If you want the pumps below the water level, aka a flooded suction, put good quality valves on the suction and discharge sides. This allows servicing. Don't use cheap valves as they will leak.

Scott

Thanks for the help. Another question:
I want the most efficient route possible to the jets. I think that means the pumps would need to be located well below the level of the jets to allow the plumbing to come up out of the top of the pumps and 90 towards the jets. The problem with this in my situation is that it puts the equipment a couple of feet below the level of the rest of the yard. I would think this would create more issues or at least a lot of hassle. Is my only alternative to plumb out of the top of the pumps and 90 along the pump and then 90 down in line with the jets and then 90 again out towards the jets? I think this would hurt me efficiency quite a bit right?

Thanks,

Jeff

You really won't gain a heck of a lot by setting them below the water level. It's more of a PITA than it's worth, especially for servicing and installation. Keeping the pump relatively close does more to reduce head loss.

Use 2.5" suction to feed the pump.

What swim jets did you install?

Scott

Scott,
I'm not sure what kind they are. Our pool builder took care of all of that. I imagine they are the standard ones you would get if you asked a pool supply for swim jets. I remember they required us to have a shelf in the spool so that they could be sunk in 18" of gunite or something like that.
Anyway, I uncovered the pipe ends this morning (they were capped and buried under our lawn) and found (3) 2.5" suction lines, (3) 2" jet lines and (1) 1.5" air line. My plan is to combine the two outside jets using a 3 way valve and power it with one VS-3050. Should I combine two suction lines using a 3-way valve for this one pump? I plan on running the center swim jet off of another VS-3050. I have a 2hp blower for the air line. Also, I've decided I'm not going to bury the equipment below the plumbing. That would be way too low. The equipment is going to be only ~15 feet from the jets, so I doubt head loss will be much of an issue.
I'm a novice at all of this and plan to enlist the help of the local pool store as well as some buddies that know plumbing and electrical. Any advice would be great.

Thanks,

Jeff

Well, there is no such thing as a standard swim jet. Ask the PB what they are.

You found 3 suction lines? What are they connected to in the spool? Again, be specific. There are engineering concerns here.

Is the air line tied to all three jets and the water lines are independent to each jet?

Scott

The 3 suction lines are connected to the 6 drains on the side of the spool. I assume the air line does connect to all three because when the spool was just a shell, each jet had it's own air line. Unfortunately, I was at work when certain stages where completed and buried. I was also told that a guy familiar with swim jet installation consulted on the setup and actually came out and approved the portion that was completed during construction. I'll try to get more info on the actual brand of the jet. I was told I needed a 2 hp pump for each jet. Instead I'm going to try the two pump method and if I can out-swim that, then I'll add an additional pump.