Can You Tell Me What These Valves Do?

[nazran]

I purchased this home with pool. The yellow marked spa valves are used when I run the hot tub and the other marked valve controls the fountain height in the spa. The previous owner was unclear about the valves I have marked 3 and 4. Can someone help me identify?

Thanks in advance...

PS Also I am hesitant to run my string trimmer against those pipes. Should I just kill that grass with round up or some other thing to keep grass away?

 

[jblizzle]

3 & 4 are pool suction line valves ... how many skimmers you got? I would guess 2 pipes are skimmers and 1 pipe is the pool floor.
Right now you only have suction coming from the pipe labelled with the 3 arrow.

 

[nazran]

I have 2 skimmers. How should 3 and 4 be pointed so both are sucking

 

[jblizzle]

Look on the opposite side from the handle, It says OFF ... that is what is off.
If you want all completely open, you would have the handles down with OFF facing up.

Although I would suggest you play with the valves and figure out which pipe is which so you can balance the flow.

 

[nazran]

Thank u. I mow have suction on both skimmers

 

[jblizzle]

So you know pipe 3 is a skimmer. Put #3 handle pointing up to close that skimmer and then put valve #4 in the same position as in the picture and see if the pipe below valve 4 is the other skimmer.

 

[gilbee]

Also, your fountain height valve is part of the return...that is likely a proportional valve to determine whether to send more water to the fountain or to the return jets in the pool...so when you add chemicals by the returns you might want to turn the fountain off if the return pressure is low with the fountain on...