Replacing LeafVac Cannister

[SamGreene]

Hi,

I have a crack in the body of my current canister leading to air intake into the system and priming issues. I"ve ordered a replacement A&A LeafVac like this: LeafVac Debris Containment – Pentair-A&A Manufacturing

Here is the install manual

My piping is 2.5" 2". I am concerned with a lack of space between the Jandy Valve and the LeafVac canister as it is installed and am not sure what to do to replace it. Looks like a little under an inch of exposed 2" pipe. Would a pipe extender fit there and could I shift the canister right a bit? Looks like there is about 7" of straight pipe into the pump right now. One pool guy looked at it and recommended I remove the canister, but it does catch a lot of leaves the come through the drain and slip by the strainer basket. There is a Ficus right next to my pool that can drop a bunch of leaves and after returning from vacation this weekend, the pool was loaded with leaves, so I'd like to try to keep it as designed. It has in-floor popups and was build in 1999 by Shasta in Phoenix area.

It is a Pentair Intelliflo i2 variable speed pump. The manual states this:

1. For most installations Pentair recommends installing a valve on both the pump suction and return lines so that the pump can be isolated during routine maintenance. However, it is recommended that a valve, elbow or tee installed in the suction line should be no closer to the front of the pump than five (5) times the suction line pipe diameter. See Figure 2.
   Example:
   A 2 inch pipe requires a 10 inch (254 mm) straight run in front of the suction inlet of the pump). This will help the pump prime faster and last longer.

So it seems they recommend a 12.5" length in front of the pump. As is, it looks like there is only 12" between the LeafVac can and the pump inlet to work with and perhaps the installer did the 45" elbow to account for this.




You can see about 6/8" of exposed 2" pipe between the Triangle and the 'LEAF VAC' sticker. I'm assuming I'd have about .5" inch exposed piper after waste from cutting and what looks like a curve on the left end of that pipe.

 

[1poolman1]

Your plumbing is 2". The measurement is the inside diameter. Installers often used 45's as a way to smooth water flow and have less resistance compared to a single 90.