Vacuuming question

[perfectionsoup]

Hello all, I'm still trying to master the art of vacuuming my pool to get large debris and sand/dirt off the bottom. The vacuum and hose left for me by the previous owner had cracks in the hose and I could never seem to accomplish much using it. I've ordered and recieved a new vacuum head and hose and am planning to try again today. My main question is do I have to vacuum to waste for it to be effective? I'm hesitant to do this as I'm worried about dumping a ton of water while I am still learning how to do it properly. Is vacuuming with the multiport set to filter or recirculate a valid option? When I tried this before I could never seem to get enough suction, but I'm not sure if that was due to the cracked hose or not.

My pool equipment is ancient and doesn't seem to have any sort of adjustment for suction level from the skimmer vs the main drain. Is it possible it was set up without an adjustment or am I just missing it somehow?

Any tips on vacuuming for a newbie?

 

[aussieta]

place multiport in filter mode when vacuuming

 

[zea3]

Can you post a photo of the inside of your skimmer with the basket removed? That will help us determine how to adjust your suction.

 

[timerguy]

The few times I tried to do a manual vacuum, I'd turn off I skimmer and the main drain. That seemed to work until I broke the vacuum head. I bought a new one, tried using it once, but decided against ever doing a manual vacuum again and just rely on my Polaris to do the job it was designed to do. So much easier.

 

[perfectionsoup]

Well, I tried out the new vacuum and hose, and it was certainly better than the old one. I was able to get all the big leaves and such off the bottom, and some of the sand/dirt. It still wasn't super easy and doesn't look perfect, but much better.

The house did come with a Dirt Devil brand robotic cleaner that runs off an electrical outlet, but both times I've tossed it in it seemed to mainly push things around rather than clean them up.

I will take and post a pic of the inside of the skimmer later today, I work nights and it's too dark out to get a reasonable photo at the moment.