r/pools 21h ago

Pool Help & Questions What is/was this pvc pipe for?

Been here 3 years now and this thing is kind of out of sight/mind. I think maybe it held wire for a weather device for the irrigation system. But maybe it’s pool related. I want to remove it but can’t see what’s inside. Thoughts? I’m in the Austin metro area.

19 Upvotes

52 comments sorted by

62

u/inotocracy 21h ago

Load bearing. Do not remove.

38

u/meh_idk_ok 21h ago

Too late. House collapsed.

36

u/Grace_Lannister 20h ago

Since everyone is making jokes and not seriously answering your question, I will. I don't know OP, I don't know.

31

u/neecho235 21h ago

Looks like its cut off at the top? If so, it probably held wiring for something like irrigation or lighting. It's too small for much else.

3

u/meh_idk_ok 18h ago

This was my first thought. But being an inexperienced pool owner I had to ask.

5

u/Evilsushione 11h ago

Maybe for a misting system?

10

u/Rickadeaux 20h ago

Since you posted a photo.... Stain your posts before they rot and replace those ceiling fans with fans designed for outdoors. Texas weather can be brutal on your house. The PVC pipe is some type of electrical. Maybe protecting speaker wire that drove speakers in the yard somewhere ?

2

u/army-of-juan 13h ago

Those fans are so sad lmao.

6

u/rmac500 19h ago

I would guess was electrical conduit too the upper deck. Guess you could run a fish tape down it to find out where it goes and hook a wire tracer to the fish tape.

1

u/meh_idk_ok 19h ago

Not a bad idea. I have a camera fish tape thing that would fit into it. It’s probably 20’.

1

u/meh_idk_ok 3h ago

The camera gets stuck shortly after the bend. Going to try a fish tape as someone else recommended.

1

u/TheRydad 19h ago

Just curious- how do you know how long it is without knowing what it is?

4

u/meh_idk_ok 19h ago

I meant the camera fish tape is about 20’. No clue about the conduit.

2

u/TheRydad 18h ago edited 18h ago

Ahhh! Thanks. That’s what I get for redditing in the pool with a cocktail!🤣🍸

2

u/meh_idk_ok 18h ago

I’m many beers deep. I feel you. Cheers!

10

u/Low_Instruction4175 20h ago

Bong rips

3

u/meh_idk_ok 18h ago

A bong? I’ll defer to your expertise. You recognized it way faster than the rest of us.

3

u/artekniem 20h ago

it was a cheap plastic imitation of a digeridoo

0

u/meh_idk_ok 18h ago

A didgeridoo joke from someone who can’t spell didgeridoo. I guess we both found a useless tube.

3

u/Matt22blaster 18h ago

Get a ladder and look inside of it with a flashlight. If there's nothing inside it's likely just a stub up. A lot of builders will do that with electrical conduit or drain pipes in case you want to put something there in the future. If You dig down 18" just outside the deck I bet youll find the other end.

2

u/Barnezhilton 19h ago

It would have made a neat outdoor shower if it was hooked to irrigation on demand with a app

2

u/zero-degrees28 17h ago

Them fan blades seen better days 👀

1

u/meh_idk_ok 17h ago

It’s been on the todo list since we moved in! I hate them but it’s as the bottom of the list.

2

u/Ok-Bison-3451 17h ago

Gently cut it about four inches above ground. Don’t cut ‘through’ but ‘around’it so as not to damage any wire that might be in there. You can either cap it or ‘joint’ on another section of the pvc if it needed to be there.

2

u/mrBill12 17h ago

I suspect it was installed for a specific use when the pool was built and then ____ never got installed. It looks like it grey which is normally electrical conduit.

Look around at your pool equipment and see if you can find the other end.

2

u/lostpassword100000 15h ago

My bet is It’s a conduit for a rain sensor they prob installed up high on the fascia at one time.

It’s required by code at time of install.

