Trying to clean up green pool full of leaves - vacuuming to waste question

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Annmariet

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May 19, 2015
6
Rocky Mount, VA
Hi,
I have been following many threads on how to get a green swamp back to normal, and I need some help with one piece of this puzzle. I want to vacuum to waste because I can't seem to get the leaves out of the bottom of the deep end using a leaf net. I have a sand filer, and I do have a waste option on my multliport controls.
So my question is how do I arrange the valves on my plumbing to vacuum to waste? To filter I have the one on the left open and the one on the right closed. To backwash I reverse this process. I am new to owning a pool and am a little hazy on the plumbing aspect and do not have anyone to help explain it to me in person.

Also, when I rinse I am leaving the valves in the same position as when I backwash. Is this correct? I would think it is so I don't send dirt back into the pool. All of the labels on the filter have disintegrated so I can't tell when it is. I can take a picture of the plumbing if that would help.

Thank you for any assistance. The folks here are so knowledgable and helpful, I love this forum ��
 
There is a tutorial on how to upload pics. (i'm not sure how to find it, I just know it exists)
I know that if they are too bug you will get that error. (i did the same thing)
The biggest suggestion is to get a photobucket account and then post a link.
 
pool%20pump_zpsqmw2jrrw.jpg

Okay... when you vacuum to waste you want both valves open. You'll know you have things right when stuff gets sucked into the vacuum hose and no water is going back to the pool. You are aware that when you vacuum to waste, you will lose several inches of water, correct? So you might want to start adding water to the pool now and keep it running while you vacuum.

The valve on the far right shouldn't actually be there. That's the waste line. Unless the multiport (that big dial) is set on waste or backwash it should just sit there empty. I suspect the gasket inside the multiport is bad and it leaks and rather than fix it properly, someone cut the pipe and added a valve.

Multiport
DaveNJ-MultiPositionValve.jpg


The gasket inside
X-PertPool-SpiderGasket.jpg
 
Ok, I added a few more pictures. Let me know if this helps. I am constantly fighting the ivy and weeds out here, I had to uncover all of the equipment, it was lost to plant life when I first moved in and I just had a green hump by the pool!

- - - Updated - - -

Hi, I am adding water as we speak, thanks for the heads up though! So both valves open to vacuum to waste. Am I doing it right when I shut the left valve to back wash and rinse? I wish someone had been living here to show me this stuff, I am just reading and trying to understand. I bought the recommended test kit and read all of the basics on chemistry on here and feel better about understanding that part at least. Now I just need to understand the physical set up ��. Thank you for helping me! I did post more pictures if that helps see what I am working with.
 
I don't know exactly what the left valve does. I just know it's on the suction line and you say you use it on filter mode.

It will be worth your while to identify what valve is in which line. The waste line is the one on the far right. The line going into the front of the pump is the suction line, so it goes to any skimmers you have and the main drain if you have one. So if you experiment a little, you should figure out which valve shuts off what and identify things by process of elimination.
 
Can you read the words on the multiport? It looks just like what Richard posted. THAT is what you change to get your filter to do different jobs. Make sure your pump is OFF before you move the multiport.

Kim
 

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I can read the words on the port, my question is about the valves on the lines and which to open for different functions. I opened both, and vacuumed. It definitely dumped out the waste line. Then I tried to shut the one on the right, which is tough to turn and it snapped off. So now I need a plumber. I have the worst luck sometimes!
 
Annmariet said:
I can read the words on the port, my question is about the valves on the lines and which to open for different functions. I opened both, and vacuumed. It definitely dumped out the waste line. Then I tried to shut the one on the right, which is tough to turn and it snapped off. So now I need a plumber. I have the worst luck sometimes!
Click to expand...
The one on the right shouldn't even need to be there, as I mentioned above. The multiport valve controls the flow to the waste line. If you're not on backwash, rinse, or waste, nothing should be coming out that port, period.
 
Thanks Richard! I have the pump running and a pool plumber is coming out to look at this. Hopefully I can get some information on what does what, and get rid of that valve if it is indeed a gasket leak issue. Once I can get this resolved, hopefully I can get this pool usable. It is still murky but it is slowly getting better thanks to all the great info on this site��
 
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