Does it matter if a Jandy valve is mounted with the INLET wrong?

[Arklin K.]

In another thread, we determined I needed to replace my cracked Jandy valve.

I have nagging questions I'm hoping a pool owner might know.

LABELS: My pool equipment is well labeled but I don't understand the labels. Q1: What do these blue arrows indicate to you?

HORIZONTAL vs VERTICAL: The cracked Jandy valve was mounted vertically but there is precious little room. Q2: Would it matter, functionally, if I mounted the new valve horizontally? INLET vs OUTLET: The two-port Jandy valve has one side marked INLET Q3: If I flip the cover - does that change which side is the inlet?

Note: Some of the existing valves are clearly mounted with the inlet side on the outlet. I suspect they did that so that the handles didn't clash since they're in close proximity with others.

[trader4]

They MIGHT indicate the "normal" position of the valve, ie the position it's in with the pool running normally.

You can mount it in any orientation you like. Doesn't matter.

I'm kind of surprised it has that marking on a simple two port valve. I don't see how it's going to make any difference. You could call Jandy.

Note: Some of the existing valves are clearly mounted with the inlet side

And obviously they are working OK.

[gonjah]

Needs more valves!

[Arklin K.]

That's what is confusing to me.

I called the Jandy (aka Zodiac) people at 800-822-7933.

The first line technician said a few things ... but I'm not sure she knew what she was doing.

1. She said the INLET side is the pressure side (i.e., closest to the pump for outgoing fluids; closest to the pool for incoming fluids).

1. She said it will work both ways - but it was designed to work with the incoming water pushing against the curved gate valve to keep it closed. If you hook it up backward, it may leak over time, she said, because the incoming water is pushing the gate into the housing instead of pushing the gate against the housing.

2. She said it will work better mounted horizontally; it will work vertically, but may leak over time.

1. If I elect to install it backwards, she suggested I flip the cap to show which side is the INLET accurately.

This fourth suggestion doesn't seem to make any 'mechanical' difference since the top is just a top. It doesn't actually change anything with the valve itself. All it does is change where the name "INLET" is stamped so I don't really see the value in doing this step.

Do you?

[Arklin K.]

It's amazing that there are about 20 valves in this single pool setup.

Each of the three pumps has one input valve and three output valves (one each for two zones, and one to direct the flow to each of the zones).

So that's 12 valves for just the three pumps.

Then the solar heater and gas heater have their sets of valves which adds to the mix.

Sheesh!

[Arklin K.]

UPDATE:

The pool is filling (I decided NOT to wash it this time because the plaster was sitting dry for far too long).

Next time I'll be ready to wash it now that I know the gray is the plaster, the pretty blue is a copper stain, and the scratchy white is calcium grains due to lousy pool chemistry.

Maybe with better pool chemistry, I can actually get rid of the sandy white calcium and pretty blue stain over time without having to re-drain the pool!

Here's a shot of the pool filling up ...

Here's one of the repaired pipes with the new Jandy valve: And, here's a closeup of the re-routing of the pipes: I'm not a plumber - I just DIY with your help ... so if you have any final advice on the repair ... let me know so I learn for the 'next' time.

I can't start it up yet (water needs to be at the level of the skimmers) so I won't know if the screw-tight coupling will hold the pressure (50 psi?) coming out of the cleaner pump or not.

[Arklin K.]

Here is a view of the Jandy never-lube two-port valve with the top rotated correctly for the inlet side:

And, here is the view with the top rotated incorrectly for the inlet side: In summary, these appear to be the things I learned about the Jandy valve: a) The valve is guarranteed for life (I simply showed them a picture of the crack and they sent a new one) b) It doesn't seem to matter if you get the smaller valve (where the pipe fits OVER the ends) or the larger one (where the pipe fits INSIDE the ends) c) It doesn't matter much if it's horizontal or vertical but Jandy (aka Zodiac) prefers the vertical position for leakage prevention d) It won't matter much if it's hooked up wrong - but - the INLET side should be facing the pressure side of the pipes e) If you do need to flip the valve, Jandy suggests you also flip the top cap and inner valve so that the INLET is maintained f) The proper orientation is for the pressure side to face the concave end of the flap and the rubber sealed convex side to face the pool

[Arklin K.]

Actually, I mispoke. So your experience is what Jandy suggested would happen. They prefer HORIZONTAL over vertical (it was my mistake in not proofreading my summary!).

[Arklin K.]

It was always leaking from the day I owned the pool.

I only removed it because someone suggested I fix all leaks while the pool was empty for cleaning.

I suspect it cracked when the pump was running into it with the valve closed; but I don't know how it cracked.