The swimming pool at Thousand Oaks Ranch is about 55,000 gallons and shaped like a "T". The original filter and pump arrangement consisted of three systems with one system for each of the parts of the "T". The installation was next to impossible to maintain and wouldn't pass muster with any kind of inspector. Please see figure 1 below (1).
Each of the zones was a zone unto itself. Water circulation throughout the pool was only accomplished when the wind blew or there were patrons playing in the water. Please see figures 2a, 2b, & 2c below (1). Note the chlorine addition pump infigure 2b (1)that was added in 2004.
A pool company was contracted to add a chorine addition system along with an acid addition system for the 2004 season. The installation matched the existing mess and was not effective. The electrical system for the pump house was located in such a way that the door to the load center could not be opened because it was too close to an outside wall. Please seefigure 3 below (1).
The whole system was renovated. The back wall was removed and the existing pumps and filters were cut out and hauled off. The plan was changed and the pool was divided into two layers. The system would be comprised of two pumps. One pump would be for the skimmers and the other pump would be for the drains. To accomplish this, I designed and had fabricated plenums as seen in figures 4a & 4b below (1). These plenums were based on 6" Schedule 40 PVC fittings. In figure 4a (1) there are two plenums which gather the three vacuum lines and the three drain lines from the three zones of the pool. The plenum focuses the three zones into one and feeds single line to the pump.
In figure 4b below (1) the six skimmers are focused into on line by using two 3:1 plenums. There are five inputs and three outputs for the discharge plenum. The three outputs are for each of the three return line zones. The five inputs are fresh water makeup flowing in the top of the plenum, a line from the skimmer pump, a line from the drain pump, a line from the chlorine addition pump, and a small line from the acid pump. This system keeps all of the water in the pool clean at once. In the event that one of the pumps goes down, the plumbing allows for one pump to do the whole pool with a few valve changes.
The lines that came from the pool and returned to the pool from the pump house were laid as seen the upper picture in figure 5a below (1). Try standing in this room with the State Inspector explaining to him which line did what. That thought kept me awake also. Once these lines were identified, they were sorted out and sent to the appropriate plenum. Figure 5a below (2) has been replaced with the setup figure 5b below (2). The pump controls and timers for the two pumps are mounted between the skimmer setup and the drain setup. Pool care and upkeep has been greatly simplified and made safer.
The control panel in the center is the level controller for the pool. Because all of the lines to and form the pool were in use and the inability of adding another line, a system was designed and implemented to work with existing plumbing. The control panel senses when the drain pump cycles off and opens an isolation valve. Water from the pool through a drain line equalizes in a float column. Based upon the level of water in the float column, the control panel will open a fresh water valve to bring the pool level up. However, this system doesn't drain the pool in the event of rain water addition. We rely on client splashing or DE filter maintenance to bring the level down.
The new pumps are in the pictured infigures 6a & 6b below (2). The drain pump is a 2 HP Hayward hooked to a 75 square foot DE filter. The skimmer pump is a 3 HP Hayward hooked to a 90 square foot DE filter. In the picture to the left of the skimmer pump, you will see the chlorine addition pump installation. This pump is fed by a slip stream from the skimmer pump discharge. All three of these pumps feed the discharge plenum described above.
The chorine addition and acid addition systems along with the remodeled electrical system are pictured in figures 7a &7b below (2). John Jackson was the electrician that helped with the rewiring of the pool house, storage shed, and the barn.
