Infinity Pool Spillover overflowing [Archive]

Zilrog

04-17-2014, 04:43 PM

Hey guys, new to owning a pool. I'm fairly versed in most pool things but this is one part of pools I don't quite get. We have an infinity edge pool, just got it with a new house. It's not that big of a pool in the first place, probably 16k-20k gallons. It was maintained... not too well by the last owners so I don't know if that is it.

Anyways, basically what happens is it fills up on the overflow and then... overflows for lack of a better term into my backyard. There are a bunch of weeds growing there now and it's a real pain. I've been told the way it pushes water back into the pool is by the pump that is attached to it, so I try to turn that on to lower the level and it doesn't seem to work. Can someone who knows about these pools plumbing/engineering give me a run down on it? I'd like to know the answer to my problem now, but I know if I am able to learn about how these things actually work deep down I can learn to fix any future problems on my own.

Thanks so much for the read.

PoolDoc

04-18-2014, 07:43 PM

I am probably as much an expert on plumbing, piping and circulation as anyone here, after 25 years of holding a Master Plumber's license and 20+ years working with large commercial pools, but I have had limited direct contact with 'infinity edge' pools, which are pretty much a residential feature.

That said, what I've seen of them has left me with the view that they are a maintenance nightmare, as typically installed. They've become a huge sales feature on higher end pools over the last 10 - 15 years, but I've never seen evidence of advances in engineering or installation skills to support the complexity they introduce. And, anytime you have a system that is intended to maintain one single body of water at multiple levels, you have complicated things greatly. It's bad enough where the main level is below the secondary level (eg. fountains), but it's much worse when you have the main level ABOVE the secondary level.

My older son has been working with a franchise pool service company for the last year, and was explaining to me some of the different circulation layouts he's seen on the infinity edge pools his company services. The nicest way you can describe some of these systems is 'jury-rigged'; he was using a somewhat different vocabulary, just between the 2 of us!

I ran into this pattern years and years ago as a plumber, when I discovered that some of the highest end gold-plated (literally) tub and lavatory valve sets were junk valves internally. The customers were paying $2,500 (2014 dollars) for a gold plated lavatory valve and drain set that was mechanically the same as a low end and low quality valve set we installed in government tract housing! From what I can tell, much of the infinity edge market is similar: all 'show', and not much 'go'!

However, since you seem willing to dig into the system yourself, I'm willing to take a look. Just be prepared for some fairly serious work, if you want a reliable and functional system.

The place to start is with a complete set of photos of your equipment, the spill-over, the catch basin, and all valves, pumps and piping. Post them using a Flickr, Picasa or Photobucket account, or email them to me at [email protected]. FULL size pictures with good focus are important; I can often pick up significant details by zooming in. If you've got a camera, please use it instead of a phone. Don't worry about sending too many -- I can delete what's not helpful.

Good luck!