Browse Forums Pools & Spas 1 Aug 08, 2013 1:08 am I'm sure I'm not the only one who's ever had this happen, but the guys who installed our pump etc put it right in the back right hand corner of our block, so we really don't have anywhere to empty the pool to or vacuum it to waste - see pic Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We've been emptying it out by using the pool hose on the return in the pool while filter on and running the water into a nearby down pipe drain (which actually works really well and is fast ) Wondering though, how we can devise something to get the water from the waste valve to the sow pipe drain as we are still landscaping etc and with all this weather have a fair amount of sand and debris in the pool again and REALLY don't want to put it all through the cartridge filter again........ Any ideas please????? Building the Riva by Dale Alcock Homes. Follow our progress here: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=57075 Re: Waste outlet help.... 2Sep 28, 2013 11:52 pm I have just installed a pool and the council called for a line to the sewer for backwashing. Thats Hornsby council but check out the council approval. May be a nice fine if you get caught shotting it into stormwater. Worth checking. Re: Waste outlet help.... 3Oct 01, 2013 9:32 am That's the difference between a good pool company and a poor one - the good ones will understand drainage requirements and will factor all that into your quote and design. The poor ones just want to sell you a hole in the ground. Re: Waste outlet help.... 4Oct 08, 2013 10:53 am You could attach a "pipe" - flexi - to the outlet and take it to an appropriate outlet spot. Or even make a permanent attachment if an appropriate pipe is nearby. Ours has a "hose" type thingo from the outlet you can roll out about 5 metres. I intend having a pipe from this to the right spot ... Re: Waste outlet help.... 5Oct 08, 2013 11:50 am Vacuuming to waste will waste a lot of water, I would use a skimmer sock while vacuuming to collect most of the debris in the skimmer. Our pool has a sand filter and a connection to the sewer but our neighbour has a cartridge filter and their waste outlet is identical to yours so maybe its common to cartridge filter systems. I highly doubt that anyone would be fined for backwashing to storm water and many older pools are done this way. If a pool overflows naturally the water will end up in the storm water system anyway. Installation and approval of a pool must comply with the plumbers code of practice. The code of practice is not law but must comply with the law where one of them is the EPA which prevents the discharge of waste to storm water. The irony here is that pool water is most often cleaner than storm water but toxic to our sewage treatment facilities. It is not uncommon for many home owners to backwash to the sewer at the same time during extreme weather events and this influx of water added to other discharges of storm water to the sewer forces the release of raw sewage from treatment facilities to our waterways. Re: Waste outlet help.... 6Oct 08, 2013 12:01 pm Thanks SFC, we do use a skimmer sock (overpriced stocking) but a lot of the sand still gets through and makes the cartridge filthy. It does collect the bigger stuff though - leaves etc. Wouldn't be so bad if there was a really easy way to clean a cartridge - as using a hose takes forever and still isn't 100% effective. Building the Riva by Dale Alcock Homes. Follow our progress here: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=57075 Re: Waste outlet help.... 7Oct 09, 2013 7:12 am The efficiency of a mechanical filter such as a cartridge filter increases as it stores particular matter such as sand etc. The more they filter the better they filter but to a point where you notice a substantial loss in pressure. Which means you don't need to be too fussy about how clean you get it and as long as there is no major loss in pressure you don't need to clean it every time you vacuum. Re: Waste outlet help.... 8Oct 13, 2013 10:37 pm Thanks again SFC... One quick question though - when the guy did our handover on the pool and explained everything he suggested that when we see an INCREASE in pressure we may want to clean the filter... Since what you've said above maybe what we were told is incorrect and you'd see a decrease in pressure. We have three settings on our pump - high medium and low. It's generally set at medium but whenever the pump comes on it starts at high and after 5 minutes changes to what it's programmed to - in our case medium. When running on high the pressure gauge on the filter shows just under 50. But when on medium it doesn't register at all. Pretty sure this has always been this way, but can't be 100%. He did tell us to use the reading when on high to gauge when the filter needs cleaning.... Building the Riva by Dale Alcock Homes. Follow our progress here: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=57075 Re: Waste outlet help.... 9Oct 14, 2013 8:43 pm Hi MissEm, You have a cartridge filter, right? That's why it could be installed remote from the sewer, as nominally it doesn't need a backwash connection. A great many such cartridge filter installations don't even have a backwash valve or outlet. I think what that extra valve is fitted for is to allow you to drain the pool if you ever need to, as otherwise you'd need a separate pump. I just take my cartridge out and hose it, when the pressure gauge reaches 100, and then it drops back to 40. That's all you are recommended to do. It takes about 10 min, waters the lawn meanwhile, and I have found that it is not necessary to be at all fanatical about it. I have found it useful also to wash the cartridge filter in 1:20 pool acid every six months, to take out calcium scale, and then wash it in warm water and detergent, to remove the suntan lotion and body oils. As to the sand you mention, that will disappear after a clean or 2. Cheers Re: Waste outlet help.... 10Oct 18, 2013 10:55 am Hi MissEm, My appologies, your pool guy was correct, I was thinking of the flow rate after the filter rather than the pressure between the pump and filter. So it is an INCREASE as indiated on the preassure guage when the pump is on high flow. He is very right to recomend only reading the guage on high flow, you have an eco pump which operate at lower pressures on the lower settings and wont produce enough pressure to allow the guage to operate correctly. I have an eco pump and use it on the lowest setting. I monitor the chlorine levels and adjust as needed. Its still true what I said about filters that the efficiency increases slightly with time but they do slowly add back pressure on the pump. This is not much of a problem with a standard pump or an eco pump on high flow but may produce a noticeable decrease in the flow rates of eco pump on low flow. For maximum flow for power consumption eco pumps are best operated with the filter as clean as practical but I still wouldn't get too carried away with how clean you get it. When I installed my eco pump I got a carried away and swapped out my sand for glass and all my 90 degree bends for a pair of 45 degree bends or long sweeping curves in an effort to maximise my flow rate. Now it's all up and running it just does it's own thing. To be honest I'm not entirely sure I even have a pressure guage, I just do a back wash whenever I think about it which is often when the pool needs to be drained a little which hasn't happed for a while. Steve. That drawingโs in the old units. The sewer tie is 1.44m deep and 4.5m offset from left boundary however the levels were taken ages ago so the surface level will have… 1 3545 Hi there, long-time lurker but first time posting. I've bought a house 2 and a bit years ago and last year we had some major water damage on a converted pergola area… 0 5786 |