Plumbing help..

[undrwater]

Hi all! Last post here:
https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/173886-First-Test-Need-Advice

Based on that post, I have a question about draining my pool, and a question about one of my "returns". One at a time:

* Draining - I purchased a submersible pump and plan to drain when the weather here in SoCal gets gloomy. The pump has a standard hose attachment, and I have a p-trap.

Question: Can I run the hose from the pump into the slide backwash valve housing (that would then run to the p-trap)? I could potentially find or make a fitting to screw onto the valve with a bib / nipple for the hose if needed.

* "return" - I recently pulled out the venturi on my attached spa, and pulled crud out of them, as they were not jetting.

The main pool has what I assume is a return that is not pushing water, so I assume a blockage similar to the spa. I don't think the outlet has a venturi like the spa, and even with a mask and flashlight it's hard to see what's back there. Is there something back there that can be pulled out / unscrewed to see if there's a blockage?

Thanks!

[Edit]
Forgot!
* I have a "booster pump" attached to a thinner (3/4"?) pipe. Not sure what it's function is. I'll attach a pic later, but I've read that it could be vacuum related. When I run it, I can't figure out what's happening...no suction happening at the "outlet".

 

[Divin Dave]

Draining - it might be tricky connect the pump hose to a small fitting of some sort on your slide drain. If you happen to be able to, it needs to be strong. That pump can flat out pump a lot of water and produces a lot of pressure. I would think anything less than perfect connection, and the pump hose will blow off.

Return - there isnt anything like a spa venturi on it. Its just a straight pipe. Depending on how it was installed, the return pipe might be T'eed, into another pipe coming from the filter, or it might go all the way back to an above ground manifold at the equipment pad. You might able to use a plumbers snake type drain cleaner to unclog it. Other folks might have some other ideas.

Booster Pump is for running a "Pressure Side" cleaner such as a Polaris 360. You connect the hose from the 360 to the connection on the pool wall and turn on the pump. The cleaner uses the water pressure from the booster pump to propel it around the pool.

 

[undrwater]

Thanks Divin Dave!

Draining - It was the back pressure that got me thinking about buying / making a cap for the slide valve with a standard garden hose NPT threaded nipple. So it will be garden hose attached directly to the submersible pump, then garden hose attached to slide valve cap with NPT threaded nipple. It will be moving from a smaller diameter to a larger one, so I think I'll be ok with the threads. While doing that, I figure I'd pull out the DE elements and give them a good cleaning individually. Otherwise it would just be garden hose diameter the whole run to the front yard.

Return - I jumped into the pool last night while it was dark (and cold!), and it appears that the whole thing is blocked. I believe perhaps that a previous pool caretaker may have blocked it, because it doesn't look like it provides the best current management. It shoots straight across the pool, cutting off any current made by the other returns, and probably keeps any debris from entering the skimmer. It's gonna bug me till I know for sure though.

Does anything in there unscrew? Here's a pic:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19gt_kgMhloG7Z3hZfmFnGCcnOCDL-Quw/view?usp=sharing

Pump - I've never had any kind of cleaner in the pool, and I think the way this pump was plumbed before we got a new pump was as added support - to make heating the pool faster. Here's a picture of how it is plumbed now:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kgPgs5bWjgAuF10PrPlowulny5vBMceb/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mfvaw7hPiCXyV4GBzcsr1kQACCJlSJ8J/view?usp=sharing

Here's a pdf image of the pool. The red circled area is where the blocked return is:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aXpz5MPGbdnPLTHmrD637jaxa1kbps3S/view?usp=sharing

Hope this helps clarify the questions.

 

[kadavis]

Try attaching a garden hose to the front of the booster pump and turn water on. The water should come out the hole you circled if the line coming off the top of booster is connected. Can't tell in the pictures you took

 

[undrwater]

Great idea, thanks!

The pipe goes down into the pad next to the general inlet / outlet pipes. Where it goes from there...no clue. Your advice should help me get one.

 

[undrwater]

Try attaching a garden hose to the front of the booster pump and turn water on. The water should come out the hole you circled if the line coming off the top of booster is connected. Can't tell in the pictures you took

Eureka! Thank you again! Now I'm confident I understand how the plumbing works, and I can write a manual if there's ever another owner.

I also made progress on the submersible pump to slide valve attachment. When the temps fall to more normal winter-ish (at least as close as we get here in SoCal), I'll take some pics of the setup. If it works well, I'll take a video.

 

[undrwater]

There it is. I tested it, and it seemed to work well.