A lot of our customers at Build Your Own Pool opt for an attached spa as a feature for their pool, we can understand why! Not only is it an aesthetically pleasing addition, it is also a great way to relax after a long hard day or even to get your day started in the morning.
During the design process our customers have 2 common concerns with adding an attached spa to a pool that shares the same pool equipment.
1. They worry the valve will be turned the wrong way and they will heat the entire pool to 104 degrees causing an outrageous gas bill.
We encourage our customers to become acquainted with the plumbing and their pool equipment. When it comes to the temperature, you cannot maintain separate temperatures in both bodies of water without separate pump/heater systems. We recommend the Pentair Intelliflo for your heater option. It can run at very low RPM’s, still allowing the heater to operate at 1/3 the energy expense. A solar cover in conjunction with your Pentair, Master Temp heater or Ultratemp heat pump can dramatically reduce your heat loss and cut your cost of fuel and electricity down considerably. A mistake people can make is not setting their pool pumps up properly for heating. If they own a Master Temp heater from Pentair, the pump must stay running. If the pump is not running then neither is the heater. A Master Temp heater requires there to be flow going through it in order to keep from burning up. So while the pump is off valuable heat is lost.
2. Another concern is that the spa will drain into the pool, or vice versa, causing overflow.
The flow of the water between the pool and the spa is easy to maintain with only 2 valves involved. One valve controls the suction of the water, and the other controls the return. Many of our customers find it helpful to take a picture of the valve position in both settings, to refer back to as the seasons change.
If you are designing a pool and want to add an attached spa, please remember to not neglect your pool while you are enjoying your wonderful spa time! Even though the pool does not need nearly as much circulation in the winter months, it still needs to circulate.