Plumbing placeholder heater hot water lines without heater

[jalapenopopper]

I am building a pool a basic plumbing setup but would like to have the appropriate plumbing should I want to add a heater in the future. Are there any considerations to take as far as water return lines and where they terminate at the pool?
My idea is to pour the equipment pad with space for future heater and have the return line plumber so it can be cut and a heater installed.

I’d like to get some help if there is a certainconfiguration for hot water return lines that can be isolated from other return lines like side jets. From what I’ve seen the hot water will come out of the floor.

has anyone done this or can you give me any pointers? Pitfalls to watch out for.
Thanks,

eddie

 

[ajw22]

You don’t need to do anything fancy with the returns having a heater. Install a well thought out return system for the pool that gives good normal circulation and then you can cut in a heater if you want.

 

[HermanTX]

A standard heater flow path is main pool pump to filter to heater to return lines. These return lines can be either/or pool or spa. Most want to only heat the spa but you could have the option to heat the whole pool depending on how the return line valve is positioned. So in Spa Mode, your pump would draw water from spa and after exiting the heater it will return to spa so you can heat up the spa quickly. If you plan to add the heater later, you may want to think about where your natural gas line will be run and ensure that can be brought up to the vacant part of your equipment pad. Also, some heaters have water inlet/outlet on one side and gas in on other side. So you may want to think through that for positioning of your heater. There is also a code where the vent on the heater can not be closer than 4 ft from a window or door that opens. Also there is a requirement clearance above a heater if in a closed area. Check your codes. With regards to plumbing, ensure you can change your pipework after the filter to easily go to your heater and also that the outlet of the heater can easily tap into the return lines. My set up is pump on left with filter in middle and heater on right. The inlet to the pump (from the pool) is in front of pump and the returns to the pool are in front of the filter right next to the pad. My gas line comes in on far right of heater (opposite the water inlet/outlets). Also, my electrical for the heater enters on the same side as the gas line so also think through positioning of your control box. I had to run an extra long electrical cable from my box (which is on left side of my pad (close to pump) to the heater. Hope this helps.