PVC and SWG for New AGP

[Melissa_K]

Hello. Finally got a new permanent 27' round AGP instead of an Intex seasonal.

I am no plumber and need advice on how to hard plumb this pump and filter with an RJ60 SWG. Where should the swg go in the set up...and does it need a certain length of pvc before it goes to the return, and suggestions on parts/sizes for PVC. Thank you!

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Your best bet is to do some searching here on TFP and/or YouTube as there are many owners who did just like you converting to PVC. In the case of your RJ, you'll want to ensure you route the plumbing in such a way as to give yourself plenty of room for the SWG. The cell is the last thing in the plumbing before the line goes back to the return jet of the pool. The manual calls for about 16 inches for the cell, but I would plan on about 20 inches if you can just to give you more working room. Working with PVC is not hard, just takes a bit of planning, cutting, and gluing. If you may a mistake, you can always cut it out and start again.

The one thing you may need to look for now are the unions and bulkhead adapters that connect the PVC pipes to your filter, pump, and skimmer. We can help point you in the right direction for those as well. Below is a link to the RJ manual, and in my signature is a link to my RJ-45 install.

https://www.discountsaltpool.com/assets/doc/CircuPool-RJ-PLUS-Manual.pdf

 

[Texas Splash]

Here are just a couple examples.

 

[Texas Splash]

Here is an example of the pump connection/union. Of course you have to be sure to have the correct size (i.e. 2:, 1.5").

https://www.amazon.com/PACK-Hi-Temp-Union-Whisperflo-Intelliflo/dp/B00AKMV4K8/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=hi-temp+pool+union&qid=1682248468&sr=8-3

 

[Texas Splash]

Of course consider installing unions anywhere that you might need to disconnect the pines later. Very handy for winter closing.

 

[VinnyinNJ]

What Texas Splash has said is so true. Our old pool was all flexible hosing and our new pool is hard plumbed and the installers didn't put any unions except at the pool ... hard to winterize with many feet of piping.

Put unions anywhere 2 things connect. Dry fit everything first, it makes life a lot easier. Make sure the measurements are correct! When we closed the pool my son put unions on everything and the pipe between the pump and filter was shorter than supposed to be and was put in by the installers ... we are going to fix this before startup. You will need to clean the filter so make sure you can disconnect all plumbing from it. When gluing together, they sell clear primer vs purple, you might want to think about using clear. Valves are also good so you can take stuff apart without worrying about water going everywhere - maybe put a valve under the skimmer and a valve by the return - put unions on these so you can take them off when winterizing.

Our SWG does not have a flow switch, if yours does mount it in the same pipe as the SWG. Look at the SWG instructions as to how many inches (feet) you need of the run to/from the SWG to make sure you mount it correctly, it should be the last thing before it eventually goes into the pool. Since I don't have a flow switch I'm not sure what gets replaced if it goes bad. If it is a whole assembly vs part - put a union on it as well, make not cutting out stuff part of the hard plumbing. If you can run the wires of the SWG and flow switch along the return pipe back to the control to keep a neat run of wiring, our installers used tie wraps I'm planning on using velcro. If your plumbing is going to be above the ground think about supporting it and if it is going to cause issues if you have pets or children. Our pipes are about shin to knee height and we are in the process of fencing that area in.

I was excited to have our pool hard plumbed until I saw that winterizing was an issue. Since we modified the installers lack of forethought I'm anticipating a great experience once we fix the short pipe issue.

 

[Melissa_K]

Thank you. I searched and researched about pvc and swg before posting but so many set ups look to habe a maze of pvc piping going various ways and mine seems so simple. Does the attached picture seem correct? Ball valves and unions at the skimmer return and pump? Cell and then flow switch to give it at least 12" straight line and then up to the return via pvc? Thanks for all the help. Appreciate it.

 

[VinnyinNJ]

I think you can get by with a union and ball valve at the skimmer and return, unions at filter and pump and unions for SWG and flow switch.

Once you turn off the ball valves at the pool all water to your filter will stop and you'll be able to open the filter to clean it as needed.

The unions at the pool will allow you to remove the ball valves for winter so any water that may get in them doesn't expand and possibly damage them. The unions for the SWG, between the SWG and flow switch and after the flow switch will make it easier if/when you need to replace either of them. (This is not necessarily needed but IMO the extra $ now might pay off later when a repair is needed.)

