highlt

I put a 20x48 inground vinyl liner pool in 3 summers ago. During design my main focus was on the plumbing system since this is the key to the pool's success for cleanliness, easy closing and future problems. I decided to go with 2 inch PVC pipe underground and had independent lines run for each line(returns, skimmer, main) etc. I have a manifold where all pipes come into with the valves and also have an extra valve to convert the main drain to a return for heating the pool from the bottom on the deep end. I put in 2 skimmers, 4 returns and dual main drains. Ensure they tee only main drain for safety reasons to prevent any one from getting caught on the main. The plumging is where I started because I knew nothing either when I started. I didn't even know what a skimmer was. I did a couple weeks of studying on the terms and then went to various pool builders to see what they offered and ended up slightly modifying a company's design to fit my needs. The 2 inch allows me to pump 85 gallons a minute which allows me to turn the pool over in 9 hours. Therefore I only run the pump 9 hours a day to save on electricity. I recommend you go 2 inch minimum. Second, you will need to decide on the type of filter you want to use. DE, Cartridge or sand. I chose sand do to the easy maintenance. My water stays very clear. You also may want to have an Ionizer if you do not want to smell Chlorine and have stiff hair after swimming. Lastly, if your considering a heater or heat pump now or in future have them plumb it and put the unions in with valves and just turn them off until you get the heater. Third, ensure you take into account all the anchors you require in the pool deck for future toys. I have anchors for a basketball hoop and volley ball. Just drop the basketball backborad into the anchors or the volley ball posts and we can play all day. Very fun. If you plan on any slides in the now or in the future plan the anchors and have them set when the pool deck is poured. Fourth, for accessories I recommend a robot pool cleaner from Blue Diamond or Aquabot. They are nice but expensive. Prices range from $600 and up. I bought a Blue Diamond and it does a great job. Just drop it in and hit a button and an hour and half later it's clean. Once or twice a year I clean the filter bag. I could type a lot on this subject because I was very *** about my pool build. It took me about 1.5 months to plan it. The only thing I would do different is I would have put my basketball hoop on the side instead of the end. Since I have the basketball hoop on one end and the diving board on the other I have to pull the solar cover over the diving board and it likes to get caught on the board. Other than that I'm happy with my pool and wouldn't change a thing. You should consider vinyl over fiberglass. Chemicals are not that much and maintenance is simple. As stated earlier I have an ionizer and add about 1 gallon of liquid chlorine every 5 - 7 days depending on temperature and use and that's it. Test the water about every two weeks for PH and drop the cleaner in about once a week. Maintenance is easy. Best of luck.

Keep in minda I will have stand pipes in each return and Gizzmo's in each skimmer with water level not dropped. I'm also considering buying a skimmer plate cover for each skimmer for double protection for skimmer. I'm an over-kill guy.

Appreciate the feedback guys. My new plan is to use a Cyclone Blower Vac for blowing the lines. Below is my plan. My main questions are around position for multi-port valve and if I should leave all ball valves open except main once all lines are blown. When the pool company closed it last year they opened all ball valves but main and didn't understand why you would not leave closed. I'd appreciate someone that knows what there doing review my plan and let me know if you see anything wrong with it. I can handle all the closing but I'm a bit nervous about the line blowing portion being my first time. Thanks Blow out lines with Cyclone Liner Vac A. Remove drain plugs from pump and filter. Disconnect union on pump on suction side and place blower hose in it. C. Turn off all ball valves except one return. D. Turn Sand filter multi-port valve to recirculate. E. After first line(return) is complete, turn ball valve off, add one gallon anti-freeze and cap it. F. Open next valve for next line and repeat step F for each line and do all returns and skimmers. G. Once all skimmers and returns are completed do main drain. H. Open main drain, turn on vac, once you see bubbles, turn off main drain valve to air lock it. I. Turn multi-port valve to backwash. J. Open heat pump ball valves and enable compressor to blow water out of heat pump and filter. K. Add some antifreeze to pump and set multi-port in winterize position. L. Open all ball valves except main drain.

Another question. When I"m blowing the returns, skimmers and main do I just leave the multi-port on re-circulate? I assume I just put multi-port in rinse to clear out the sand filter. I could do this last after I do each line. As stated above, I have ball valves on each line. Thanks

I think I'll spend the money to get the Cyclone blower. I'm hoping I get a couple friends to chip in so we can share it. I don't think it's worth the risk of using the compressor or a Shop VAC.

I appreciate your feedback Afiremanfirst. I was hoping to get some good advice on this forum for closing. I'm a bit nervous because we get lots of snow/ice/freeze here in Ohio. I"m considering buying a Cyclone Vac Blower to blow the lines because I want to ensure I don't screw up. Sounds like you don't have to worry to much in TX. Again, thanks for your responses and hopefully someone will chime in to help us.

I live in Ohio.

