Upsizing plumbing and comments on Waterway Pumps

IUsedToSail · Jul 23, 2020

Does anyone have a Waterway pump?

We moved into our house late last month and have gone through some new pool ownership growing pains.

See thread - New Pool - Alkalinity Off & H2O test discrepencies

In short, I rebuilt my Hayward Superpump (1.5hp) with all new seals, replaced the union closest to the pump on the suction side, and slathered lots of "Red Hot" PVC cement on all of the exposed suction side PVC joints. Everything is currently working great, however I realize the glue slop is just a temporary fix and the pump is 12 years old. Our local utility has a $400 rebate offer for variable speed pumps through September, so my plan is to replumb everything on the pad and purchase a new pump while it's being subsidized.

The pumps I'm considering are:

Pentair SuperFlow Variable Speed 1.5hp #342001 $699
Waterway Power Defender VS 1.4hp PD-140 $654

I haven't found much info as far as reviews on the Waterway, I like the fact it is designed and manufactured here in the USA as well as the two year warranty. I'm not really concerned about the pump and volute as much as the electronics on the VS motor. The biggest turn off for the Pentair is the 60 warranty. Comments are welcome and if anyone has another pump suggest that would also be great.

As far as the plumbing, it's an older pool and is currently 1.5" throughout. I plan on upsizing it to 2" on the pad.

markayash · Jul 23, 2020

I noticed the waterway on inyopools site. Seemed to have good reviews.
mine was a Inyo house brandbut has the vgreen motor and I like it. Saves a lot of power and is super quiet
Just by from a company that will stand behind it IF you have any issues.

I upgraded everything I could from 1 1/2 to 2”. With VS pumps it doesn’t help that much because I was running at 16psi and now stay around 4

IUsedToSail · Jul 23, 2020

Here is a picture of my blue goo patch up job

I'm trying to figure out why the returns are so close to the ground.

IUsedToSail · Jul 23, 2020

markayash said:
I upgraded everything I could from 1 1/2 to 2”. With VS pumps it doesn’t help that much because I was running at 16psi and now stay around 4

The water pressure drop was one of my concerns with a VS pump. My pool heater, a Raypak 406A, was throwing a Pressure/Filter/Blah Blah something else error (PRS) when the pump wasn't working correctly. This made me wonder if when I install a new VS pump if I will need to run it at a higher RPM to keep the pressure up if we are using the heater. We don't use the heater all the time, I just turn it on for an hour or so at night if my wife gets in the pool so she can sit under the fountains while our little boys basically terrorize each other (and us).

markayash · Jul 23, 2020

My heater will work at 3psi, but my pump has an override button so if I want to use full speed I can set it to run wide open for 4 hours then go back to 2100 rpm.
If I am adding chemicals I will use it sometimes
I see why you want to redo your plumbing

markayash · Jul 23, 2020

I would also replace the ball valves with diverter type values, Ball valves will freeze..I had one fail a year after a complete replumb and was a pain to fix.
I used these and even bought a spare since they have unions and can be replaced fairly easy

Amazon.com : Hayward QTA1020CSEG 2-Inch Gray QTA Series True Union PVC Compact Ball Valve with EPDM O-Rings : Patio, Lawn & Garden

www.amazon.com

IUsedToSail · Jul 23, 2020

markayash said:
I would also replace the ball valves with diverter type values, Ball valves will freeze..I had one fail a year after a complete replumb and was a pain to fix.
I used these and even bought a spare since they have unions and can be replaced fairly easy

Amazon.com : Hayward QTA1020CSEG 2-Inch Gray QTA Series True Union PVC Compact Ball Valve with EPDM O-Rings : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Amazon.com : Hayward QTA1020CSEG 2-Inch Gray QTA Series True Union PVC Compact Ball Valve with EPDM O-Rings : Patio, Lawn & Garden

www.amazon.com

Thanks! I did plan on doing that and have already bought HyrdroSeal Kaplan True Union valves.

Since I need an adapter for 1.5" to 2" plumbing anyway I was trying to decide if there is any advantage to using 2" valves instead of the 1.5". Meaning should I neck up to 2" before the valve or after? I'm not sure it will really make a difference.

Amazon.com: HYDROSEAL Kaplan 1’’ PVC True Union Ball Valve with Full Port, ASTM F1970, EPDM O-Rings and Reversible PTFE Seats, Rated at 200 PSI @73F, Gray, 1 inch Socket (1 inch): Home Improvement

Amazon.com: HYDROSEAL Kaplan 1’’ PVC True Union Ball Valve with Full Port, ASTM F1970, EPDM O-Rings and Reversible PTFE Seats, Rated at 200 PSI @73F, Gray, 1 inch Socket (1 inch): Home Improvement

www.amazon.com

markayash · Jul 23, 2020

Yea get the bigger valves

not all 1 1/2" valves are 1 1/2" inside. PLus they are usually about the same price
I used an adapter from 1 1/2 to 2" where the pipes come out or the ground and did 2" everywhere else

IUsedToSail · Aug 16, 2020

markayash said:
Yea get the bigger valves not all 1 1/2" valves are 1 1/2" inside. PLus they are usually about the same price
I used an adapter from 1 1/2 to 2" where the pipes come out or the ground and did 2" everywhere else

Okay folks, a quick update -

We've been really busy unpacking, moving the MIL in, and fixing stuff around the house. The "mother of my children" decided we needed new toilets in most of the bathrooms and ran out and purchased four of them, so I've had plenty of plumbing activities as a warm up for this job. Yesterday, despite endless diversionary tactics employed by the spouse and the kids, I decided to replumb everything after the heater to where the returns go into the ground. It took A LOT longer than I expected and included a good amount of digging in order to get adequate access to the return pipes. Anyway, it started to rain in the evening so I just dry fit everything, got up early this morning and glued it all together. Two hours later I decided to turn on the pump just to see if there were any leaks. Since I had not yet replumbed the supply side or installed the new pump I wasn't expecting any sort of change in the water flow. I was stunned, in almost two months we've owned the pool I've never seen this much water pouring out of the fountains even after a filter back flush. Seriously, I reached down and felt the return jets and just couldn't believe how much water was coming out. Anyway, I decided to cut open the old piping near the old ball valves to get a look. What I discovered was not only would they not close all the way but they were definitely impeding flow even when they were supposed to be wide open. I really like these Kaplan Hydro Seal valves, they are super easy to turn and seem like they'll probably outlast the plumbing.

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