Water Circulation for Rectangle Pool

isee

Active member
Apr 22, 2024
28
Iowa
I've got an Intex XTR 12x24 that I'm going to be installing PVC plumbing on and a Pentair 1.5hp VS pump and good sized Pentair cartridge filter to go with it. The pool is rated at 52 inches deep throughout but realistically is more like 48 inches. The size of the pump is probably overkill, I know, but I wanted to have a really powerful pump that I could run at a low speed that would still get lots of turnover. I also did some home testing and verified on a state-wide climatology site that winds primarily come from the south to south-east during pool season where I'm at, at least over the past 20 years or so. The pool is almost perfectly positioned North to South length-wise.

I know that "current" (no pun intended :) ) thought is to make your water into a vortex of sorts with your returns but for a pool this size and shape wouldn't it be at least just as good to push the water directly across the pool from the corners and center from the returns on one side while having it pulled across the pool with the intake and skimmer doing their thing on the opposite? With the corners being the generally weak spots for water movement this setup would have all 4 of them covered. I have a wide-mouth Hayward skimmer and adjustable Hayward 1 inch returns and a an additional 1 inch for the intake with a grate that screws over it. I will be using 1.5 inch PVC sch 40 to connect the the intake and skimmer to a Pentair 3 way, then use 2 inch PVC to the pump from that. A similar setup will be done with 2 inch and 1.5 inch PVC sch40 from the filter to the returns. Looking for some feedback or flaws in my logic on this. Or if you have any ideas on better placement for any of these components including direction of return nozzles I'd be grateful to learn about that too.

Some of my other thoughts were to the size of the return openings and if 1 inch would be too big, at least for the returns. Maybe smaller diameter for more pressure to push the water across the pool? Or maybe only use two returns? Thanks!

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looks like fun overkill but I am a fan of across the pool rather than a circle - even in my round pool. :ROFLMAO:

get a robot for the bottom - that will take care of circulation. skimmer for cleaning surface.
 
You want the skimmer opening to face the prevailing winds. For surface skimming, winds will overpower currents in the water.
 
looks like fun overkill but I am a fan of across the pool rather than a circle - even in my round pool. :ROFLMAO:

get a robot for the bottom - that will take care of circulation. skimmer for cleaning surface.
Thanks for the feedback! It just seems to me that an above ground rectangle pool with a single depth might be better off to filter from one side to the other because the shape does not make it conductive to creating a vortex. I've got a Dolphin I run every other day or so and I always keep it covered when not in use.
 
You want the skimmer opening to face the prevailing winds. For surface skimming, winds will overpower currents in the water.
I apologize if I wasn't clear in my original post but the winds do primarily come from the South / South-East which is why I am planning on putting the skimmer in the North side of the pool with the opening facing South.
 
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I apologize if I wasn't clear in my original post but the winds do primarily come from the South / South-East which is why I am planning on putting the skimmer in the North side of the pool with the opening facing South.
That is odd. Iowa's prevailing winds are westerly between 30°N and 60°N (so prevailing winds are typically WNW).
 
That is odd. Iowa's prevailing winds are westerly between 30°N and 60°N (so prevailing winds are typically WNW).
I used this site to verify my findings and I found it interesting that depending on the season the prevailing winds change. I'm mostly interested in late April through early September.


Any thoughts on the plumbing setup I'm thinking about doing?
 
3 returns all in a row on the 12ft side is a bit of overkill.
Maybe 2 on that end (1 high, 1 low) & something nearer the skimmer end (maybe in the middle of the longer side pointing downward & over) so you don’t have any dead spots.
This would also give you more directional choices instead of having all your eggs in one basket so to speak if the prevailing winds prediction doesn’t completely pan out.
 
3 returns all in a row on the 12ft side is a bit of overkill.
Maybe 2 on that end (1 high, 1 low) & something nearer the skimmer end (maybe in the middle of the longer side pointing downward & over) so you don’t have any dead spots.
This would also give you more directional choices instead of having all your eggs in one basket so to speak if the prevailing winds prediction doesn’t completely pan out.
I really like that idea about putting one higher than the other. Maybe I'll start with just the two on the south end and see how that goes. If I need to plumb in another it won't be much trouble because it's all right there above ground. I do like the idea of the third in the middle though too. Hmm, decisions, decisions... thanks for the thoughts!
 
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In case anyone is interested I'll save you the click but here's an example of data and averages for April through September 1970-2023. I think the site is really cool and I stumbled across a few other ones like this for other states before coming across mine so if anyone else is looking to double check their wind tests the data is probably out there.


@PoolStored is absolutely correct that the non-swimming season months winds are North-West heavy, but why would anyone care about those months ;)
 

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Very cool!
I have no clue what my prevailing wind is lol 😂 I just knew where I wanted my equipment & skimmer to be positioned for aesthetic & practical purposes. I have a round pool so the toilet bowl effect tends to take care of things. I am also 1/2 buried so an entire 1/2 of the circle was out of the equation for skimmer & jets
 
Just when you thought you have seen it all, someone comes up with a new idea :)

I do want to throw out 1 thing that comes to mind that goes back to the "default" location of the intakes and return. By using a larger pump, the return's stream is much stronger thus "churning" the water more so than the stock system could. I have played with different positions of the eye of the return to try and get more movement and even tried this:


I also run the Intex bot off the return which also helps churning up the water a little more.

Being a rectangular pool (not even oval), I can see how and why you came up with this new design and how it would be much better at churning the water. I'll be very interested in seeing pictures of the plumbing as well as how it works given some operating time.

Quick note that just came to mind... You have a lot of PVC hanging from the pool and in areas that are not re-enforced. I would possibly look at ways of supporting the weight so that the pool does not bear the brunt of it.
 
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@CT-Steven - I too thought about the stabilizing of all the pvc. Some simple homemade tees should do the trick easily in places where the ground doesn’t provide enough stability.
@isee
Also, be sure you’re not creating “foot holds” for little ones to gain entry to the pool with the pvc configuration. Safety first!
Can’t wait to see your build!
 
Quick note that just came to mind... You have a lot of PVC hanging from the pool and in areas that are not re-enforced. I would possibly look at ways of supporting the weight so that the pool does not bear the brunt of it.

That's always good advice. My plan is to use a bit of heavy duty Flex PVC coming off the intake/skimmer/returns since the pool is soft sided and the walls do move and connect that to real PVC sch 40. The skimmer will definitely need a brace of some sort because it's huge - probably a 4x4 with a wide plywood base. Ideally I'd like to have the 3-ways sitting on the ground in treated wood half-boxes (or something to that effect) that are stabilized in place with rebar through the middle. Rebar goes in before the 3-way goes in of course ha ha. Since the weather can get super lousy and extremely cold over the winter I've got a bunch of PVC unions so I can dismantle the entire plumbing setup and I will definitely be bringing the pump and filter inside over the winter. I'm keeping the pool out though and seeing what happens. There are other folks around town that have XTR's up year round and I keep seeing them season after season so I'm going to give it a try too.

Just when you thought you have seen it all, someone comes up with a new idea :)

Thanks! That's why I wanted to pose the question because I hadn't heard of anyone doing anything like this and I know I'm going against traditional best, or at least recommended, practices. The engineer in me said this might be better but before I start cutting holes in my pool seeing what other people thought might not be a bad idea :)
 
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