I am redoing a pool at a house i just bought. best we can tell it has not been run for several years. It is a concrete/plaster pool with an attached hot tub. I am still tracking down what each line goes to but am on the fence as to weather i should cut everything out and replumb it and replace all equipment or try to make what is there work? The plumbing set up seems to be a bit of a mess and near as I can tell it must always go through the small heater for the water to return to the pool. It seems a bypass would be best for when not in use but not sure on that. I am also not certain the DE filter even will hold pressure. The system is missing the second motor which I think is either for the hottub or a booster for a pressure side cleaner? There is also a timer wired in as well as a freeze timer of some sort that you can set for certain temperatures . I would appreciate any feedback that can be offered on whether i should rehab what is here or remove it all and start over. I need to check the heater as it may be ok but I do think it may be workable.
Pool renovations - pool equipment replace or repair?
- Thread starter rltullis
- Start date
I'd try it out and see what works. You are talking about a significant investment to replace what's there. It's just my opinion, but if it's in the budget some of that might be better spent on a variable speed pump and controller with valve actuators. Maybe a little plumbing work, the guy was a little fitting-happy and it could be better laid out, thought it really isn't that bad compared to some I have seen.
yeah i might just see how it runs but i think if there are any leaks i may just replace it all. dont really enjoy chasing leaks on brittle pvc
If it were mind I would make sure I know whats what..Cut it all out and start over 
Wold be a perfec t time to install a VS pump and a SWG!
Wold be a perfec t time to install a VS pump and a SWG!yeah i want to do an swg not sure the budget allows a vs pump but we will see. not sure what each line is yet, plan to work on that this weekend if it warms up a bit.
I redid mine a couple times and once you know whats what it's not bad and PVC is fairly cheap..I am not good at planing out parts so I go buy a few elbows etc and never fails I am always short usually by 1 but Home depot is 4 miles away
By good valves off amazon or online.. I went cheap and bought ball valves and had one stick and it required a tear out and rebuild to fix..Good news is It helped me decided to get a SWG
What is this?
I did this for a living and drove around with a whole truckload of parts and I was always 1 fitting short!
Or did you mean the 3/4" stub with a check valve? I pondered that myself. I believe it was installed either as a priming assist to hook a garden hose to, or a winterization port for a compressor. A big outfit I worked for did that on plumbing that was hard to access. Either way, it will need a cap on it or it will lose prime.
probably something to blow out the lines based on where we are in oklahoma and also all the plugs i found in the shed
was talking about the big pump looking thing but where is the motor? That's why I would identify all the ins and outs and rip every thing out
This last time I over bought and have a Pentair 3-way and 2 extra hayward 2" valves I bought..Actually bought them last year planning and had forgot until I was wondering why I had 2 extra's
This last time I over bought and have a Pentair 3-way and 2 extra hayward 2" valves I bought..Actually bought them last year planning and had forgot until I was wondering why I had 2 extra's
New is great if it's in the budget. I would check out the heater, pull the filter grids and check for damage. If both are ok, that savings should pretty much cover the easytouch and vsp. Then re-use the existing pump for the spa jets if it works, maybe rebuild it if it doesn't. That should take a chunk out of the swg cost, too.
But I live on a pool guys salary, so am a bit of a cheapskate. I bought a broken down riding mower to fix rather than buy new, if that tells you anything about me.
But I live on a pool guys salary, so am a bit of a cheapskate. I bought a broken down riding mower to fix rather than buy new, if that tells you anything about me.
New is great if it's in the budget. I would check out the heater, pull the filter grids and check for damage. If both are ok, that savings should pretty much cover the easytouch and vsp. Then re-use the existing pump for the spa jets if it works, maybe rebuild it if it doesn't. That should take a chunk out of the swg cost, too.
But I live on a pool guys salary, so am a bit of a cheapskate. I bought a broken down riding mower to fix rather than buy new, if that tells you anything about me.
Also shop around, I bought my hayward cartridge filter off ebay ( new ) and my heater off amazon
I drive around witb other parts, but same. I can have a bag of 20 and i need 21.
ok still working on getting things cleaned up and running before the plaster job begins but i have quite a few questions. let me know if you can help on any of them. i am attaching pics of several. One bit of info i do think i will be getting rid of all the equipment and starting over.
-the shot where my shoe is touching two pvc lines i think is the line for the pressure side cleaner. the current lines do not go to the filter. it also has that weird connection like for a garden hose not sure why.
-i think the heater is shot, the whole bottom of it is rusted out see pics
-not sure what the black rubber hoses are coming off some of the pvc?
-any idea what kind of pump head i have? thinking i may be able to reuse that and just get a motor.
-seems like the hot tub does not have an intake? not seeing anything other than a small line near the bottom on one side and per plumbing there is no line in from it unless its tied into the skimmer lines
-since i plan to remove all the pvc and start over is there a trick to removing the fittings near the concrete slab without digging up that section of the slab?
-the shot where my shoe is touching two pvc lines i think is the line for the pressure side cleaner. the current lines do not go to the filter. it also has that weird connection like for a garden hose not sure why.
