Pool Pump Installation Guide
By The Tools Needed To Install Pool Pumps: The Pool service technician or otherwise commonly called “the pool guy/gal” will bring a few tools when they come to install a swimming pool pump. The tools need to install a swimming pool pump will be a large set of channel locks, a regular size set of channel locks, a Flathead screw driver and a bucket of water.
Connecting The Suction Side Of The Pool Pump:
The suction side of the pump will be connected to the skimmer line and also the main drain if the pool has one. The pool pump may be connected to flexible lines if the pool is an above ground. Above ground swimming pools common use flexible pool hoses to hook up the pump and filter unless the swimming pool is a semi-above ground. If the above ground pool is half way in the ground(semi-inground swimming pool) then chances are the pool will have a main drain and use rigid PVC pipe. If the swimming pool is an in ground the swimming pool pump will most likely be connected to hard or rigid PVC pipes and sch 40 fittings.The service technician will hook up the suction side with common PVC fittings such a a PVC male adapt and a PVC union. The other side of the union will be hooked up to the three way Jandy or Hayward Tri-flo valve.
Connecting The Discharge Side Of The Pump:
The discharge side of the above ground swimming pool pump will generally be connected to the swimming pool filter multiport by the pool service technician. This line will usually be a flexible line that will run from the top of the pump to the “pump in” port on the filter directional valve called the multiport. If the swimming pool has a Hayward Perflex above ground swimming pool filter system, then the discharge side of the pump will hook to a union and then connect to the filter. The discharge side of more common in ground pool pumps like Hayward, Pentair and Sta-rite will often pipe into a multiport directional valve. The pool guy will do this with rigid SCH 40 PVC fittings and unions. These fittings will also be glued together with PVC Glue & Primer.
Priming The Pool Pump:
Once the pool pump is hooked up and connected the swimming pool service technician will have to do something called “priming the pump”. Priming is adding water into the volute of the pump so when the pump starts it can start drawing a vacuum and in turn you have something called water flow. The way a swimming pool guy will prime the pump is to take off the pump cover. Once the pool pump cover is removed then the water can be poured into the pump until the volute is full of water. Once the pump is full the service guy will replace the cover and then switch on the pool pump.
Is it true that you must paint the white pvc pipe? My neighbor was saying that her pool guy recommended painting becuase UV rays slowly make the pipe brittle over time.
Hi,
Not true, well kinda, The PVC pipe will most likely get brittle from the chlorine running through it inside before the sunlight detroys it.
I have worked on PVC plumbing systems on pools that were 18 years old. Maybe your neighbor was using DWV(thinner wall) PVC and not SCH40 which is usually required and has a much thinker wall and is made for pressure not drainage.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Joseph