Hello Pool Friends,
I'm new to pool care but I have been researching everything I can for the last two weeks. My goal is to be a master and take control of an out of control situation with the hope of having a well maintained pristine pool
My parents have had this pool for 25 years, it was part of the house they bought and they were told everything was in working order. We had a pool man maintain it (we never used the heater though) for the first 15 years. Then my dad took over. His regiment was to chlorinate and brush on a weekly basis. Clean the filters every few weeks. That's it. Slowly but surely, the pool turned disgusting.
I've run all the tests on the chemicals, had CYA through the roof. I have now drained the pool and refilled it. I have new filters and I'm ready to start things moving again. Before I start, I'd like to do this right and address some nagging issues that the pool has had and see if I can't resolve them through the help of this forum. I'm still having a hard time understanding the pumping system, so I've included pictures and labels to help convey my message and questions.
Some of the nagging issues:
1) Overall flow seems a bit low
2) Sweeper doesn't drive around as fast and as vibrantly as normal. It still does a good job of picking stuff up and goes around the pool... But it's not like it used to be. This is a new sweeper too. (low pressure?)
3) Skimmers don't seem to suck as strongly.
4) Jacuzzi Jets? Or Pool in flow? doesn't seem to work as strongly
5) Main drain...i don't think it's doing much
Some "other" things to know about our pool:
1) Heater either doesn't work or has never been turned on. Even though we were told it would work, it looks like it's going to fall apart. I don't need a heated pool...at least not until i'm confident in it, and right now i think it'll blow up.
2) The pump doesn't have air bubbles in it and seems to be working just fine.
3) My dad says the pressure gauge on the filter doesn't work. I will pay closer attention this time, but...I have no reason to disagree with him. I've never seen the indicator go up.
Ok, here we go on a picture and question tour...
Let's start with the Jacuzzi Jets/Pool Water in Flow.
Here's a picture of the Jacuzzi section. The Orange circles are pipes that blow strong water when a light switch is flipped in our pool house area. The yellow circles look like spa jets, but they may just be pool water flow. Not sure, can somebody help decipher? I have also circled two areas outside the pool that have covers (similar to skimmer covers). Not sure what these are, or what the function is...
Here's another angle:
And here's what's inside the cover...what is this? How do i operate it?
Ok, now that, that is squared away, let's go look at the guts of my pool system.
I've labeled all I know.
Here is the whole shot:
Here is a closer look. I'm guessing the green arrows are valves for the skimmers? These are super tight, not sure why, how or when I would unscrew these. I don't know what the yellow valve is for.... There is also a blue arrow that points to a tank, inside here is a basket which is clear, debris never gets in here. The yellow valve and blue tank are attached to a pipe that is labeled "Jacuzzi in". There is also a faucet looking thing that i didn't label on the left, not sure how this plays a role.
Another Angle:
And then randomly another valve off to the side:
And finally the heater...again i'm not ding ANYTHING with this now, and I don't need to...(if it were easy, then I'd love to, but seems like a big task. Here's a picture of how disgusting this looks.
I understand the basic anatomy from previous posts and reading...but this one seems a bit more complicated. Any help in resolving the nagging issues would be hugely appreciated.
I'm new to pool care but I have been researching everything I can for the last two weeks. My goal is to be a master and take control of an out of control situation with the hope of having a well maintained pristine pool
My parents have had this pool for 25 years, it was part of the house they bought and they were told everything was in working order. We had a pool man maintain it (we never used the heater though) for the first 15 years. Then my dad took over. His regiment was to chlorinate and brush on a weekly basis. Clean the filters every few weeks. That's it. Slowly but surely, the pool turned disgusting.
I've run all the tests on the chemicals, had CYA through the roof. I have now drained the pool and refilled it. I have new filters and I'm ready to start things moving again. Before I start, I'd like to do this right and address some nagging issues that the pool has had and see if I can't resolve them through the help of this forum. I'm still having a hard time understanding the pumping system, so I've included pictures and labels to help convey my message and questions.
Some of the nagging issues:
1) Overall flow seems a bit low
2) Sweeper doesn't drive around as fast and as vibrantly as normal. It still does a good job of picking stuff up and goes around the pool... But it's not like it used to be. This is a new sweeper too. (low pressure?)
3) Skimmers don't seem to suck as strongly.
4) Jacuzzi Jets? Or Pool in flow? doesn't seem to work as strongly
5) Main drain...i don't think it's doing much
Some "other" things to know about our pool:
1) Heater either doesn't work or has never been turned on. Even though we were told it would work, it looks like it's going to fall apart. I don't need a heated pool...at least not until i'm confident in it, and right now i think it'll blow up.
2) The pump doesn't have air bubbles in it and seems to be working just fine.
3) My dad says the pressure gauge on the filter doesn't work. I will pay closer attention this time, but...I have no reason to disagree with him. I've never seen the indicator go up.
Ok, here we go on a picture and question tour...
Let's start with the Jacuzzi Jets/Pool Water in Flow.
Here's a picture of the Jacuzzi section. The Orange circles are pipes that blow strong water when a light switch is flipped in our pool house area. The yellow circles look like spa jets, but they may just be pool water flow. Not sure, can somebody help decipher? I have also circled two areas outside the pool that have covers (similar to skimmer covers). Not sure what these are, or what the function is...
Here's another angle:
And here's what's inside the cover...what is this? How do i operate it?
Ok, now that, that is squared away, let's go look at the guts of my pool system.
I've labeled all I know.
Here is the whole shot:
Here is a closer look. I'm guessing the green arrows are valves for the skimmers? These are super tight, not sure why, how or when I would unscrew these. I don't know what the yellow valve is for.... There is also a blue arrow that points to a tank, inside here is a basket which is clear, debris never gets in here. The yellow valve and blue tank are attached to a pipe that is labeled "Jacuzzi in". There is also a faucet looking thing that i didn't label on the left, not sure how this plays a role.
Another Angle:
And then randomly another valve off to the side:
And finally the heater...again i'm not ding ANYTHING with this now, and I don't need to...(if it were easy, then I'd love to, but seems like a big task. Here's a picture of how disgusting this looks.
I understand the basic anatomy from previous posts and reading...but this one seems a bit more complicated. Any help in resolving the nagging issues would be hugely appreciated.