Is there a rule of thumb for where to put the pool pump and heater and stuff? I'm doing a DIY build and don't know if there is a best practice on how close to the pool/spa to put the heater and pumps. Is it better to have a longer run of the electrical and natural gas to the pumps or is it OK to have longer runs of the PVC pipes. In this case the pool equipment could be in excess of 150 feet from the spa.
Pool equipment location
- Thread starter DocMuscle
- Start date
- Jan 4, 2016
- 5,291
- Pool Size
- 44000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
Nice to meet you via TFP 
Personally I like to think about landscape function and noise. I'd put the equipment where it's handy to get at, and not near a bedroom window or an area where you like to sit and enjoy the outdoors. I wouldn't put equipment right beside the pool, because it's nice sometimes to just float around in relative quiet, but on the other hand when you do maintenance of the pool you'll often walk back and forth from pool to pumps. Sometimes the equipment can be put behind a landscape feature wall or gazebo or the like for the same reason. Some people see the equipment as an eyesore and others (like me) think it's nice to look at, haha. It's also possible to house the equipment in a ventilated box of whatever sort suits your yard.
As far as pipe, as long as it's large enough diameter, you can get away with fairly long runs and 50 to 100 feet is common, 150 a bit on the longish side, but do-able. Are the spa and pool combined, close together or far apart? Long runs to the spa need big enough pipe so if you have jets, you can still have lots of flow without too much head loss, but with 3" pipe, you can move a lot of water a long way with not much head loss.
But as far as running cost, it will run for less cost with the equipment close to the pool and spa. Ditching cost is probably much the same overall (either ditch for PVC pipe or ditch for power and gas). Cable and gas line costs more than PVC pipe to cover the same distance, but in the overall scheme of things, probably not much difference on total pool cost.
Personally I like to think about landscape function and noise. I'd put the equipment where it's handy to get at, and not near a bedroom window or an area where you like to sit and enjoy the outdoors. I wouldn't put equipment right beside the pool, because it's nice sometimes to just float around in relative quiet
, but on the other hand when you do maintenance of the pool you'll often walk back and forth from pool to pumps. Sometimes the equipment can be put behind a landscape feature wall or gazebo or the like for the same reason. Some people see the equipment as an eyesore and others (like me) think it's nice to look at, haha. It's also possible to house the equipment in a ventilated box of whatever sort suits your yard.As far as pipe, as long as it's large enough diameter, you can get away with fairly long runs and 50 to 100 feet is common, 150 a bit on the longish side, but do-able. Are the spa and pool combined, close together or far apart? Long runs to the spa need big enough pipe so if you have jets, you can still have lots of flow without too much head loss, but with 3" pipe, you can move a lot of water a long way with not much head loss.
But as far as running cost, it will run for less cost with the equipment close to the pool and spa. Ditching cost is probably much the same overall (either ditch for PVC pipe or ditch for power and gas). Cable and gas line costs more than PVC pipe to cover the same distance, but in the overall scheme of things, probably not much difference on total pool cost.
@needsajet - Sorry for jumping on this thread. Would your response above still apply to an above ground pool? I have 21 X 41 above ground pool (28K gallons) and trying to research if I can put the pool pump, filter and heater 100 feet away. I don't have the pump, filter, or heater yet so am flexible if needed if I need to place the equipment 100 feet away.
Last edited:
Thanks, @needsajet - that was a very informative response and answers pretty much every follow-up question I had.
Oh, and to answer your questions, the pool and spa are right next to each other in the design I have. I'm now thinking that i can put the pool equipment close to where my air conditioner is. That's on the garage-side of the house and would be far away from any of our bedrooms and far enough away from our pool so that it won't be too loud. The only thing is i don't know if we can tee off from the kitchen's natural gas line(s) or if I have to pull a whole new line from the gas meter for the pool heater. Anyone have any info on that?
- Jun 7, 2017
- 9,187
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
You will almost certainly need a new gas line. Gas pool heaters use more gas than every other gas appliance in your house combined. I also had to have my meter heavied up with a high pressure port to feed the gas pool heater. Gas is expensive to run as well so keep that in mind.
Aww poop! OK. Do you know if they run those gas line(s) through the attic space or is it always under ground or another way? The gas line that I was thinking of teeing off from is right on the other side of the wall from where i want to put the pool heater.
- Jun 7, 2017
- 9,187
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
The problem with using gas lines to existing appliances is the line is spec'd to that appliance only and not spec'd to take a larger capacity and especially not what a pool heater requires. They can go through an attic, on the side of the house, gas line does not have to be buried (in the house). How it is run outside will be dictated by local regulations. The gas plumber should know. And if this pool is permitted it probably will require at least 1 inspection for gas. Mine required 2. 1 for the trench and 1 to make sure it was hooked up properly when they were done. They'll run it the most efficient way they can. The farther it is from the meter, the larger (and possibly higher pressure) the line will have to be.
I got estimates up to $4500 to run 75 feet of gas line within a straight line to my meter. There was no charge from the gas company to add the high pressure port to my (new) meter though. Hopefully your builder included the gas line in your contract. If they put in that you are responsible for the gas line then it could cost you a lot.
Last edited:
- Jan 4, 2016
- 5,291
- Pool Size
- 44000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
Good advice on the gas line above. Best to check that fairly early in your project.
It can make a difference in terms of the appeal of other heating options.
It can make a difference in terms of the appeal of other heating options.
I'm going DIY. The pool estimates where I live were higher than we thought they should be. For instance, one quote for a 20x40 pool with spa and baja shelf was in excess of $110k. I'm in the San Diego area.
I called the engineer/permit person who's doing our permits and she had a recommendation for the plumbing/gas/electrical and he's going to come over and give me a quote and tell me where he'd put the hardware. thanks, guys!
- Jan 4, 2016
- 5,291
- Pool Size
- 44000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
Good decision(s) - both owner-build and coming here to TFP! If you start a new thread (or change the title on this one if that can be done) with title along the lines of "Owner-build in San Diego", you'll get a ton of help here on TFP. Plenty of people here who like to help you spend your money and get heaps of value. Cheers!