Repluming Equipment Pad Questions

[Wkessler]

I am about to relocate my equipment to a new pad I am going to pour. I am doing this to move the equipment to a better place and in the relocation, I can remove some unneeded 90 and 45's & replace the valves with ones that do not require a wrench to turn (They are old and just very hard to operate).

During this time I am going to change my single speed pump to a variable speed pump with flow control.


Here is my question.

My pool has 1 1/2" plumming, what are the pro's & cons of doing the equipment pad in 2" plumming?

If this is a good idea I will be buying a new valve for my filter with 2" fittings.

Just opening up a thread to discuss this idea.

Thanks for any advice along the way.

 

[cowboycasey]

Welcome to TFP

If everything is working now and you are happy with the pressures then no need to have 2 inch just at the pad... Just by changing out to a VS pump will help wonders in lowering your pressures... Great job on using the Jandy neverlube fittings and unions.. think about closing the pool and put a couple unions in to help with blowing the lines out of the suction side and pressure side...

Speaking of which, get some of these for your pump, makes it super simple to pull it out when needed

Custom Molded Products CMP Pool Pump Union 1.5" Male x 1.5" Socket - 21063-150-000 - INYOPools.com

CMP 1.5" MIP, 1.5" Socket (2" Spigot) - 21063-150-000

www.inyopools.com

Stick around and check out the site

Pool School

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Jimrahbe]

W,

Changing your above ground plumbing to 2" and getting rid of a few 90 degree fittings will have virtually no effect on the operation or your pool.. If it helps at all, it will be such a small amount you will not even notice.. That said.. it won't hurt anything either..

Keep in mind the most of the time, your VS pump will be running at a low RPM, so plumbing size just makes no difference.

Good luck with your project.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Dirk]

If you have room to spare, leave generous lengths of PVC between everything. Picture what would need to happen should one of your components need to be replaced. Some plumbers jam everything close together, and if one component goes bad, you sometimes need to replace more than that one because there's no way to cut in the new one. If there is enough PVC pipe between the bad component and the rest, you can cut the PVC and replace just the bad using PVC couplers.

Have a look at your old pad, and you'll probably see what I mean if some of your gear is glued closely together.

Take this opportunity to rid your system of any funky ball valves. Reassess the plumbing scheme for improvements. Like replacing two two-way valves with one three-way. Plot out the location of things for easier access: for valve adjustments, SWG control and cleaning, filter cleanings, gauge reading, etc. Things of that nature.

Consider a heater bypass if you have a heater. Heaters can really add a lot of resistance and you'll be able to dial down the pump in the off season if there is a bypass.

Get rid of any unneeded check valves.

I agree with what Jim is telling you 100%, but I would go to 2" anyway, and I'd use sweep 90s to further improve flow (just to get his goat! ). Between that and a heater bypass, you might actually notice improvement (better flow = lower RPMs = less $). As Jim points out, the difference would be minimal, and might not even recoup the added cost of the PVC for many moons.

If you post some pictures of your existing pad, and fill in you signature with details about your pool, we might be able to catch some other things.

 

[Wkessler]

I do not have a heater, but when I pour the pad I am adding enough space for that if we decide to add one later.

I agree on adding space, mine is very cramped and on top of each other.

I was thinking of adding a Flowvis for when I upgrade my pump I can see the flow. However, will I even need that if I put in a pump with flow control?

I had planned on the sweep 90's and rebuilding the manifold on the suction side to reduce the T's they used and using a 4-way coupler if I can get everything to line up. Thoughts? Use a 4way on the suction side or build it with them all in line using T's and a 90 on the last pipe?

I have 2 skimmers and 1 main drain on the suction side.

I have 2 returns and an old closed off Polaris port in the middle of the pool that is capped and behind the liner. When I change the liner next spring I plan on using that middle return to hook up a fountian by request of the wife to be used as a visual and audible feature so I will put it on its own valve. We do not need it for cooling the pool as it hardly reaches 86 in the hottest parts of the summer (LOTS of shade, only full sun coverage for 2-3 hours a day). I am getting some trees trimmed this fall in the hopes to cut down on debris and add more sunshine to the pool area.

I do not have any check valves in the plumbing currently. My equipment is near the water level so I do not have an issue of the pump priming when I open the pump lid.



One of the issues I foresee is when I go to cut my old plumming out, the lines will be below the water level. I plan on plugging the skimmer ports and capping the return ports so I can glue without running water. What is the best way to plug the drain line so I can glue in the pipe? I know I could drain the water below the pipe level, but that would be 1-2 feet of water.


I asked about the 2" pipe because I was curious if it would move water better if I added a heater, fountians, or jets with the greater volume of water the pump could move in the 2" pipes. Any additions I would add would be done in 2" piping.

 

[Dirk]

I had planned on the sweep 90's and rebuilding the manifold on the suction side to reduce the T's they used and using a 4-way coupler if I can get everything to line up. Thoughts? Use a 4way on the suction side or build it with them all in line using T's and a 90 on the last pipe?

I'm not sure what a four-way is. With three suction-side sources, you would use two three-way Jandy pool valves. Those would allow you to dial up-down the flow through all three pipes. Some would use three two-way valves for that, but with that configuration, its possible to inadvertently shut off all the flow, which would starve the pump. With two three-way valves you have the same amount of control, but there is no way to completely starve the pump. The exception to that is if your pad will be below the surface of the water, then you need three two-ways (plus two-ways on the return(s)) so that you can isolate the pad if you need to work on it (to avoid the problem you have now with the old plumbing).

I asked about the 2" pipe because I was curious if it would move water better if I added a heater, fountians, or jets with the greater volume of water the pump could move in the 2" pipes. Any additions I would add would be done in 2" piping.

This was one of the reasons I suggested the 2" size. It won't hurt anything, won't cost significantly more, but gives you the flexibility of having 2" if you ever needed it (without having to completely redo the pad again). There is a science to which size pipes to use for what, but I'm afraid it is beyond me. @JamesW know that stuff cold.

 

[Dirk]

I was thinking of adding a Flowvis for when I upgrade my pump I can see the flow. However, will I even need that if I put in a pump with flow control?

I use my FlowVis often, and have gotten good value from its purchase. But I had a specific need: to dial in the flow rate for my solar panels. I still use it to check on the flow rate for my solar, and to monitor flow through my SWG, filter and suction-side vac. But other than the solar panels, those other three purposes can be done by other means that don't cost anything.

FYI, the FlowVis is also a check valve, so if you have a need for one, that is a justification for at least part of the cost of a FlowVis. I needed a check valve for my solar panels, so I made it a FlowVis: kind of a "two-fer."

Pumps that express flow rate don't actually measure the flow like a FlowVis does, they "guesstimate" the flow rate based on RPMs and watts used. I don't know how accurate that is, but it might be close enough for whatever your need for monitoring flow is.

And if you don't have an actual need, then you don't need to pay extra for the Vis or that type of pump.