Re-Plumbing Advice

[buoyant1]

Hi all. Looking for some advice as someone with rather basic plumbing skills. Pictured is my current setup inherited from previous owners:


When I open in the spring, I'm looking to do a few things:

• Replace the corrugated hoses with more standard PVC or Flex PVC
• Install a new heater (Raypak Natural Gas) and re-introduce the heater into the plumbing
• Install a Jandy check valve after the heater
• Install an external heater bypass with a Jandy 3-way
• Install unions at all points where disconnection is needed for winterization
• Install an inline or offline chlorinator (currently using a floater but want to protect the heater from concentrated chlorine as much as possible)

I plan to have a pro install the gas heater, but I'd like to DIY as much of the plumbing as possible. I've read that rigid PVC is the preferred choice. As you can see in the layout of the equipment, I don't have a ton of room to work with. So my main question is - is it even possible to pull off all rigid PVC with the layout I'm working with? Or will some flex PVC be inevitable to due to the number of sharp turns? I've read that having too many 90s will result in head loss, but I may be overthinking it.

Any other advice/gotchas to be aware of as I plan this out would be much appreciated.

 

[PoolStored]

PVC is right. Use Schedule 40. Do not use DWV plumbing or fittings.
Do not use flex PVC. You can figure it out with hard 45s and 90s. The head loss will be minimal.
Get a salt water chlorine generator to chlorinate.

PVC Repair - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

SWG How It Works - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Newdude]

is it even possible to pull off all rigid PVC with the layout I'm working with?

Is the filter output threaded with a barbed fitting, or just barbed ?

Install an inline or offline chlorinator (currently using a floater but want to protect the heater from concentrated chlorine as much as possible)

Do not install a tab feeder. Cyanuric acid will eat away at the on/off controller guts. Not if, but how long will it take ? Eventually it will leak acid into the plumbing when the pump is off.

Stick with the floater for those times tabs are needed.

+1 on SWG. It's the bees knees.

 

[buoyant1]

Is the filter output threaded with a barbed fitting, or just barbed ?

It's threaded with a barbed fitting screwed in.

Do not install a tab feeder. Cyanuric acid will eat away at the on/off controller guts. Not if, but how long will it take ? Eventually it will leak acid into the plumbing when the pump is off.

Stick with the floater for those times tabs are needed.

+1 on SWG. It's the bees knees.

I don't know that I'm willing to bite the bullet on the up-front cost of a SWG at the moment. Assuming I stick with regular chlorine for now - should I consider switching to liquid? If I stuck with a floater, I'm concerned about it floating too close to the skimmer and sending concentrated water to the heater. I'm not too concerned about CYA as I don't mind replacing water here and there, and I keep a close eye on it. My concern more so lies with protecting the copper heat exchanger (which I've read does not do well with salt water?)

 

[buoyant1]

PVC is right. Use Schedule 40. Do not use DWV plumbing or fittings.
Do not use flex PVC. You can figure it out with hard 45s and 90s. The head loss will be minimal.
Get a salt water chlorine generator to chlorinate.

PVC Repair - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

SWG How It Works - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Appreciate the advice. For the piping coming out of the filter - do you recommend that I run it back to ground level so it's not suspended in the air? Or should I install some form of supports and keep it elevated? Trying to map out the piping in my head, especially with all the intersecting pipe that will need to pass over each other at some points.

 

[PoolStored]

do you recommend that I run it back to ground level so it's not suspended in the air? Or should I install some form of supports and keep it elevated?

One or the other. If you have long runs above ground, they need to be supported.

 

[Newdude]

I don't know that I'm willing to bite the bullet on the up-front cost of a SWG at the moment

Just because the SWG is the cheapest way to chlorinate long term, doesn't make the funds available to switch today. I hear ya.

Assuming I stick with regular chlorine for now - should I consider switching to liquid?

I would use liquid chlorine. For every 10 CYA you need to raise your FC target proportionately. 4 pucks is about 10 CYA for you so it'll spiral out of control quickly, but your short season and lots of rain will help some. The less work approach with tabs makes more work paying attention and fixing it IMO.

But either way you decide, all lines on this chart are equal for sanitizing

If I stuck with a floater, I'm concerned about it floating too close to the skimmer and sending concentrated water to the heater.

Don't be.

My concern more so lies with protecting the copper heat exchanger (which I've read does not do well with salt water?)

We have 1000s of Raypak heaters on salt pools here. Low Ph wrecks heaters, like if CYA is dissolving a few inches away from them. You install a check valve to help, but it only adds a sacrificial hurdle before the tabs are eating the heater.

The floater, even if it hangs out in front of the skimmer, has many galloms ripping past it to dillite the tabs by the time any of it gets near the equipment.

Or the SWG which isn't a problem with modern equipment. It's only 10% of seawater anyway.

It's threaded with a barbed fitting screwed in.

Awesome. So all the flex can go.