Water for pool slide

[jrh1010]

We are going to put a pool slide on the deck of our new pool. It is like the ones you see on the inground pools. My question is, how do I plumb for the slide. It has an adapter at the bottom of the stops, that looks like you just screw a waterhose into it, but that would be putting water in the pool everytime I turned it on which I dont want to do. Additionally, there is no water hose hookup in that part of my yard, so the water hose would have to be run 50-60 feet, then come up 4 feet to the deck, and then up an additional 8' to the top of the slide. I dont think the pressure will be such that it can get that far up. One alternative I considered was picking up a pump from harbor freight, with a tap line directly into the pool and directly to the top of the slide, by passing using the hose connector. But I would much rather just have the water for the slide tapped off the existing pool plumbing so it is just recycling the water from the pool. Can anyone provide feedback on this dilemna? Thanks.

 

[gkruske]

That's exactly what I will be doing this weekend, after I'm done refinishing that identical slide. I don't think you'll have a pressure issue from the garden hose. House pressure is usually between 60-80 PSI. If you still have the slide plumbing intact, you'll notice that it's nothing more than ice maker line. So, the pressure will increase from the 3/4 inch garden hose down to the 1/4 inch ice maker line. That is, if you want to go this route.

My plan is to make my own T-fitting, and screw it in on a return. I have to make my own simply to reduce it's size....might be tempting for some kid to use it as a step to get out. I'll screw one end into the return, and place the eyeball directly opposite. Put a 1.5 inch to 1 inch bushing on the T, and run spa flex to the ice maker line.

Of course, it sounds simple in my head. I'll find some way to screw it up.

I think a HF pump would be a bad idea. Sure, they're cheap, but I think the clear water pumps are 30 GPM....probably way too much pressure, and you'd have a hard time getting it primed. And you would have an electrical cord laying around for someone to trip over.

Edit - just noticed that you're under construction. Why not just have it hard plumbed now?

 

[jrh1010]

I would like to hard plumb it now, but I dont really know how. Do you run a 2" T off the return (the return is about 2' from the return outlet and I am running 2" hard PVC. Then just work the PVC down to a fitting that goes in the hose port on the slide, or do I tap the return line with the 1/4 flex hose the supplies the water to the top of the slide. I have never done plumbing, and plumbing the system shouldnt be much of an issue, but I dont know enough about the available adapters to know what would work to get the pressure I need to that location. If that makes sense.

 

[jblizzle]

Just to offer some more info that could be useful (or not )

I have a similar slide with 2 sprays that is fed by 1/4" copper tube. I have a small brass ball valve I use to regulate the amount of water to the slide (it is not much). The brass valve is fed by a fresh water 3/4" PVC pipe, but I can not recall what adapters I used off hand.

In my experience, I like using the fresh water on the slide as it compensates for the water lost every time someone climbs out of the pool to use the slide or diving board. I only turn the slide on when we are out swimming and even if I leave it on for a few hours, I have yet to see a noticeable water level rise (like I said it is not much water flow).

Now if you intend to leave the slide running a LOT of the time for aeration or cooling purposes, then using fresh water may not be a good idea. But, if you are only going to run it when in use, I see no problem using fresh water.

 

[jrh1010]

With the size of the pool, it is taking 12 hours to get 8 inches of water with 2 hoses running, so I could probably get by with just putting it on the waterhose and bringing the hose through the bottom of the deck. But I was really hoping to just hard plumb it so it could run the same time the pool is running. Which now that I think about it, I hope to be able to run the pool for 12 on 12 off and have the necessary turnover, but it may end up having to run all the time. So it makes sense to put it on a hose so I could turn it off and on when I wanted to. I think that may be the ticket. Just run a waterhose to it. It would be much cheaper just to plumb it though and I wouldnt have to pay water and sewar on it everytime the hose was running. Two options, but not sure which one to choose. Hmmm. I guess I can T off my return line and cap it, which I should probably do anyway just to have the access incase I want to add something else. Like a waterfall or something.

 

[jblizzle]

You will be paying water and sewer for the water you will have to add to the pool after everyone is getting out of the pool to use the slide anyway ... or due to evaporation. Just depends if you want to be adding the water slowly while using the slide or wait until the level drops and add the water then. Although if you get a lot of rain to refill your pool (we do not here in AZ), then I could see how you may not have to top your pool off.

I have not measured, but I would guess that running my slide for 2 hours uses less water than the shower I take after swimming ... that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point.

 

[jrh1010]

I do J, and that makes total sense. I think I am going to T off the return line and cap it, give it some more thought, and then make a decision after the deck is built. I was thinking the sound of the pool water coming off the slide into the water would give the wife and I some ambiance also. But that would only work it the pump ran all the time, which I would LOVE not to do. So on a standard waterhose, I could just turn it off and on as I want. The waterhose is seeming more and more like the ticket. I guess I just wanted to be cool and tie it into the plumbing like I was doing something. :lol:

 

[gkruske]

I think you've got the right idea. Give yourself an option, and it's much easier to add that option now since you're under construction with the plumbing.

 

[jrh1010]

Has anyone plubed there own and found the ball valve to be extremely hard to turn? I got it from Lowes, but am thinking about going to a plumbing supply store to get a better quality valve.

 

[jblizzle]

I have to recommend the actual pool valves (Jandy Neverlube or Pentair or Hayward equivalent). They cost 3-4 times as much (~$40 each), but the regular PVC ball valves get stiff and the handles break and you have to start over with plumbing.

The pool valves have lifetime warranties and the seals are completely rebuildable with no plumbing changes. There was someone on the forum who had the housing crack on a Jandy valve ... they sent him a new one no questions asked.

 

[jrh1010]

Dang, I have everything and am ready to go tonight. I might stop by a pool store on the way home and see what they have. Thanks for the advice. The others are not cheap either. I ended up going with a true union that has the ball valve in the middle. I think the part was $22.

 

[jblizzle]

The pool store should have them, but they might be >$50. But, they will never get too stiff to turn and you can fix them.

 

[jrh1010]

Sounds good. I need to get this pump up and running. This pool is taking days to fill and the water is getting a green tint to it from just sitting there. I wil be shocking it good once it is set up though. Tonight we do sand in the filter and some plumbing, just maybe not the unions. Ill have to find some specs of the unions on line so I can make sure the cuts from the PVC are right.