PVC T's with spigots attached. Why?

[Sminor]

I've noticed several pictures on this site (and once on Pool Kings) of pool plumbing that has PVC T's installed as a 90 degree turn and the other end is plugged but has a spigot attached. It seems most common right after the pump discharge but I've seen them in other locations as well. What is the benefit of this type of installation? I'm thinking about redoing all my plumbing next spring and try to figure out the best setup.

Thanks for your input!

 

[Arizonarob]

If you need to drain water from your pool it’s a quick convenient way to do so.

 

[jblizzle]

Also, it might have been the access to pressure test the plumbing during install and then they just put in the spigot instead of replumbing.

You can use it as a way to gather a water sample for testing.

Or hook up a hose and hand sprayer and dominate the pool water gun battle

 

[jimmythegreek]

also on hard to prime setups you can feed the pump w water from a house line and aide in priming then close off

 

[Dirk]

Mine are plumbed into the lowest point of my "to" and "from" pipes for my roof-top solar heater so that I can drain them for winter time.

 

[Sminor]

All very good points! Thanks for your feedback. I think I will put one between my pump and filter. It would help prime when needed and I like the idea of pulling my water sample here.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Dirk]

Ooh, this would be a rare time I might have to disagree with Jason. I was taught to sample water from at least 12" deep (I do 24"), mid-pool (between shallow and deep) and away from returns and skimmers.

Sampling just after the pump would be surface water, skimmed right off the top of your pool, or possibly a combination of surface water and drain water, right off the bottom of your pool, which could skew your FC results. Not too mention that water might have just been dragged through gunk collected in either or both the skimmer basket and the pump basket, which might foul some of the other tests.

It could likely have no great impact in the grand scheme of water testing and dosing, but I wouldn't characterize it as good practice...

 

[jblizzle]

Where did I set my Ban hammer for Dirk

You raise a good point. I would not use it for water sample either, but I have seen others mention doing so. I doubt it would impact the results much, but have never tried (since I forgot to install a spigot when I replumbed )

 

[Sminor]

Hmmm... I was thinking it would be more accurate for the water sample. Mixing water from skimmer and main drain instead of random location in the pool... Anyway I would compare readings from both if I go that route.

 

[Dirk]

Let us know what you find.

Part of "best practice" is sampling while the water has been circulating a while. So as long as you do that, it's probably OK, mix wise. Doesn't address the gunk in the baskets issue. I was thinking of my own pool first, then I added the part about the drain. My pool doesn't have a drain, so if I sampled from the pad, it'd only be surface water, and in the middle of day in the middle of summer, that might not make for a good FC read. Plus, most pools are not set 50-50 drain-skimmer.

One could argue (weakly) that you adjust chemicals to maintain water condition for the swimmers and the pool surface, not the plumbing or the pumps, so technically the sample should be taken from the pool, not the plumbing...

Better still: I sample using a PVC pipe and Leslie's sample bottle. I don't get even my fingers wet. Very little stooping. I rinse both thoroughly, in pool water, and dump that back into the pool before sampling. I also dump the leftover water from the previous sampling from the bottle back into the pool. So working at the pool is far more convenient for me, and uses less water, than working at the pad. And I sometimes sneak a sample just after pump runtime, which couldn't be done at the pad...

I'm sure I can come up with even more to say about it, if you keep thumping my head!!