Plumbing and equipment layout help

[Lershac]

Hi all... well its been a long four years of waiting and saving, and Saturday (day after tomorrow) we actually begin digging.

I am ordering equipment (this is a DIY IG Gunite with spa, shared body of water), and trying to figure out the layout of equipment and plumbing.

I will have:

~20000 gal pool 20X30' rectangle with a 10X10 tanning shelf.
9'X9' square spa w/12 or so jets. Waterway Polystorms of varying flows.
2 skimmers
5 returns, 1 deep end, 1 shallow, 2 tanning shelf, and 1 spa.
dual main drain.
spa drain (s?) (a strip drain or dual sump drains? suggestion?)
main filter pump the new pentair 011018
separate jet pump, also the 011018, so we can adjust flow as desired.
cartridge filter (ccp 520)
SWG intellichlor IC40
Pentair Nat Gas heater 400KBTU
Pentair 120r Heat Pump (mainly for cooling the pool in hot months, but hey, cheaper heat is a bonus)
Pentair Intellitouch automation
a few deck jet water features


To the subject at hand:

I need advise/help in figuring out the plumbing layout on the equipment pad so I can order valves and actuators.

I figure a separate jet pump from the rest of the system so that is easy.

But the Arrangement of the rest of the equipment is leaving me a bit overwhelmed. I figure a 4 way intake setup with individual ball valves for filtration, with an actuator 3-way to isolate down to the spa when it is in use and heating, proceeding from the 3-way to the pump, to the filter, out to the heater(s) (heat pump first then the gas heater), then to the SWG, and then to the pool and spa, pretty much according to this diagram:

with an actuator controlled 3-way and make-up loop for the spa. The Deck jets will be driven by the circulation pump, with an actuator controlled valve on the pool return circuit.

Is this the way its usually done?

I realize that when the spa is in operation, the pool will not be circulated or filtered, but spa use in the grand scheme of things is minimal compared to pool filtration time and circulation time in total.

Input, thoughts any thing appreciated!

Super excited to get started, will be sharing pics and diagrams this weekend. I am just afraid to jinx things by posting a pre-dig diagram now.
Is there another way its done?

 

[shakenbake]

That diagram is the simple way to accomplish what you are doing. You should either plumb the Heat pump before the gas heater or in parallel, ideally with a bypass line.

It's critical at this point that you get the second drain for the jet pump in there.

If the purpose of the heat pump is cooling, I'd recommend going with a separate return circuit that you can control with a value or dedicated pump and misting towers or a glacier unit. If you want cheap heat, they work great - but get the largest unit you can find - otherwise you won't use it. For example, it takes 20min to heat up our spa with a 400K btu gas heater (Jandy LXi) or a couple hours with a 175K Btu Aquacal heat pump (largest, most efficient on the market).

 

[JasonLion]

Getting a nice clean layout of where the pipes come up out of the ground is a big help. Group the suction pipes together and the return pipes together and keep the two groups separate.

It is nice to have a three way valve to select between main drain and skimmers, but I prefer to have ball valves on the individual skimmers rather than use a three way to select between skimmers as shown in the diagram you included.

 

[Lershac]

why a separate return for cooling? Shakenbake I looked at a cooling tower but am concerned about salt water pool causing corrosion long term on it (they sure are cheaper than the heat pump, but I have a friend with a heat pump for cooling and he swears by it). The heat pump I was looking at has an internal bypass. Why would I want to plumb it in parallel? I am aware of the long cooling times of heat pumps, hence the gas heater too. I got a hellacious deal on it, the same friend had it, but propane is so much a pain in the butt to deal with he got a heat pump and replaced his gas heater and gave me the heater (I have natural gas and the conversion kit is like $50 bucks).

Jason- I concur on the individual ball valves to control flow from each input, I dont even really see the point of the 3-way at that location.

I plan on using non-actuated ball valves, as once the flow is balanced, its not something you change often I would think.

I have clay expansive soil in yard, so under the entire deck I am taking out a foot of dirt and replacing with gravel for a good underlayment... do you think it will be ok to just lay the pipes on the clay, then cover with the gravel (and not have to trench)?

 

[Lershac]

anyone have any experience with a AquaCal HeatWave SuperQuiet IceBreaker vs a pentair 120r for heat pump?

The aquacal is more expensive, but is another choice for that I was looking at. Can it interface with the intellitouch? Its got a longer name so it must be better huh?

 

[gsxrken]

Make sure you insist on elbow room on the pad and in between the fittings. Unions are always a good idea so when something needs to be replaced you have room for couplings etc. without replumbing the whole pad.

 

[Lershac]

Make sure you insist on elbow room on the pad and in between the fittings. Unions are always a good idea so when something needs to be replaced you have room for couplings etc. without replumbing the whole pad.

Yeah I have a 10' by as-deep-as-I-Dang-want-it pad. Since I am building it, plumbing it, and wiring it, I will have to have a serious chat with myself and MAKE that ******* lay it out well... lol :lol:

 

[gsxrken]

Another thing I would do is have a drain valve on the pressure side of your plumbing. This would allow you to open it and lower the pool water level after heavy rains.

My pad area only has one boiler drain and it's on the suction line. Opening it just kills the pump suction. I occasionLl have to either siphon or sump pump out rain water. One tee with a drain valve on would have avoided this bother but would have cost the PB another $9 bucks, and cutting it in now would be tough with the lack of room between fittings I mentioned above.

 

[Lershac]

Thanks for the heads-up GSXRken