Wide Arc Stainless Steel Water Blade Installation Tips

Are you planning to install a wide arc stainless steel water blade for your pool or hot tub? This sleek addition not only enhances the look of your pool or hot tub but also adds a touch of elegance and sophistication to your back yard.

To help you install it correctly, here are some simple tips to ensure a smooth and effective setup.

You can also find me on my socials;

Key Installation Tip: Use a Dedicated Pump

The most important rule when installing a wide arc stainless steel water blade is that it must have its own pump. You don’t want to connect it to your pool’s circulation pump or the jet flow of your hot tub. Since water blades require a high flow rate, sharing a pump with filtration or jets could reduce their performance.

If you are retro-fitting this to an existing pool or hot tub, then the system will be designed for the flow rate that you need for the existing kit. Adding a water feature like this is going to be catastrophic to the flow rates of the rest of the system.

Jets will be underpowered or there will not be enough water for the filtration.

To avoid this, make sure the water blade is powered by its own dedicated pump.

Pump and Plumbing Considerations

Your plumbing setup will require two inward suction pipes. This is crucial not just for maintaining proper water flow but also for VGB compliance and safety reasons. What this means is that if one of the suction points gets blocked, the other will still be able to deliver water to the pump to stop it running dry.

On the safety side of things, having the dual suction point reduces the direct pull and thus reduces the risk of entrapment to the suction points.

Choosing the Right Pump Size

When selecting a pump, as a rule of thumb, you’ll need at least a one-horsepower pump for most installations. However, if you’re working with longer pipe runs, consider upgrading to a two-horsepower pump to ensure there’s enough flow for the water blade to function smoothly.

Water features should be giving you an indication of the amount of flow that they need. Not all 1HP pumps have the same flow rate for example, so checking the flow rates rather than the horesepower is a much better way of doing things.

Ball Valves for Control

It’s a good idea to install ball valves on both the suction and discharge sides of the pump. These serve two key purposes:

1. Isolating the pump: If you ever need to work on the pump or replace it, ball valves make it easy to cut off the water supply without draining the system.
   
   
2. Flow rate adjustments: While the valves won’t drastically change the water flow, they can provide small adjustments (around 10-15%) to fine-tune the water blade’s performance. You cant adjust more than this as you will put too much backwards force onto the pump and it will end up burining out.

Connecting Pipes and Mounting

For the installation, you’ll normally have some form of threaded connection into the water feature – for example a 1.5-inch thread on one side and a socket on the other. This will connect to the 1.5-inch pipe on your discharge line. Always remember to use larger pipes on the suction side and stick to 1.5-inch pipes on the returns for optimal flow.

Mounting the Water Blade

You’ll notice four mounting holes on the water blade, which are designed to make installation easier. These allow you to securely mount the water blade to your pool, hot tub, or even a decorative wall for your setup. Be sure to align the blade correctly to get that beautiful, seamless flow of water.

Final Thoughts

Installing a wide arc stainless steel water blade can transform the look of your pool or hot tub, but proper setup is key. By following these tips—using a dedicated pump, selecting the right pipe sizes, and utilizing ball valves for control—you’ll ensure your water blade functions flawlessly and looks stunning.

If you need help finding the right parts or pumps for your water blade, feel free to reach out for advice or browse the options on my website!

Can I Help You?

If I can help you in any way I would love to hear from you. You can get in touch using the form below.

Thanks - Andi

 

Hi, Andi here. I own Buildahottub.com and also write all of the articles and info pages on the site. Some years back now, I built my own hot tub but struggled to find the information I needed. So, once my tub was complete, I started this website to help others in their own pursuit of hot tub and plunge pools DIY building information.

Today, I've helped over 1000 DIY customers just like you all over the world build hot tubs and pools. Have a good look around the site, there are lots of resources here. Please do get in touch if I can help you. - Cheers, Andi