Automatic Pool Fill

[nuttyp]

I thought I would share how I implemented an automatic pool filler. Many of us tire of dragging a hose to the side of the pool. And many have tried various gadgets that lay over the side of the pool to sense level and fill, but we find them unreliable and they still require a pressurized hose attachment with the unsightliness of the hose and gadget. Then the hose bursts or the gadget fails and we're always out of town when it happens. Folks have also been clever to install various workarounds at the equipment pad, wherein perhaps the most common problem is satisfying the local codes that require an air gap, never a direct connection from domestic supply to the pool - even with a check valve.

I think I satisfied all the requirements by using a spare zone on my irrigation controller, piped to the top of the pool overflow in the yard. On mine, as pictured it can be seen that the filler pipe (with a short length of flexible irrigation "funny pipe" and an elbow), feeds the very top of the overflow pipe and that leaves about a 3" air gap to the typical water level. When the pool is overflowing, perhaps the air gap is reduced to an inch or so, and I did also put a check valve at the irrigation controller, just in case. There are many web-based irrigation controllers, mine is an orbit b-hyve. Filling the pool is as simple as doing a manual watering from the smartphone. I get 10GPM through it, so in dry seasons setting a 15 or 20 minute "manual watering" usually does the trick. I guess that's only "semi" automatic because it does not sense level, but if I were to be gone for a few weeks could just set it to run for 20 minutes once per week or two. Or observe the pool with a security camera and add water when needed.

If it didn't pass muster for a local inspector, I suppose it could be improved by mounting the funny pipe higher with an inch or so of separation from the overflow PVC and allow the water to shoot through the hole. Also, at 10 GPM the flow tends to dislodge the skimmer basket for a few minutes, which serves to remind me to keep the basket clean. Or I could reduce the flow with a valve.

One DIY lesson learned (more than once): Never use a keyless chuck to drill vertically into something if you can't access the other side. A sinking feeling when I watched the drill bit slip out of the chuck and sink 2 feet down the overflow pipe. Luckily a coat hanger with small earth magnets made retrieval of the drill bit easy Comments most welcome.

 

[Texas Splash]

Never use a keyless chuck to drill vertically into something if you can't access the other side. A sinking feeling when I watched the drill bit slip out of the chuck and sink 2 feet down the overflow pipe.

Oh my. I can image. Thanks for sharing.