Skimmer Questions

[poolneophyte]

Hello,

I am a new pool owner and have a couple of questions regarding skimmers:

• How much water should I pull through the skimmers? Right now, I think the valve is set so more water pulls through the main drains. Since I am running my VSP at a lower speed for longer periods, I think that I may need to pull more from the skimmers to keep the surface clean.
  
  I am assuming that I should always shut the pump off to clean the skimmer baskets. Is this correct?
  
  Should the return fittings (eyeballs) be adjusted on the high side to create surface turbulance? Does this affect FC loss?

Thanks in advance for the help. This forum is great and I know that I will be spending a lot of time here.

Edited - Sorry, I was trying to make a numbered list but it didn't work.

 

[reebok]

1. you'll have to experiment to find what works for you.
2. I don't, but I suppose you risk pulling stuff in. of course, that's what the basket in the pump is for, so as long as you don't have giant wads of leaves floating around waiting to get sucked in, you should be ok. again, whatever works best for you and you prefer.
3. why? if it works better that way to push stuff towards the skimmer to keep the surface cleaner, and that's what you need, then do it. I usually keep mine about level with the return. fc is basically lost by sunlight and fighting organics.

but really, most of your questions are simply personal preference and finding what works best for you.

 

[poolneophyte]

Thanks for the quick response. I agree that these are mostly personal preferences but I am new to this. As far as the skimmer/main drain question is concerned, do I really need to use the main drains at all? It seems like I could pull of the water through the skimmers to keep the surface clean. Maybe, the main drains should be slightly open to protect the pump in case the skimmers get clogged?

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Yes, it protects the pump but you also want it partially open for good circulation at the bottom.