2 things I want to mention - unions have 2 sides 1 with o-ring and the other side. I think there is a proper way to install a union going with the water flow... one way is more leak resistant than the other. The other thing is that o-ring, I would put lube on it to keep it nice for many years. I had some orings on my last pool for 20 years without deterioration.

 

[StephanieW]

Another suggestion would be to use flex PVC, it gives you a little wiggle room when connecting things, freeze thaw shift from yr to yr. If you accidently hit it. If those are individual blocks, they will shift. Even on my thick poured concrete pad I get yearly movement.

Like the guy did in the second video with the grey pool. It's a little hard to see, but the vertical pipe going
down to the ground is flex PVC.

Also with initial water pump force, and crazy pool parties, there can be vibration and wall movement. Better for the flex pipe to give some, than your wall or equiptment.

PVC ball valves over time will get hard to turn, jam, get stuck partially closed, then break.

Besides, you already have 2 on equip anyway. If you need to, you can use the threaded plugs that go inside the skimmer body and eyeball return to stop water inflow to repair between those 2 points. Valves Ok when they worked, but hated the valves when they didn't. And less glue joints to tackle. Since you said you are not a plumber. LOL it is a learning curve for sure. Practice first if u can, get some cheap couplers to practice on.


All those nipples your hoses are connected to should unscrew and you be able to use male threaded adapters to connect to pvc pipe.

Then just add unions at the skimmer and return. I think I used a union that was threaded on one part and a glue on the other for the skimmer.

All of this would be 1.5 inch PVC.
Make sure you buy SWG that has the reducer bushings for 1.5 inch, stated they are 2 inch typical on pg 15 of pdf.

Exactly on the purple primer, I did not pay attention and bought the purple. Luckily mine is hidden from ppl view.

 

[PoolStored]

PVC ball valves over time will get hard to turn, jam, get stuck partially closed, then break.

^^^This. I'd use these:

 

[Melissa_K]

^^^This. I'd use these:

Thank you. Where do you get those and what is is called? Where would I put them?

 

[PoolStored]

Thank you. Where do you get those and what is is called? Where would I put them?

Jandy NeverLube. Pentair and CMP also make the same type.

See post #6 ad #8 by @VinnyinNJ on where you might want valves...

 

[StephanieW]

^^^This. I'd use these:

70$ plus tax for 2

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QDPQ48C/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B08QDPQ48C&pd_rd_w=HmLnn&content-id=amzn1.sym.a8bfa847-39f1-4f54-bb95-ee052e9f7910&pf_rd_p=a8bfa847-39f1-4f54-bb95-ee052e9f7910&pf_rd_r=PJWMJR0NKBB78JFN7NYQ&pd_rd_wg=tUUFA&pd_rd_r=34e31eb4-a735-4d85-b421-973aa6e52a26&s=hi&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM&smid=A3EY8IY6FYPB83&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExMEUyU1hSWE0yWDM4JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjU5ODU0MkJUS0REVlkxUzQ0NiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjgxMjc0MlMwVEU1OTlRSjFTTiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbF90aGVtYXRpYyZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

10$ plus tax for 2

https://www.amazon.com/Swimline-Threaded-Pool-Return-Line/dp/B002ZJ1K9O/ref=pd_bxgy_vft_none_sccl_1/134-7301959-8125049?pd_rd_w=MtJBY&content-id=amzn1.sym.26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&pf_rd_p=26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&pf_rd_r=5E7JYENXB5EEXYCXKWNP&pd_rd_wg=IyyAv&pd_rd_r=3217c569-1e5b-4495-99ae-19d4c9dca52a&pd_rd_i=B002ZJ1K9O&psc=1

 

[StephanieW]

These are the unions I used last year to redo some things. Thought I used male adapters, aparently not after looking at it closer.

https://www.amazon.com/Waterway-Plastics-806105081247-Union-Assembly/dp/B004VTGC7G/ref=sr_1_5?crid=314UW8YDLQ19L&keywords=417-4060&qid=1682471697&s=lawn-garden&sprefix=417-4060%2Clawngarden%2C186&sr=1-5

https://www.amazon.com/Waterway-Union-Male-1-1-2in-417-4060/dp/B0797NS28R/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=417-4060&qid=1682473173&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-2

 

[phonedave]

An RJ cell stands for Return Jet, the controller does not use a flow switch. For safety reasons, the cell needs to be mounted vertically, right before the return jet. This way, if the pump stops, but the cell stays on, the gas will bubble up and out the return.