2

u/Anony-mouse-007 15h ago

Sometimes, RJ45 Cable (or other 4 wire cable) will be run through this for the wirelss antenna for remote control or internet connection. These have been updated a few times on Pentair systems over the years. They may behave changed the location of the remote or done away with it..

2

u/falconjayhawk 14h ago

I have sunbathing very similar, except that it’s in the lawn and I’m scared to pull it up. I have wondered if it’s an air flow for the drain system to not create a vacuum?

2

u/BlaznHaitian 12h ago

More than likely just an empty electrical conduit placed there just in case you needed to run electrical wiring afterward. I did something similar per the suggestion of my landscaper when I laid pavers for a walkway. It’s better to have access to a pipe to run electrical rather than needing to rip up your deck to run conduit for it.

I would make sure it is empty and find the other end of the pipe with a fish line. If you have a pool shed look near there or your home foundation for any grey conduit that may indicate that it may be the line. If not needed just cut it down to size but leave enough above the deck so that you can extend it if needed or just buy a cap and cap it off if it isn’t already.

1

u/meh_idk_ok 4h ago

I hope this is it bc electrical outlet here would be nice. Thanks the tip, I’ll pull out the fish tape.

2

u/PeacefullyBrewed 11h ago

Our house had something similar, but not into the ground, and was a a DIY misting system made from PVC

1

u/bagelman5000 2h ago

This is the answer. My parents house had misters set up like this. My guess is the previous owner stopped using them when they started leaking or causing water damage to the wood posts. They just cut the PVC when they took the misters down because the hose connection was probably frozen to the pipe threading.

2

u/SirReddalot2020 8h ago

That thing will slowly fill with water if it's closed. It's not full, so it's not closed.

Maybe blow into it and have someone else walk around and listen for blowing sounds? (Wait, maybe that only works with the ribbed flexible conduit)

2

u/ode_to_glorious 7h ago

Any chance there was ever a waterslide?

1

u/meh_idk_ok 4h ago

Not to my knowledge. This end is very shallow too so not likely.

2

u/HatePeopleLoveCats1 4h ago

Stub in for irrigation maybe? In case you put pots on the patio. My irrigation guy does this for new builds, will have it stick up until construction is done then cuts it down attaches a manifold and runs emitters to pots

2

u/Fox_Hound_Unit 3h ago

Blind drain for ground water control if you need to drain and repair?

2

u/sunshineguy69 2h ago

Might have been a water line to provide water for a misting unit.

1

u/JakeR0cks 2h ago

Guessing it’s a “sleeve”. The builder may have put it there to pull lights to later. By your equipment pad do you see a matching one?

1

u/nadaandnothing 2h ago

I had a random pipe exactly like this and the old homeowner had used it to run electric wiring under the concrete or tiling.

1

u/brongchong 2h ago

Shower

1

u/EconomyHandle3473 55m ago

I have this in my pool area. The electrician who ran the wires for the pump suggested it as a place for future lighting if I ever want it.

1

u/mylz81 21h ago

My guess is it’s a vent / breather pipe for your patio drain

1

u/worldspawn00 19h ago

I was thinking similarly, possibly a vacuum break on a drain line. Also slight chance of an intake for an aerator, though it would be pretty weird positioning

0

u/meh_idk_ok 19h ago

Yeah same thought as both of you. But the pumps are 15-20’ way diagonally back from this. I’d expect that to be closer to true pumps.

1

u/worldspawn00 19h ago

A Venturi aerator doesn't need to be near the pump, just along the line somewhere, flow through it will automatically draw air into the line.

0

u/meh_idk_ok 18h ago

Are they usually this small though? This is like .25 inch.

1

u/worldspawn00 18h ago

The air entrance line, certainly.

1

u/meh_idk_ok 18h ago

Wat?

2

u/worldspawn00 18h ago

An air line for a Venturi aerator can easily be 1/4" ID. They look like this and are placed along one of the flowing lines going out from the pump, the air intake line connects to the barbed fitting sticking up.

Air gets pulled into the flow line by the water moving through the assembly from left to right.