Function & setting of valves on my Dad's pool

[Keith H]

Hi All, I have recently had to take over maintenance of my elderly father's pool & having never owned a pool myself, I'm not sure how to set valves for optimal operation of vacuum or skimmer.
His pool is about 10,000 gal & has a single skimmer, vacuum port, 2 drains on bottom, 4 jets in the sides & 2 fountain/falls features. He never swims in it himself so it really just sits there unused waiting for whomever purchases the home if/when he decides to sell it, so it is in pretty pristine condition. Below are some pics of his pump and valves. My problem now is determining what valves are controlling what things in the pool. I have identified that valve #4 controls the fountains, but the others are not as easy to determine. Could anyone tell me based on the photos what these valves are controlling & where they need to be set to make skimmer & vacuum operations run most effectively? Thanks so much.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Keith,

#1 just lets you drain water from your pool.. I assume the PVC cap is not glued on.. Leave it as it is, to run the pool..

#2 lets you select where the pump sucks water from.. Usually a Skimmer(s), Main Drain, or vacuum port.
#3 works in conjunction with #2.. There is no fixed way to plumb these so you will have to experiment to see which valve controls what..

#4 sends water to either the pool returns (eyeballs) or the the two fountains..
#5 controls the water going to the two fountains, so you can make them look the same or only run one of them.

You will need to experiment to see what each valve does for sure, but my guess is the #2 is currently set to suck water from only the skimmer. This means that no water can enter from valve #3.. I assume that # 3 is currently set with the main drain open and the vacuum port closed..

# 4 is currently set to send all the water back to the pool. No water is going to the fountains.. If you sent #4 to send water to #5, then one of the fountains will be shut off as valve #5 only has one port open and the other shut off.

Just get out there and have fun.. Turn each valve and see what happens.

P. S. I knew you were in Florida as soon as I saw the size of your filter..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Keith H]

Thanks Jim,
I really appreciate the guidance. Yes, I am just north of Orlando. Is that filter larger than usual for other parts of the country?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Keith,

I think when they said that "size" matters, pool builders in Florida must have thought they were taking about something other than filters..

Most Florida pools, that we seen here, have dinky little filters.. As long as it works that is all that matters.. Most filters that we see from other parts of the country are much larger looking anyway.

The larger the filter the less filter pressure, and the less often you have to clean it..

If you are just "place keeping" until you sell the house, then the setup in your pictures is where I would run it..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Keith H]

Jim,
Ok. Thanks. A couple questions, if you don't mind. I only set up the vacuum when I know I need to get the bottom clean, (I hade to initially brush down sides and bottom & treat with algaecide) Am I right in thinking that if I have the vacuum running from the side port to clean the bottom I want the water to be sucking from that side port hight and skimmer lowest? And does it matter if the jets or fountains are set for the most return into the pool during vacuuming? And conversely if the skimmer is running, the vac port in addition to being closed, needs to have the suction to it turned off or at least down and the jets need to be getting more return water to keep the surface water flowing around to pass by the skimmer? And lastly how does water being sucked from the bottom drain affect both skimmer & vacuum performance? Sorry to ask so many questions, I really appreciate your time.
Keith

 

[Jimrahbe]

Keith,,

For the most part the main drains are not really needed. I guess you could try to push dirt into them, but that does not really work well. Vacuuming is better, so just leave the main drain off..

When you vacuum, you should use all vac and no skimmer, but often, the pump will not get enough water to run in this configuration.. When that happens, just open the skimmer a little at a time, until the pump is happy and the vacuum is working well.

Most of the time you want to be running all skimmer and sending all the water back to the pool returns...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Keith H]

Thanks Jim, Your a life saver.
Keith