Question about equipment

[dshuster]

I was wondering if someone can elaborate on the water circulation of my pool. I know the water goes out through the skimmers to the filter and then back to the pool through the return inlet. I was wondering if someone can explain at the bottom of my pool the drains and what is the difference. I am attaching pictures.

I am not sure what the first picture is but I have three of them in my pool. What are they and what do they do?

The Second picture is what seems to be a drain in the deep end of the pool? What does it do? Right next to the drain is two little small plugs, I know it is hard to see but what do they do? I have something called infloor cleaning on my jandy one touch device. Does this relate to that?

The third picture is the layout of my pool.

Thanks
-Dimitry

 

[JohnT]

Looks like an infloor cleaning system. The mesh one is your drain, which returns water to the pump just like the skimmer. The other three should rotate while water flows through them to move dirt.

The plugs you see near the drain are probably a hydrostatic pressure relief valve to keep your pool from floating when it is empty. It's a one way valve that allows water to flow into the pool from underneath if there is no water in the pool.

 

[dshuster]

Could you elaborate on how the in-floor cleaning system works? Does water go into them and circulate or air just blown out them to move the dirt? How do I turn them on?

The mesh drain at the bottom of the pool, when does water go into there as opposed to the skimmer? I was always worried if the water fell below the skimmer line, it would ruin the pumps. Is the mesh drain at the bottom like a safety to prevent damage to the pump?

Thanks
-Dimitry

 

[JohnT]

Could you elaborate on how the in-floor cleaning system works? Does water go into them and circulate or air just blown out them to move the dirt? How do I turn them on?

The mesh drain at the bottom of the pool, when does water go into there as opposed to the skimmer? I was always worried if the water fell below the skimmer line, it would ruin the pumps. Is the mesh drain at the bottom like a safety to prevent damage to the pump?

Thanks
-Dimitry

I can't go into a lot of detail on the in-floor system because I've never operated a pool that had it. Water is usually sent to the heads one at a time to sweep the dirt toward the drain. They are troublesome, and a lot of people dislike them. I think a lot of installers see them as future income.

There are diifferent ways that the drain works, depending on how it was installed. If you have two open holes in the bottom of your skimmer, your drain is plumbed through the skimmer and both draw at the same time. If you have one open hole and one plugged hole in your skimmer, your drain probably has its own line back to the pump. Usually there is a three-way valve to adjust how much flow comes from each or a single valve in each line. These valves will usually be fairly close to the intake for the pump.

Drains help circulate the water by pulling water from the bottom while the skimmer pulls from the surface.

The drain can help save your pump from overheating when the water drops if it has its own plumbing, but the pump will still lose prime since it will suck air through the open skimmer pipe. The main safety factor is if you get a basket full of leaves or something else gets in the skimmer that blocks flow.

 

[dshuster]

Last night I looked inside the skimmer and only saw one hole. I do not see any valves anywhere that would control the infloor cleaner. I am attaching pictures to show my setup. Any ideas on how I can tell if they are really infloor cleaners?

Thanks
-Dimitry

 

[JohnT]

Check around http://www.infloorpoolparts.com/identif ... ystem.html to see if anything looks familiar. There may be a name on the things on the floor that might help.

 

[dshuster]

My pool guy came today and said that the items(3 of them in the pool) of picture IMG_20130625_071556 at the bottom were returns and the item of IMG_20130625_071544 was a main drain tied to the skimmer. Does that make sense since I have returns inlets on the side of my pool?

Thanks
-Dimitry