What is the purpose of this ball valve?

[Kisiel92]

Looking at redoing some of our pool plumbing because whoever built it did a very messy job. Is the purpose of the red ball valve I've circled as a bypass for the jandy valve which diverts water to the pool or spa? Additionally, are the red handles replaceable without replacing the entire valve?

I'm want to reverse the water heater inlet and outlet to clean up the piping a bit, purchase a 3-way Jandy valve and check valve to install a water heater bypass, and move the SWG cell post-water heater.

 

[ajw22]

The red valve looks like it is in the spa makeup line. It will let some water run into the spa in POOL mode for the spa spillway to be active.

 

[mknauss]

Additionally, are the red handles replaceable without replacing the entire valve?

No. Must replace the valve. Diverter type valves are recommended as they are rebuild-able.

 

[Kisiel92]

The red valve looks like it is in the spa makeup line. It will let some water run into the spa in POOL mode for the spa spillway to be active.

You're correct, I ended up using a channel lock to close it and the water feature stopped flowing.

No. Must replace the valve. Diverter type valves are recommended as they are rebuild-able.

Thanks, I was afraid of that. There are 3 of these whose handles have broken off due to age, high summer temps, and sun exposure over the years. Two are connected to the spa jet pump and basically right at ground level which may make them a pain to replace. The spa makeup one that ajw22 confirmed is easier and probably more critical to replace. These Jandy valves aren't cheap, and in this case knockoffs seem to universally perform poorly

 

[pjt]

These Jandy valves aren't cheap, and in this case knockoffs seem to universally perform poorly

Quality diverter valves are a good investment and money well spent. Ball valves become a liability. Are you going to replace all of them?

 

[flynwill]

In this particular case that valve can be eliminated an it's functionality replaced by adjusting the cams on the return diverter valve to leave the spa return a bit open. This would require the addition of a check valve in the spa return line (assuming the spa is above the pool.) but still might be the simpler modification.

 

[proavia]

Once you are done with the replumb, paint any exposed PVC pipe to protect the pipes from the UV rays of the sun. Be sure to clean any old PVC pipe prior to painting.

You can also lightly sand and paint the filter housing.

The heater in and out ports are fixed and need to remain the same. It would be beneficial to install a heater bypass.

Additionally, the SWG needs to be installed after the heater. The SWG needs to be the last device before water is returned to the pool.... suction from pool, pump, filter, heater, SWG, return to pool.

Do you have automation or just a timer setup for the pumps?

 

[Kisiel92]

Quality diverter valves are a good investment and money well spent. Ball valves become a liability. Are you going to replace all of them?

In this particular case that valve can be eliminated an it's functionality replaced by adjusting the cams on the return diverter valve to leave the spa return a bit open. This would require the addition of a check valve in the spa return line (assuming the spa is above the pool.) but still might be the simpler modification.

Definitely going to replace this one. I assume we have some copper staining on sun-sheltered pool walls from using Algaecide a few years ago (will confirm using Jack's Stain ID first when the water warms up a bit), and as I understand it the Sulfamic Acid treatment will require running the pump 24/7 for a few days or up to two weeks. I wouldn't use any sequestrant because the water calcium levels are high at the moment so it seems like it would be a good time to condition the water from scratch.



The other two appear to be for isolating the spa jet pump. We've never had to service that pump before so may hold off on replacing them for the time being.


There is a check valve on the spa makeup line, but not on the return line itself. Guessing that's not sufficient though if we were to adjust the cam, and the check valve would need to be moved past the 3-way coupler on the spa return side? In which case it might be easier to just replace the ball valve with a jandy 2-way.

Once you are done with the replumb, paint any exposed PVC pipe to protect the pipes from the UV rays of the sun. Be sure to clean any old PVC pipe prior to painting.

You can also lightly sand and paint the filter housing.

The heater in and out ports are fixed and need to remain the same. It would be beneficial to install a heater bypass.

