I've got a problem that has me stumped, but I'm hoping it's pretty simple for those here who are more knowledgeable than me (let's face it, that's everyone).
My water flow (at the skimmer and at the jets) is minimal when the multiport valve is set to filter. If I put it on recirculate, it's incredibly strong and fast.
I assume it has to be something to do with the filter itself, since that's the only thing that's different in those two scenarios. I have a fairly standard sand filter, so I opened it up and removed all of the filter material (this pool actually uses filterballs instead of sand). They were pretty dirty, so I decided to start it back up with the filter empty, to make sure the dirty media was the problem. It wasn't. Even with an empty filter, the flow was still terrible.
I thought maybe something was clogging the PVC pipe that led from the filter to the valve, or perhaps the valve itself. I took both of those apart, but both were clean and in good shape. Nothing blocking them at all. The gasket in the valve looks like it might need replacing within a year or two, but surely that wouldn't cause this, would it?
I'm at a loss as to what else it might be. One other thing that may be of interest - the drain on the filter itself isn't really working. I can take the cap/plug off, but very little water comes out. It has always drained well before. I sprayed into it from the outside with a hose, and could feel the cold water coming in, but it still doesn't drain. I can't feel anything from the inside that would be causing this issue. It may be completely unrelated to the flow issue, but that's the only thing out of the ordinary that I've found.
*EDIT: updated to properly use flow vs pressure*
My water flow (at the skimmer and at the jets) is minimal when the multiport valve is set to filter. If I put it on recirculate, it's incredibly strong and fast.
I assume it has to be something to do with the filter itself, since that's the only thing that's different in those two scenarios. I have a fairly standard sand filter, so I opened it up and removed all of the filter material (this pool actually uses filterballs instead of sand). They were pretty dirty, so I decided to start it back up with the filter empty, to make sure the dirty media was the problem. It wasn't. Even with an empty filter, the flow was still terrible.
I thought maybe something was clogging the PVC pipe that led from the filter to the valve, or perhaps the valve itself. I took both of those apart, but both were clean and in good shape. Nothing blocking them at all. The gasket in the valve looks like it might need replacing within a year or two, but surely that wouldn't cause this, would it?
I'm at a loss as to what else it might be. One other thing that may be of interest - the drain on the filter itself isn't really working. I can take the cap/plug off, but very little water comes out. It has always drained well before. I sprayed into it from the outside with a hose, and could feel the cold water coming in, but it still doesn't drain. I can't feel anything from the inside that would be causing this issue. It may be completely unrelated to the flow issue, but that's the only thing out of the ordinary that I've found.
*EDIT: updated to properly use flow vs pressure*
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