Proper Hydraulic Design - Swimming Pool Drains

Prefabricated Drain Channels and Covers
  
   A mental hurdle that is confusing to most swimming pool builders, designers, state and local health departments, building inspectors and even many drain manufacturers - is the compatibility of gallons per minute (GPM) through the cover and the feet per second (FPS) through an unblockable drain, suction sump or cover or the connected pipes.
   Drain sumps, channels and covers that comply with the national Virginia Graeme-Baker Safety Act (VGBSA) list a maximum GPM flow rating.  However, it does not mean that the pipe connections below that cover are permitted to flow at that rating.  

Pipes have a different standard
    
There are maximum line velocity standards that apply to the connected piping.  Simply stated, a 2" pipe can only flow 28 GPM at 1.5 FPS, or 43 GPM at 3 FPS where it connects to a drain sump.
    What the GPM drain cover rating allows are the grouping of different suction systems.  Multiple branch lines from different pump suctions may be grouped together under a cover, until their cumulative GPM flowrate meets the cover's rating.  This allows multiple system inlets to share a drain cover.
    Pre-fabricated drain channels pose another design obstacle.  They are classified under the VGBSA as "unblockable" drains due to their shape and size.  The VGBSA allows these drains to function as a single point suction, meaning that split drains are not required.  They can be ordered with various quantities of connection points for plumbing.
     Most of these channel drains only provide 2" connection ports that are limited (by law) to a mere 1.5 or 3 FPS (depending on the local standard).  That equates to ONLY 28 or 43 GPM per connection!  

Drain Designs  

1.   Single inlet unblockable channel drains are available with 196 GPM ratings.  
When installed in compliance with the FPS standard, it only has a maximum flow rating of 28 or 43 GPM. 
  2.   Dual inlet unblockable channel drains are available with 227 GPM ratings.  
However, when installed in compliance with the FPS standard, it only has a maximum GPM rating of 56 or 86 GPM.  
3.   Triple inlet unblockable channel drains are available with flow ratings of 320 GPM.   
Yet, when installed in compliance with the FPS standard they are limited to 84 or 129 GPM.
 
Show me the Math

When you are considering the purchase of a swimming pool, require that the hydraulic calculations (head loss and line velocities) and the plumbing schematics (line drawings) be included in the plans.  Require that the builder note in the plans or specifications, the pipe sizes and the maximum allowable line velocities of branch, trunk and return piping.    

This will ease in the verification of the system performance and compliance, by any project inspectors or consultants.  The next hurdle is getting them to actually build it that way!

The design of swimming pool circulation and piping systems are not rocket science.  But, it does require that one be familiar with the basics of hydraulic design, the idiosyncrasies of the codes, what component ratings really mean and the limitations of those components.

 
Paolo Benedetti - Aquatic Artist "Creating water as art."™ Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa ©www.aquatictechnology.com You may contact Paolo Benedetti at: info@aquatictechnology.com or at 408-776-8220

Swimming Pool Design - Why vs How

Salesman vs Designer

A salesman will initiate the meetings with the "how's" of what his firm does.  The excavation, the form work, the steel and concrete, the pumps and equipment.  Though these are important, more important to the design of your project are the "why's."

Pretty Picture

Get beyond the pretty picture.  A designer will discuss with you the important elements of design - "the why's."

Design themes and principals such as proportion, scope, scale, symmetry, balance, texture, color, light and shadows.  The proper utilization of these principals can set various ambiances and moods, create functionality and form, and establish themes and scenes.

Education and Training

An educated designer will draw upon their vast knowledge and experience, to create that expensive luxurious looks for everyday people.  The use of common materials in new and insightful ways will bring a fresh look to the project of a budget conscious client.

Even those on a budget, should utilize the services of a watershape consulting firm... the few dollars spent up front will save them a fortune later.  They may even end up with a Ferrari for the price of a Corvette!


Paolo Benedetti - Aquatic Artist 
"Creating water as art."™ 
Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa ©www.aquatictechnology.com 
You may contact Paolo Benedetti at: info@aquatictechnology.com or at 408-776-8220

Moveable Pool Floors - Basement, Rooftop, Indoors, Outdoors, Commercial or Residential

Maximize your floor space and the utility of your real estate with a moveable pool floor.

Outdoors

In regions of the country where every inch of real estate is considered prime, a moveable pool floor makes total sense.

Real estate is not lost to a pool, as the moveable pool floor can support people and furniture.  In, fact people will not even know that there is a pool beneath their feet.

Limited Space

In many urban centers, such as Manhattan, London, San Francisco, London, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Palo Alto and the UAE, townhouses and highrise apartments have properties that cannot accommodate an outdoor pool.

A basement pool with a moveable floor is the ideal solution.  You will not lose any rooms for the pool, and you will maximize the utility of that space.

The moveable pool floor will also assist in controlling humidity and heat loss.

Indoors, the moveable floor can double as a dance floor or game room.  No one will know that there is a pool beneath their feet.

Safety and Security

When closed the moveable floor provides the utmost in safety and security.  Accidental access to the pool is impossible.

Freedom of Shape and Design

Pools with moveable floors are not limited to square or rectangle shapes.  Additionally, there is no limitation on the size of a pool with a moveable floor - they can exceed Olympic swimming pools!

A pool with a moveable floor does not increase the footprint of the pool, only it's depth.  Additional space must be provided beneath the pool for the lifting system.

A rooftop pool will drop into the space below.  Additional structural members will be required to support the load of the pool and the mechanical systems.

If you can dream it, we can design and build it!
Worldwide design consultation and construction management.


Paolo Benedetti - Aquatic Artist "Creating water as art."™ 
Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa 
©www.aquatictechnology.com 
You may contact Paolo Benedetti at: 
info@aquatictechnology.com or at 408-776-8220