Plumbing questions

[nevbob]

Recently purchased a house with a pool in the Phoenix AZ area. No instructions about the pool included, so I have been learning on the job. By doing a lot of reading on the web I think I have it pretty much figured everything out, but do have a few questions.
Pool is kidney shaped in ground, plaster with a spa area next to the skimmer. 38 feet long by about 14 feet wide and I assumed an average depth of 6 feet for about 24,000 gal. It has a Triton high rate sand filter (model no. serial no. and other details cannot be read) using a 1 HP Hayward pump the pressure stays around 16 or 17 until the filter gets dirty. Only has a two way back wash valve so was able to figure that out.

Question 1 The skimmer weir is missing, is this a big deal or should I not worry about it? Pool is fairly protected so do not get much debris on top.

Question 2 The skimmer has two holes in the bottom, one is definitely the intake and the other appears to be connected to the bottom drain. Concluded this by connecting the two holes together with a short vacuum hose and watching debris going into bottom drain. Is this a normal configuration and is there any other purpose for it?

Question 3 There are two 1 ½ “ lines (each with a gate valve) going into the pump. One line is hooked to the skimmer but I have no ides what the other line was/is for. Turning the valve on the second line has no effect on pressure or water flow. In the wall across from the skimmer there is a hole that is different from the 3 other input holes and it does not have any flow or vacuum. Can I assume that this is an other place to hook up a vacuum and that is probably plugged?

Did a lot of reading to come up with a modified version of the BBB maintenance plan and want to thank everyone who helped me get it figured out.

Thanks in advance for any help,

NevBob

 

[Richard320]

Question 1 The skimmer weir is missing, is this a big deal or should I not worry about it? Pool is fairly protected so do not get much debris on top.

I'd get one. Once people are in splashing around, you could get waves that will wash debris from the skimmer back into the pool. The weir will prevent that.

Question 2 The skimmer has two holes in the bottom, one is definitely the intake and the other appears to be connected to the bottom drain. Concluded this by connecting the two holes together with a short vacuum hose and watching debris going into bottom drain. Is this a normal configuration and is there any other purpose for it?

Yes, normal. You're missing a diverter. It puts a bias on the flow so some is from skimmer and some is from drain. Without it, you're only pulling water from the skimmer. Think about it - if you had a choice between sucking liquid 2' or 10', which do you think wins? There's a picture in the encyclopedia in pool school of a diverter.

Question 3 There are two 1 ½ “ lines (each with a gate valve) going into the pump. One line is hooked to the skimmer but I have no ides what the other line was/is for. Turning the valve on the second line has no effect on pressure or water flow. In the wall across from the skimmer there is a hole that is different from the 3 other input holes and it does not have any flow or vacuum. Can I assume that this is an other place to hook up a vacuum and that is probably plugged?

Did a lot of reading to come up with a modified version of the BBB maintenance plan and want to thank everyone who helped me get it figured out.

Thanks in advance for any help,

NevBob

What happens if you open mystery valve and close skimmer valve? It may be the drain in the spa.

 

[nevbob]

My use of spa is misleading, what I have is a concave seating area with 4 bubble jets. The area is part of the pool and has no drain. My idea of a second vacuum port make any sense?
Thanks for your help.

Bob

 

[mas985]

Yes, the second port is probably the vacuum port. Open the valve and then see if there is suction on that port. If not then maybe it was sealed off some time ago.

 

[Shane1]

Where are you located in Phoenix? I'm out west in Buckeye. I would like to hear about your modified BBB method. Sounds like the good folks here have things sorted out for you but if you could post a few pics of your setup it might help.
Goodluck