Replacing old ball valves with diverters

[denofa]

Howdy!

I have a formerly-foreclosed-upon pool with a handful of broken balls valves. I'd like to replace these with some higher quality diverter valves in the near future, but before we close the pool for the season. My main questions I'd like to get answered:

1. I'm pretty handy but have done minimal PVC repairs. Are there any gotchas I should be aware of doing this?
2. Is there a unanimously best diverter valve I should be looking at? My plumbing is all 2" schedule 40, so I know I'm looking at a 2" ID valve. INYOpools has a handful of options which fit the bill. I'd much rather spend the extra cash to get the best valve. (Buy once, cry once)
3. I'd also love to replace the plumbing going from the pump into the multiport valve so I can more easily clean my sand in the future. Is there any hope for getting the pipe out of the diverter valve, or am I buying a new multiport? Should I just cut a bit further to the left and put in a union?

Pictures attached, hopefully everything is clear! Ignore that weird fourth pipe, that goes to a booster pump which must have been for an old vac which is no longer in use.

 

[ajw22]

PVC Repair - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

All the diverter valves are basically the same quality.

Valves - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Lake Placid]

Those fittings will thread out of the multiport. Replace with unions. You might consider hard plumbing the old pressure side cleaner line as an additional return while you’re replacing the other valves if you’re no longer going to use a pressure side cleaner. Add an additional diverter as a metering valve on that line so you can balance its pressure with the other returns.

 

[denofa]

PVC Repair - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

All the diverter valves are basically the same quality.

Valves - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks! The PVC repair post looks like exactly what I need.

Those fittings will thread out of the multiport. Replace with unions. You might consider hard plumbing the old pressure side cleaner line as an additional return while you’re replacing the other valves if you’re no longer going to use a pressure side cleaner. Add an additional diverter as a metering valve on that line so you can balance its pressure with the other returns.

I'm glad you're confident they'll thread out. The cement/caulk looking stuff has me a little nervous.

For now, I'm just going to be doing the suction side plumbing. I think returns will be phase 2 of this project to be done at a later date. I currently have three return jets which are plumbed off of a single ball valve, which splits into two lines with one of them providing to my two shallow end jets. Needless to say, my deep end jet (closest to pump) moves significantly more water than the shallow.

On the topic of the pressure side of my system (photo attached), I am curious if simplifying the path would improve flow at all? The output of the multiport goes through a gutted mineral system, down all the way to the ground, up about a foot and a half to get to the salt cell, and then up about another foot before going into the returns. Am I losing any efficiency by it pushing the water all the way down, then back up, then down again?

 

[Lake Placid]

Am I losing any efficiency by it pushing the water all the way down, then back up, then down again?

Yes you are, but in reality if you reworked the plumbing I doubt the juice would be worth the squeeze. The change will likely be negligible. Would I change the plumbing to clean it up? Yes- but I enjoy that type of work and am too OCD to let it go.