Additionally, the SWG needs to be installed after the heater. The SWG needs to be the last device before water is returned to the pool.... suction from pool, pump, filter, heater, SWG, return to pool.

Do you have automation or just a timer setup for the pumps?

According to the manual for the heater, the in/out ports can be reversed without removing the heat exchanger (see pdf of the two pages corresponding to these instructions that I've attached), unless I'm misinterpreting them.

Re: SWG placement - I know, initially I was planning on moving the flow switch and SWG after the heater, but there's not enough space to move them both after the heater with the SWG needing 12" of straight pipe. I think I'd need to move the whole heater by a foot in order to accomodate that (which would require moving the gas line). It's been this way since the pool was built (~20 years), so any damage that the SWG could do being placed pre-heater has already been done. It doesn't make much sense to make changes that drastic at this point in time, but we will definitely be aware of these things if purchasing a home with a pool in the future or building one, or needing to make more extensive replacements to equipment here.

We have automation, the system is controlled by AquaLink

 

[flynwill]

There is a check valve on the spa makeup line, but not on the return line itself. Guessing that's not sufficient though if we were to adjust the cam, and the check valve would need to be moved past the 3-way coupler on the spa return side? In which case it might be easier to just replace the ball valve with a jandy 2-way.

That's correct, and it would have to be a bigger check valve as well (looks like 2"). The assumption of the builder was that the automated valves (both suction and return) would always be fully turned to either SPA mode or Pool mode and so the check valve isn't needed if that is the case. (This also assumes that nothing fails with the automation.).

Re: SWG placement - I know, initially I was planning on moving the flow switch and SWG after the heater, but there's not enough space to move them both after the heater with the SWG needing 12" of straight pipe. I think I'd need to move the whole heater by a foot in order to accomodate that (which would require moving the gas line). It's been this way since the pool was built (~20 years), so any damage that the SWG could do being placed pre-heater has already been done. It doesn't make much sense to make changes that drastic at this point in time, but we will definitely be aware of these things if purchasing a home with a pool in the future or building one, or needing to make more extensive replacements to equipment here.

Have you considered mounting the SWG on a vertical loop of pipe? Many others here have done that in tight installations.

 

[Kisiel92]

That's correct, and it would have to be a bigger check valve as well (looks like 2"). The assumption of the builder was that the automated valves (both suction and return) would always be fully turned to either SPA mode or Pool mode and so the check valve isn't needed if that is the case. (This also assumes that nothing fails with the automation.).

They have been historically turned full in one direction or the other, we've only ever had them turned in opposite directions when draining the spa to do some deeper cleaning before refilling it. The surface level of the spa is higher than the bypass piping, so is it a reasonable guess that check valve is so when spa mode is enabled and the bypass is left open, the spa surface level doesn't equalize with the piping by draining the excess water into the pool?

Have you considered mounting the SWG on a vertical loop of pipe? Many others here have done that in tight installations.

No, that's not something that crossed my mind. Something alone these lines? If this is acceptable, then I might have enough space to mount the slow switch vertically, place an elbow, and then insert the salt cell horizontally. Will need to do some measuring to see what would be the cleanest, most functional/accessible arrangement

 

[flynwill]

The surface level of the spa is higher than the bypass piping, so is it a reasonable guess that check valve is so when spa mode is enabled and the bypass is left open, the spa surface level doesn't equalize with the piping by draining the excess water into the pool?

SPA mode enabled doesn't matter, without the check valve, that bypass would allow water to siphon from the spa returns to the pool returns once the pump shuts off. The siphon would continue until either the water levels equalize, or the spa level drops below the level of the returns in the SPA. There are a lot of posting in this forum about that happening and spas draining into pools. Likewise this will also happen if the seals in either of the 3-way diverter valves get worn and start to leak.

Something alone these lines? If this is acceptable, then I might have enough space to mount the slow switch vertically, place an elbow, and then insert the salt cell horizontally.

Yep that's it.