A HP cell stands for Hose Pipe, and the controller uses a flow switch. This allows it to be mounted horizontally.

It has been my experience that union threads are not standard. If you do something like crack the female end of the union, you may not be able to find a replacement that matches the male end.

I bought camlock fittings for my setup over the winter, to replace my unions - I still have to install them.

Polypropylene 1 1/2" Female Camlock Fitting x 1 1/2" Male Plastic Pipe Thread

Cam lock quick connect banjo fittings allow quick connections of polypropylene 1 1/2" female camlock to 1 1/2" male NPT plastic pipe fitting thread. Banjo poly camlocks fittings are available from PT Coupling and Dixon fittings.

camlockdirect.com

I also picked up these valves

Amazon.com

Yeah, they have pipe unions on them, I know. But I do not expect to ever remove these unions unless I have to rebuild the valve. I had (have) normal PVC valves on there, and they lasted a good 8-10 years. I only cycle them a few times a season though. The handles tend to fail first, and then it becomes channel lock time.

My salt cell also has unions on the ends. I need to check the ID of the ends to see if I can get camlocks on it, but I doubt it fits a standard pipe. I may be able to mess around with it and just attach a camlock to the output of the union, but that is kind of janky.

 

[hwy17]

An RJ cell stands for Return Jet, the controller does not use a flow switch. For safety reasons, the cell needs to be mounted vertically, right before the return jet. This way, if the pump stops, but the cell stays on, the gas will bubble up and out the return.

Confusingly, Circupool sells an RJ series which are not the same as an Aquatrol RJ.

I can't tell if Circupool RJ's have a no flow switch return jet mode, but as far as I can tell they all come with a flow switch by default.

 

[Homebrewale]

Jandy NeverLube. Pentair and CMP also make the same type.

See post #6 ad #8 by @VinnyinNJ on where you might want valves...

Hayward also makes them.

 

[VinnyinNJ]

I didn't know there were different types of unions and valves ... I learned something today! I always thought the white plastic stuff was it for a pool.

 

[rstarke]

I just finished plumbing my 5K gal above ground pool and did a deep dive into PVC plumbing. So here are some of my thoughts:

Regarding the unions I would go with a name brand (Spears which I like a lot or LASCO) since those will come with EPDM or BUNA (different rubber materials) gaskets which will last you a long time. They are also going to be there in 5 years when you have to replace a broken part or want to add to your plumbing. They also screw way easier and are easier to glue than the box store alternatives. The reason why I like the Spears once specifically is that they are very compact. The the union screw part is only an inch long (see second picture) which reduces the strain on the liner for my pool.

Regarding ball valves an important thing to know is that a 1-1/2" ball valve is only nominal 1-1/2". The actual inside diameter is not the same as the pipe would be. So if you are looking to get the best flow for a 1-1/2" system you should use a 2" ball valve with 2" to 1-1/2" reducer bushings that will allow to connect your pipe. I think this is not strictly necessary but I wished I had known it before buying my parts. I would also just add one valve per side since they add a lot of bulk and are usually fairly expensive.

Regarding Flex PVC I used it for my whole plumbing (see picture) and I can only say that it was an absolute pain. From cutting it, glueing it to getting the right fit. It is way stiffer than I anticipated and I had a really hard time to make it work. Since it has a spiraling core it is really hard to cut straight and even just reaming it (beveling the inside and outside edges of cuts) is tricky sometimes. I can see how it has it's advantages for long runs but for an above ground pool with the equipment close together and space restrictions like yours I would not advice it. Besides that it is also more expensive than pipe and you also should use a special flexible PVC cement which also adds cost.

Hope that helps and is not too late

 

[CSE1965]

I am having trouble finding a Intex female thread to npt or socket style to create my hard pipe system. I tried the hack where you cut off part of a fitting and cement it in a pvc fitting but it didn't last long.
It's the only weak spot in my current setup right now. I need 2 of the correct part but I will probably buy like 6 of them so I don't have to find them again.