Design Guidelines for Pentair Waterfalls
There are four primary considerations in selecting a waterfall for a project:
1. Water effect
2. Waterfall length
3. Lip length
4. Color
5. Water supply location: Rear (standard)
Important facts
Sheet effects are thin, sensitive to wind, and the width of the sheet narrows the farther it falls. At
fall heights above 1 meter, the sheet effect begins to break apart and to produce an annoying buffeting
noise. Pentair recommends a maximum mounting height of 1 meter for sheet effects.
Rain effects are less damaged by wind than are sheet effects. The effect does not narrow as the fall
height increases. Pentair recommends a maximum mounting height of 2 meters for rain effects.
Waterfalls are typically installed in the bond beam, just above the tile line, or in a raised wall above
the bond beam. Three important considerations include: wall thickness, tile or stone thickness, and the
weight of the covering concrete or stone.
We advise to install the WaterFall with a Clean & Clear™ Cartridge Filter or a sandfilter with
ClearPro Technology® to supply clean, filtered water to the waterfall.
You should plan to supply approximately 3.5m³/h per 30cm width of waterfall. The waterfall
can operate on lower flow rates (2.3m³/h per 30cm width minimum), but may not achieve the desired
effect. Each waterfall should be equipped with a flow control valve, located downstream from the
filter, to adjust the flow to each waterfall. Pentair recommends you use an energy saving Pump from the
Intelliflo® - family to allow you to easily vary the flow to the waterfall.
The maximum head loss for any waterfall is 1.8Meter. Calculate and add the loss of your piping to
determine your pump requirement.
Use 50mm PVC supply piping for each waterfall. Make sure you calculate the total head loss.
Make sure you keep all debris out of the piping during installation.
The rear connection to the waterfalls is a 1-1/2" pipe, supplied width 50mm adaptor. This allows
you to install a standard 50mm PVC pipe or elbow directly on the connection.
Rear feed
3
Lip
Manifold Body
Effect
Discharge