On this Technical Tuesday we will dive deeper into how we replaced and optimized an outdated equipment set that gave our client issues when heating their spa.
We first assessed the current equipment and Pool pump was undersized, filter was leaking and restrictive, heater was in good working order, plumbing was poorly routed, valves were confusing, and the electrical was undersized and dangerous.
We started out by removing all the equipment which included the cracked equipment pads and exposed wiring. Then we proceed to level the ground and set new concrete pads. We then placed the new equipment on the pads so we could orient everything and ensure serviceability.
We did not modify the suction side, just removed all exposed glue joints and plumbed back with 2′ plumbing. After that, we had to change the order in which the plumbing came out of the ground. This allowed us to minimize the number of valves for optimized flow and also future proof the plumbing for the later addition of full automation. The first step was to change the order of plumbing. We moved the pool returns to front of the manifold, then teed the aerator off the pipe so the spa did not accidentally drain when being used. This allowed us to use one valve to isolate the spa from the pool vs the original 4 valve setup. The rebuildable Jandy valves were our choice to allow easy repair in the future. All the plumbing was upgraded to 2″ plumbing to ensure no flow restrictions. We disassembled everything, painted all the plumbing and then clocked all the valves so they directed flow correctly.
We opted to install a new Pentair Intelliflo 3 pump paired with a new Pentair CCP+ 420 filter. This combo can really get the therapy jets blasting after a hard day’s work while also being energy efficient to run all day without breaking the bank.
Since we will be adding a new Intellicenter automation system in the future, we chose not to wire the pump’s optional I/O board. We did have to upgrade the wire size to 12ga to handle the now more powerful pump and tied it all in with a new conduit and oversized bonding wire to meet code. The wood framework holding the timer boxes was rotten and falling. This was removed and replaced with Unistrut and galvanized posts to keep everything erect and true until the next phase.
With this and all our installations, we fired up the system, tested for leaks and programmed everything to the best of our abilities. Once we were satisfied, the customer was brought out, given a brief walk through on how to operate the equipment. New apps were downloaded and explained thoroughly to ensure customer satisfaction. We are very pleased with this installation and the customer was extremely happy with, not only the new equipment, but also how much better her pool is now functioning.
