Hello I am new to owning a pool and am confused at what does what here. It is a pool and jacuzzi with lots of valves. Ok 3 but I have no idea what they do. I hired a pool guy for the first few weeks since house was 2 months in escrow and they failed to maintain it. Well I fired the pool guy because it was one reason after another why it still had algae. Anyways I have a nice sparkling pool now for the most part but I have no idea when or what these valves do. Anyone know which does what?
New pool owner with no idea what the valves do here
- Thread starter purehobby
- Start date
The valve by the front of the pump is the suction valve ... selects between sucking from pool or spa.
I think the one directly above it is the return valve ... selects between returning to the pool or spa (I would guess it is in Pool Mode in the pic)
The vertical valve I think would be on the pool return side to select between wall returns and a water feature(?) or pressure side cleaner(?)
... just turn it and see what happens
I think the one directly above it is the return valve ... selects between returning to the pool or spa (I would guess it is in Pool Mode in the pic)
The vertical valve I think would be on the pool return side to select between wall returns and a water feature(?) or pressure side cleaner(?)
... just turn it and see what happens
So does your MX8 hook up in the skimmer, I assume?
FYI, your floor drains are likely plumbed to your skimmer and then from the skimmer to the pump. There should be a diverter valve in the skimmer under the basket that allow you to select how much is pulled from the floor and how much through the skimmer.
FYI, your floor drains are likely plumbed to your skimmer and then from the skimmer to the pump. There should be a diverter valve in the skimmer under the basket that allow you to select how much is pulled from the floor and how much through the skimmer.
That helps I had no idea if I should touch them or not but I will give it a shot and see. Yes the MX8 is hooked in the skimmer I didnt see a valve in there but I will check when I took out the basket and the piece under that there were two holes one with suction and the other didnt seem to be doing anything.
Did the piece you removed under the skimmer looks like a space ship (or some look like a Twinkie). That is the "diverter valve". The other hole goes to your floor drain ... so you would not feel water moving.
There should be a float inside which is kind of a safety device. IF the water level dropped below the skimmer, the float drops and lets the pump pull from the floor instead of just air ... so the pump will not burn up.
There should also be a slider on the bottom. If you close the hole, then almost all the suction will come from the floor. If you open the hole, most of the suction comes through the skimmer (I leave mine open for better skimming).
There should also be a slider on the bottom. If you close the hole, then almost all the suction will come from the floor. If you open the hole, most of the suction comes through the skimmer (I leave mine open for better skimming).
So did you have one of these (spaceship) when the cleaner is not installed:
The "danger" with the way you currently have it hooked up is that there does not appear to be a basket before the pump basket to catch any leave/debris (unless there is one in the hose that I can not see).
Some cleaners hook up to a plate that sits over the skimmer basket, but there may not be anything wrong with the way yours is hooked up.
For the record, I have never had a suction cleaner.
The "danger" with the way you currently have it hooked up is that there does not appear to be a basket before the pump basket to catch any leave/debris (unless there is one in the hose that I can not see).
Some cleaners hook up to a plate that sits over the skimmer basket, but there may not be anything wrong with the way yours is hooked up.
For the record, I have never had a suction cleaner.
Yup that is the little spaceship I took out to hook in the MX8. I bought a leaf catcher to filter thru the hose before hitting the skimmer. However I am finding that when the MX8 goes to the surface it brings the leaf catcher to the surface as well and is getting air in the system so tonight i am going to lower the suction level and see how that works. I bought the MX8 4 days ago and installed how it says since I do not have a dedicated suction line it appears.
My question is that if thats a DE filter it looks as if there is no way to backwash it......are you sure its not a cartridge filter????
Brent
Brent
The Crystal Water cartridge and DE filter housings look identical so it impossible to tell by looking which it is, but 'Brent and Lisa' have a very good point. The label and the internals would be the only way to tell.
The vertical valve in your picture looks like the heater bypass to me.
Hooking up the vacuum like you do is ok, and you may have to do it like that to get enough suction for it to work. It would be better if you could leave the diverter in place but you may get too much suction through the main drain for the vacuum to work. I would add a leaf canister to the hose if you don't already have one.
The vertical valve in your picture looks like the heater bypass to me.
Hooking up the vacuum like you do is ok, and you may have to do it like that to get enough suction for it to work. It would be better if you could leave the diverter in place but you may get too much suction through the main drain for the vacuum to work. I would add a leaf canister to the hose if you don't already have one.
It may be filter cartridges actually I googled DE filter and it came up with picture and that is how I came up with that. It has 4 individual filters round and about 2 feet tall (Roughly) does that help?
I do have the leaf catcher on there and it works great.
As for the back washing I have no idea when, how or what to do there. Can anyone explain?
I do have the leaf catcher on there and it works great.
As for the back washing I have no idea when, how or what to do there. Can anyone explain?
It's a cartridge filter then. You don't backwash a cartridge filter. You take the carts out and clean them each time. Have you added DE to the filter?
Oh ok perfect then. I have taken the filters out and cleaned them a couple weeks ago and planned on doing so again this weekend to get an idea of when I need to clean them
Clean them according to your pressure gauge. Next time you clean it, note the clean pressure on your gauge. Clean them when your gauge rises 20% to 25% above clean pressure.purehobby said:
For example:
You clean your filter, put it back together and start it up. Note the pressure gauge reading. This is your clean pressure. Let's say it reads 15psi when clean. Your would then wait until the gauge reads 18 psi to 19psi to clean. 18psi is a 20% increase over 15psi. 19psi would be a 25% increase.