep into my pump / pool and be the cause of the Chlorine drops I'm seeing?

I wonder if I need to do something there by adding some (or a lot of?) chlorine to kind of neutralise whatever is in there? Because I can see dirt in there and I can imagine one or the other lizzard might get in there, regret that decision, die and start to decompose...
Or should I consider capping it all together?

B.
 
JamesW said:

2024 Annual Donation Campaign

Hi all, Thanks to the fervent support of the TFP community, we have met our $10,000 goal! We appreciate all the users in this thread hyping the campaign and sharing warm and fuzzy TFP anecdotes. Completion of this campaign reminds us that TFP is a resource that people can trust with their pool...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
Click to expand...
Done :) - this forum has helped me so much already that it's totally worth the expense!
 
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berniedp said:
I also agree with you on the stagnant water - could any of it seep into my pump / pool and be the cause of the Chlorine drops I'm seeing?
Click to expand...
Possibly.
berniedp said:
I wonder if I need to do something there by adding some (or a lot of?) chlorine to kind of neutralize whatever is in there?
Click to expand...
It might develop a biofilm and that can be difficult to remove.

If it were me, I might Blow it out or maybe add some liquid chlorine to kill any bacteria or algae in the line.
berniedp said:
Because I can see dirt in there and I can imagine one or the other lizard might get in there, regret that decision, die and start to decompose...
Click to expand...
The line should have a screen to prevent animals from getting into the line as shown in the picture above.
berniedp said:
Or should I consider capping it all together?
Click to expand...
Because it is considered to be a safety system, I can’t recommend eliminating it or disabling it.

Maybe verify that it is indeed a SLVS by blowing it out while the pump is on to see if the air goes into the pump.
 
Maybe a compressor or blower if it can produce that much pressure.

Don't over pressurize because we are not 100% sure that it is a SLVS or exactly what it is.

You can probably even use a garden hose and just push water into the pipe and watch the pump basket to see if any dirty water goes into the pump basket.

Maybe wrap a rag around the garden hose or maybe some tape to make it big enough to just fit in the pipe and have someone hold it in the pipe while you watch the pump basket.
 
JamesW said:
Maybe a compressor or blower if it can produce that much pressure.

Don't over pressurize because we are not 100% sure that it is a SLVS or exactly what it is.

You can probably even use a garden hose and just push water into the pipe and watch the pump basket to see if any dirty water goes into the pump basket.

Maybe wrap a rag around the garden hose or maybe some tape to make it big enough to just fit in the pipe and have someone hold it in the pipe while you watch the pump basket.
Click to expand...
I was thinking of going the other way around and using a pump (on low setting) to remove some the water - I should then be able to see if the current water is dirty / cloudy. And hopefully that may suck out any dirt as well.
if it is an SLVS then it would, I assume, replenish the water with fresh / highly chlorinated water from the pool so it would be a win/win.

Or vice/versa - pump water from the pool into that pipe - that will then flush it and push debris into the pool pump basket...
 
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Quick update so I don't leave this post hanging without a completion.

My main concern here was two-fold:
  1. is the water in this pipe stagnant?
  2. might something have entered into this pipe that's consuming a lot of chlorine?
For 1. - instead of pumping out water or blowing it out with air, I took a sample of the water about 1 foot down and performed a quick chlorine test which showed it was quite well chlorinated, close to the water in my pool (which I was SLAMing) - so I think I can rest assured that stagnant water isn't an issue here

For 2. - the current T pipe on top is open - I can't establish for sure something fell in but since my SLAM is now finished I decided to either find a T that's closed (like the picture above) or just hotglue some of the fiberglass screen (same as used for my pool screen) to it so it can still suck in air but it's preventing any larger debris from getting in
 
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