Guys- This will be my first time closing a pool and I'd appreciate any feedback on my plan below. A few things to be aware of for my pool. Each line is independently plumbed with ball valves and I plan to insert stand pipes in each return and use Ultra Gizzmos for each skimmer. I'm most concerned about the line blowing. I watched a pool company do it last year and they had a professional Cyclone blower. I'm assuming I can use my 6 HP/30 gallon Craftsman air compressor to blow the lines. Any suggestions appreciated. 1. Remove ladders, hand rails and skimmer baskets. 2. Wrap Ultra Gizzmos with Teflon tape and insert into skimmers. Leave caps off. 3. Remove returns and eyes. 4. Wrap stand pipes with teflon and insert into each return. 5. Blow out lines with compressor 0. Turn on compressor and set PSI to 25 and let it fill up(30 Gallon). A. Turn off all ball valves except one return. B. Turn Sand filter multi-port valve to recirculate. C. Remove one drain plug on pump and let it drain. D.Insert compressor fitting into drain on pump. E. Once PSI has been reached on compressor and tank is full, connect hose to fitting on filter and turn it on to blow out first line. F. After first line(return) is complete, turn ball valve off, add one gallon anti-freeze and cap it. G. Open next valve for next line and repeatstep F for each line. H. Once all skimmers and returns are completed and off do main drain. I. Open main drain, turn on compressor, once you see bubbles, turn off main drain valve to air lock it. J. Open heat pump ball valves and enable compressor to blow water out of heat pump. K. Add some antifreeze to pump. 7. As extra safety for skimmers, in addition to Ultra Gizzmo insert compression plate covers and suck water out of each skimmer with shop-vac. Put duct tape over hole on skimmer. 8. Remove other drain plug on pump and the filter drain plug. 8. Open all ball valves except main drain. 9. Cover the pool.

Hi Guys- I live in Ohio and had my pool closed in 10/09 by a Pool company. I have a solid cover on the pool and after all this snow I noticed my cover appeared to be much lower than normal and a bit stressed. When the pool was closed, the water line was at half the skimmer level like when it's open. I went out today and looked in the skimmer and I can barely see water at the bottom of the skimmer. I called the pool company and they said it could have evaporated but I'm worried that losing 3-4 inches of water in a 20x48 pool indicates a leak. All the returns are sealed off with stand pipes. The skimmers have gizmos in them with a crushed bottle. If it's leaking I assume it would have to be the main drain? Any thoughts? If there is an issue, would the pool company be liable to repair it? Help much appreciated. Thanks

There will be one vac port. I've re-configured and I'm trying to finalize decision with the following two options now. Guys- Final decision. I've narrowed this down to two options and would like some feedback on what people think is the best. Option 1 1. 4 returns plumbed on seperate lines with ball valves on each line 2. 2 skimmers plumbed on seperate lines with ball valves on each skimmer 3. 2 drains on the same line tee'ed with a ball valve 4. Hayward S370T2 filter 5. Hayward Northstar 1.5 HP pump 6. Everything is plumbed in 2 inch pipe Option 2 Same as above except the underground pipes are 1.5 inch and all run into 2 inch manifold so all lines coming from 2 inch manifold go to 2 inch connectors on pump and filter. I'm considering option 2 because one of the pool builders is concerned I will not have enough suction for pool clearn if I use 2 inch underground. Any suggestions.

Guys- Thanks for your help. I think I have decided to make them use the 2 inch pipe. I will have them use reducers for 1.5. inlets/outlets on pool if it doesn't matter. The idea would be 2 inch pipe for everything and anywhere on the pool the 2 inch pipe would redcue to 1.5. The pump and filter will have 2 inch fittings. It doesn't sound like using 2 inch pipe will cause any issues. Will you guys please confirm? My plan is the following as of now. Plumbing recommendations based on feedback My Plumbing recommendations based on feedback 1. 2 drains (plumbed together with shutoff valve) 2. 4 returns (on same line) 3. 2 skimmers (on same line) 4. 2 inch pipe for everything 5. s270t2(3.71) filter 2 inch fitting 6. Hayward Super Pump II 1.5 HP 2 inch fitting 7. Hayward Heat Pump 1.5 fitting so have to use reducer to connect 2 inch pipe Any feedback on plumbing recommendation appreciated. Thanks Terry

Guys- Thanks for the feedback. They are not using flex. They are using rigid schedule 40 pvc. There recommendation is the following for a 20x48 vinyl lined pool. 8 ft deep end 3.5 ft shallow average depth 5.75 1.5 schedule 40 pvc for everything 1.5 Hayward Super Pump 244t hayward pump 2 returns 1 main drain Questions 1. Does the pump and filter need to have a 2 inch fitting or can it take a 1.5 inch reducer to connecto 2 inch pipe? If you reduce it what's the advantage? The Hayward super pumps are all 1.5 inch unless you move to 2 hp. 2. Let me ask it another way. If I have them run 2 inch pipe for everything, but use 1.5 inch reducer at pool inlets and returns is it ok? Are there any advantages or does pool inlets, pump, filter etc. need to accept a full two inch pipe. Thanks

Hi I'm in the process of contracting a pool that is 20x48 with an average depth of 5.75. The pool will include an 8 ft deep end and an 3.5 ft shallow. The shallow end will be 24 ft in length and the other half will be the deep end. The contractor states using a 1.5 HP Hayward Super Pump, Hayward 240t filter and 1.5 inch pipe will be sufficient to keep the pool clean in a 10 - 12 hour turnover cycle. My question is this. If a 1.5 inch PVC pipe can only take 42 GPM shouldn't the pool require a 2 inch pipe? They continually state that the pool will be fine with 1.5 inch pipe and state the following reasons for discouraging me away from 2 inch pipe. 1. more surface area in the pipe makes the pressure flow into the pool less, thus less pressure means less movement of water and more time for water to get back to the skimmers. 2. Any automatic cleaner you use will run slower and may stop and go and will need an upsize adapter to 2” 3. all inlets and outlets in the pool wall and floor are factory cut for 1 ½ “ so an extra $600 will be added to the price to up size these openings. I want to ensure 1.5 inch pipe is ok to use for a 20x48 pool because from what i have read a 42 GPM flow rate is the maximum for this size pipe. Please help me. I'm not writing a contract until I get this issue resolved.