I was told I can get an award for stupidest question of the month.

Year?

Lifetime?

Anyway, AG pool. I was wondering how high to fill up the pool past the skimmer? Does it have to be fully submerged or is halfway up the skimmer opening enough. Yep, first pool, and totally new at this. I didn't see anything in the instructions about that.


While I'm here... How often should I reassess the water depth and refill it? Is it just upon splashing or evaporation etc..?

My guess is never to let it go below the skimmer bottom, right? Should I not let it get close? I think my pump will thank me.

Please mail me the trophy, award, or certificate. Thanks in advance. lol jk

Just kidding.

2/3rds up....if it goes a bit higher, not a problem, splashout will bring it down. Unless you get a ton of rain, then you want to drain a bit out otherwise the skimmer won't "skim" the water properly. Don't let it get too low you can begin to suck air thru the skimmer which is bad for the pump.

Ooooh, a crown! lol

"2/3rds up", thank you!

Hey, now would be a good time to add your location in your profile and your pool and equipment specs in your sig. Info on 'how to' in Pool School.

I was planning on putting something in my signature, but wanted tio wait until the pool was all set up. My install will be within a week or two. I do know what everything will be, but who knows what might change by then. I don't know, it's almost like celebrating your birthday a few days earlier because it falls on a weekend. Putting it in my sig when it's still in boxes doesn't feel right. lol I will get to it though.

One more question. When calculating pool volume, do you measure up to the "half the skimmer" height or "2/3" or wherever your level is when figuring total gallons? 18' round X 54" high btw. Thank you.

If your wall is 54" your water will be about 4.5 for the calculating.

OK, so it's not to the fill line. *edit* Not that the measurement would make a huge difference with that size pool... thanks

I keep my water at appx 1" - 1.5" below the top of the skimmer opening. Also - please note water volume can change based on where your skimmer is located on the wall - I have seen some skimmers waaaay down on the wall. Mine is right at the very top of the wall just before the rail - for a small pool it may not make a big difference but for a larger pool, a difference of 4-6" is a lot of water. This I know because I have seen that volume of water sitting in my yard when a hose blew - several times. It's a LOT of water.

Good point....

LOL... I had that happen 4 times last year... stupid cheap fittings on my intex salt system.

Hi Lazyman, your Sta Rite skimmer uses a standard Hayward screw pattern. You will find two center screws on each side. Always keep your water level between these these two screws. Any fuller than the top screw and you will be splashing a lot of water out of your skimmer lid, and the skimmer will not skim. Any lower than the bottom hole and you will be sucking air into the filter.

In the hot Arizona sun, that means filling the pool at least once a week.

Your skimmer is set to accept 1 1/2" PVC fittings. The easiest, and I think, best way to plumb this is with 1 1/2" flexible PVC pipe. Flex pipe will never blow out in the middle of the night like pool hoses. It is better than solid PVC because it allows your skimmer to move as your pool wall moves, and it is every bit as strong as solid pipe. It cuts and glues like solid pipe but is so much easier to work with. You would use 1 1/2" male adapters into the skimmer and pump, also return and filter, but do not glue them. Use teflon tape and some liquid T+2 on the threads. The pipe gets glued in with regular PVC glue.

Two things can happen when you ask a stupid question, first off they are not stupid and there are probably a hundred people wanting to know the same thing, but they were afraid to ask. Secondly, as you see, we build on that question and a lot of info flows.

Can't wait for install, keep us posted.

Dennis

Thanks Dennis. Didn't think about that "moving" issue with the skimmer. I've already purchased and planned for 2" pvc piping. Maybe I should get a few feet of flex for those two locations. Wednesday is supposed to be the install, but the way things are going, I don't know. Thanks again.

Movement, huh? Hmmm... Wow, it's always something... I keep trying to "prepare", yet I still get info like this that throws me off.

It's not a big thing, you will be just fine. You see, long ago when skimmers came with cork gaskets, the wall would give a little and the skimmer would not, leaks developed over the years. The new rubber gaskets are probably just enough to absorb this small amount of wall play. Really, it's no big thing. I would rather see solid pipe than standard flex hose.

Hope for pics Wed. eve

Dennis