Question about my plumbing.

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L

leofeld

Active member
Jul 30, 2023
42
Las Vegas
Pool Size
11000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Just wondering if main drain is connected to spa or skimmer line. When valve in pic is to the left it sucks from the spa, right it sucks from the skimmer. I know the valve underneath increases vacuum suction.
How do I know where my main drain is connected to?
I also have a return jet in my pool that doesn't have any water coming through it, is this by design?
 

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Leo,

If what you say is true, then your main drain should be plumbed into the bottom of your skimmer.

In the big picture it does not matter, as you don't really need a main drain..

Show us a pic of your skimmer, with the basket out, and the pump off.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Leo,

If what you say is true, then your main drain should be plumbed into the bottom of your skimmer.

In the big picture it does not matter, as you don't really need a main drain..

Show us a pic of your skimmer, with the basket out, and the pump off.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
 

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Your valve should be completely closed to the spa suction when in pool mode, not positioned as in the picture. The main drain in that old skimmer was attached to a port below the bottom of the skimmer. You can see a small area with a screw-hole in it, six-o'clock position in the picture. A small tear-drop shaped flap would have been attached there and could "throttle" how much flow came from the skimmer by covering the opening in the bottom. Closing the port would increase suction in the main-drain port below.
 
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Leo,

That skimmer is from before my time and I am old as dirt... :mrgreen:

Most skimmers have two holes.. one for the main drain the other for the skimmer.

I suspect that your main drain is connected to your skimmer, but underneath the skimmer.. I think if you look there used to be some type of flap that could be closed that would turn on the main drain.

You can take a piece of wood, that is bigger than the pipe, and with the pump running, put the wood over the open pipe and see what happens. If the pump continues to pump water, you'll know your main drain is working. If the pump quickly runs out of water, then the main drain is capped off or not connected to your skimmer. Might be best to do that test with two people.. one closing the open pipe, and the other watching the pump.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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1poolman1 said:
Your valve should be completely closed to the spa suction when in pool mode, not positioned as in the picture. The main drain in that old skimmer was attached to a port below the bottom of the skimmer. You can see a small area with a screw-hole in it, six-o'clock position in the picture. A small tear-drop shaped flap would have been attached there and could "throttle" how much flow came from the skimmer by covering the opening in the bottom. Closing the port would increase suction in the main-drain port below.
Click to expand...
Thank you. That was actually gonna be one of my next questions, what the correct position is.
Should I have the return set to only go back in the pool than too?
 
Jimrahbe said:
Leo,

That skimmer is from before my time and I am old as dirt... :mrgreen:

Most skimmers have two holes.. one for the main drain the other for the skimmer.

I suspect that your main drain is connected to your skimmer, but underneath the skimmer.. I think if you look there used to be some type of flap that could be closed that would turn on the main drain.

You can take a piece of wood, that is bigger than the pipe, and with the pump running, put the wood over the open pipe and see what happens. If the pump continues to pump water, you'll know your main drain is working. If the pump quickly runs out of water, then the main drain is capped off or not connected to your skimmer. Might be best to do that test with two people.. one closing the open pipe, and the other watching the pump.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...
Hahaha 😆 yah I bought this place a couple years ago from the original owner. Pretty sure the pool was put in when the house was built back in the 70s.
Thanks for explaining!
 
leofeld said:
Thank you. That was actually gonna be one of my next questions, what the correct position is.
Should I have the return set to only go back in the pool than too?
Click to expand...
Without seeing the rest of the plumbing, no. Most likely you have no dedicated fill line for the spa, so the return valve should be partially open to the spa so that it gets fresh water and overflows into the pool each day.
 
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