-i think the heater is shot, the whole bottom of it is rusted out see pics
-not sure what the black rubber hoses are coming off some of the pvc?
-any idea what kind of pump head i have? thinking i may be able to reuse that and just get a motor.
-seems like the hot tub does not have an intake? not seeing anything other than a small line near the bottom on one side and per plumbing there is no line in from it unless its tied into the skimmer lines
-since i plan to remove all the pvc and start over is there a trick to removing the fittings near the concrete slab without digging up that section of the slab?
Attachments
The black rubber hose looks like a off line Chlorine feeder but maybe it broke and they just kinked the line instead of patching it?
Can you tell how old the Pump is? Any idea is it works? The experts here can advise if it's worth it or now but either way try and go to a VS
I like the idea of starting over, but thats just me..I work In IT and call that "format c:" IT folks will get it
Can you tell how old the Pump is? Any idea is it works? The experts here can advise if it's worth it or now but either way try and go to a VS
I like the idea of starting over, but thats just me..I work In IT and call that "format c:" IT folks will get it
cant get the motor to turn on i think its dead have not tested it otherwise. i like idea of starting over just worried about cutting off fittings so close to the pad not sure how ill glue on another fitting.
That get tricky, I had one that was close and glued a threaded fitting and adapted..I figured if I had to redo it later I could unscrew it.
The pipes by your shoe are probably the spa jet pump, or for a waterfall, slide, or other water feature. The garden hose connection was discussed earlier and is either a priming assist or a winterization port. It will need to be valved and capped.
Heater is shot.
Black hoses are for a tablet feeder.
Pump is pentair. If it is all there you can put any brand of motor on it, but I would just get a new assembly. Looks pretty rough. Need to know if it was single or 2-speed. Check the wiring, if it has 4 colored wires going to the pump it is a 2-speed.
Under that black gunk should be a floor drain that probably feeds the jet pump, and there should be a skimmer somewhere in the tile line and maybe a second floor drain or footwell drain, possibly the one pipe you can see in the footwell.
You can heat the fitting up with a heat gun and twist it off the pipe. Must be over 200*f to soften pvc. Not sure exactly, but it takes a while. Keep the heat gun moving to heat evenly. I always wrap a wet towel around the pipe below the fitting to shield it from heating as well. You want the fitting soft, not the pipe. You may have to sand it off a little to get a new fitting on it, the old glue will remain on one side or the other. Use threaded fittings as Markayash suggested.
If you are replacing the filter, consider a cartridge or sand filter. Some may disagree, but I have seen more trouble from DE than any other type. And pool DE is a bit like asbestos when airborne, and in some places requires a reclamation tank to collect waste DE from backwashing for proper disposal to keep it off the ground and out of the air. I feel that all places should have that requirement, but for some inexplicable reason they didn't ask me... Cartridge filters do a great job and may go all season without cleaning, but are cumbersome to clean. Sand is least effective but easiest to maintain.
Heater is shot.
Black hoses are for a tablet feeder.
Pump is pentair. If it is all there you can put any brand of motor on it, but I would just get a new assembly. Looks pretty rough. Need to know if it was single or 2-speed. Check the wiring, if it has 4 colored wires going to the pump it is a 2-speed.
Under that black gunk should be a floor drain that probably feeds the jet pump, and there should be a skimmer somewhere in the tile line and maybe a second floor drain or footwell drain, possibly the one pipe you can see in the footwell.
You can heat the fitting up with a heat gun and twist it off the pipe. Must be over 200*f to soften pvc. Not sure exactly, but it takes a while. Keep the heat gun moving to heat evenly. I always wrap a wet towel around the pipe below the fitting to shield it from heating as well. You want the fitting soft, not the pipe. You may have to sand it off a little to get a new fitting on it, the old glue will remain on one side or the other. Use threaded fittings as Markayash suggested.
If you are replacing the filter, consider a cartridge or sand filter. Some may disagree, but I have seen more trouble from DE than any other type. And pool DE is a bit like asbestos when airborne, and in some places requires a reclamation tank to collect waste DE from backwashing for proper disposal to keep it off the ground and out of the air. I feel that all places should have that requirement, but for some inexplicable reason they didn't ask me... Cartridge filters do a great job and may go all season without cleaning, but are cumbersome to clean. Sand is least effective but easiest to maintain.
a few things on that
-yeah i think ill redo it all
-thanks for the tip on the heat ill try that
-the pipes by my foot do not go through the filter though so that makes me think pressure side cleaner connection but i may be wrong
-there is no skimmer in the hottub but there are 2 in the pool. ill see what is under the sludge but i fear they set this up for the waterfall to feed into the pool and no way to filter the bottom of the hottub without stirring up the water.
-yeah i think ill redo it all
-thanks for the tip on the heat ill try that
-the pipes by my foot do not go through the filter though so that makes me think pressure side cleaner connection but i may be wrong
-there is no skimmer in the hottub but there are 2 in the pool. ill see what is under the sludge but i fear they set this up for the waterfall to feed into the pool and no way to filter the bottom of the hottub without stirring up the water.