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Inground Pool Pipe Repair/replacment


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USE THE RIGID PVC!!!!!!

USE THE RIGID PVC!!!!!!

USE THE RIGID PVC!!!!!!

AND GLUE THE FITTINGS!!!!!!

OK!!!

OK!!!

OK!!! I'll use rigid PVC!! But the trench isn't all that flat. Do I need to pour some sand or crushed limestone screening to make a nice base or just get it in there and dump the dirt over top???

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  • 2 weeks later...

I ended up going with the black poly.... :o I just made sure that I ran a full length of pipe for each line and made access to all the hose clamps just in case I need to get to them. I used PVC from the returns down a bit and just out from under the concrete pool decking so if I need to get to the joint where the pvc meets the poly I can get to it.

I think I have faith in the poly because if the ground moves the poly will give and I already had it in the ground in some spots for 15-20 years and when I dug it up it still looked ok and it was still working. I'll snap a few pics and post them up soon.

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Yeah totally classic thread...thanks...I just figured that with the poly I would have less joints to make and have potentially leak. The ones that I have will be accessible if there is a problem. I ran full lengths of tube for each return and skimmer. The poly I have already in the ground has performed well and the hose clamps that were in the ground for 15 years had no rust at all on them. They looked new so I used new ones of the same brand. I just thought that I go with the poly. Plus it's easier to put into the ground and if there is a rock pressing on the tube it will give a little and being above the frost line won't be a problem.

So if it's ok to bury PVC above the frost line why is it code here in TOronto to have it buried BELOW the frost line?

I'm not here to waste anyone's time I got a lot of info from many different people and after weighing the options I just though I would feel most comfortable with the Poly.

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Wow spec I wish I could keep my pool that blue

My experience with PVC--at least as used on the surface--has been disastrous as exposure to the sun evidently causes it to disintegrate. So I wonder if the black tubing refried to above might actually be ABS and whether that kind is as easy to assemble and whether it might last longer at least where exposed

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What a classic thread. Dude asking about piping, everyone says use rigid PVC, dude asks the same damn question 20 time over, and then finally listens to no one. What a waste of everyone's time :lol:

Amazing, isn't it.blink.gif NOT the only one, however.

Wow spec I wish I could keep my pool that blue

Maybe if you actually tried the advice you've been given in this forum and others for the past two years instead of being argumentative it would be!rolleyes.gif

You also have a history of asking the same question over and over again and ignoring all advice and doing what you want. Perhaps that is why your pool is green, as you stated in another thread.

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I really do appreciate all the information you guys passed on to me. I learned a lot from everyone I spoke to here and in the pool supply stores near my place. What I learned is that each type of tube has it's strengths and weaknesses. When I found the Poly tubing that was used on my pool in the ground for about 20 years and it still appeared in good shape I just felt that I would use that stuff and try and eliminate the amount of joints used by running full lengths of tube. All joints have access just in case.

Once again I appreciate everyone that chimed in to help me here. It wasn't a waste of time to me. I hope this thread can help someone else in the future as well...

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  • 1 year later...

I live in Canada too, and the frost can heave anything above 36" depending on the cold and thaw experienced. Last year I noticed my water level dropping down to the level of the jets. I paid the pool company $2000 to repair it. They first brought in a camera, scoped the plumbing, and at that point they said they had to change a line to one of the jets. Instead of digging up the concrete apron entirely, they cut a narrow slot, and routed a second pipe (flexible) out to the grass and back to the pump while leaving the first one (rigid) buried under the concrete apron. The original pipe where it exited the apron and went under the grass back to the pump was only down about a foot. I had blown all the lines out the previous fall and installed pool antifreeze in them. The pipe still broke. This year the same thing happened on the opposited side of the pool to my second jet. The water level started dropping after I pulled the winter plugs out. I could tell it is this jet because you can feel a suction on the jet if you put your hand on it. This is with the pump off and all other winter plugs removed. I also feel the same suction at the pipe from the skimmer to the pump. I am guessing I have two leaks this year. The suction would probably be normal if it were immediatly after you pulled the plugs as the pipes have to fill up, but this was an hour afterwards and my water level had already dropped about 6 inches.

I recognize the concerns of frost by the above poster "Fullspectrum". I would think the flexible pipe would have some give to it, while the rigid wouldn't. My new flexible pipe installed by the pool company less then a foot under the surface of the ground is fine this year. Another option I thought of but much less attractive would be to use a black pipe above ground. This would absorb heat from the sun resulting in warmer water. One would only have to route it downwards to the jets or skimmer at the end of the pool.

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Just thought I would add on to the above post now that I have the ground dug up. The pool company originally installed the pool using a black poly pipe with a red stripe to both jets and the skimmer. The lines were installed under the concrete apron that surrounds the pool. Following the pipes to the apron from the pump shed, they sort of rise and drop like a roller coaster from about 2 feet down to a foot down. I dug a trench along side the apron and am tunneling into the side of the pool to the connection point. I am going to install new lines in the trench that have a slope downward towards the pool jet and skimmer. I decided to go with black poly pipe with a white stripe. It is the same pressure rating as the red but is not CSA approved for Potable water. It is rated at 75 psi. I figure if these lines don't last then I am only out $125 approx. as I bought a $100 ft roll. I have found the leak by removing the winter plug (which is under water) and listening for the gush of water from the leak. The leak is about 1/2 way from the jet to the pump shed under the concrete. This is the same type of line that is used buried in the ground for wells other then the white stripe is not approved for use for drinking water supply. I am guessing that the line originally split either because the rise and fall of the line created pockets of water that I could not blow out easily, or the frost heaved it to the point where it broke. Well poly pipe is buried at least 3 ft below to protect it from frost. I guess I will see how this lasts. If it doesn't last, I will post my results. Great site by the way

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