I feel like I'm doing something wrong...

[jfdub]

Hi all, wonderful site here - you all have helped me figure out how to maintain my pool for the last ~6 years and it's been autopilot ever since adding bleach every day and enjoying a wonderful algae free pool. I've added solar heating to the pool since installing it and that also works great but I need a second set of eyes on what seems to be an impossibility...

Here's my pump and filter and I've annotated which direction I believe the water is flowing.

Here is a close up of the see through stop door or whatever that thing is called.

To be clear, water is flowing to the pool - but this 'door' looks like it is closed - am I right? There is one entry point to the filter and one exit point and this has to be the exit but that door is closed. Meanwhile the SWG clearly has water running through it.




What gives?! What am I missing?

 

[mknauss]

Is your pump at a low rpm? I suspect the check valve is open, just not fully open.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Jf,

I agree with Marty...

That said, why are you worrying about a non-existing problem?

When the pump is running that check valve is doing nothing. It is only when the pump is off that it has any effect.

What is not working that brought here today???

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[jfdub]

Sorry, work got busy...

I had to get a new pump installed and all they had was the Pentair VSF pump. When the guy installed it he set the GPM to 50 and said that was good for an 8 hour runtime for a ~23,000 gallon pool. I found that it wasn't getting enough yard droppings in the skimmers so I increased the GPM but nothing changed. Then I forced it to RPM and set RPMs to 3000 just to check if it would make a difference - still at ~1750 RPM. Called the pool store that installed it and the tech ran me through setting EVERY setting to 3000 RPM just to make sure we weren't using the wrong circuit - so now everything is set to 3000 RPM but it's still steady at ~1750 RPM. So, to answer your question I'm just grasping at straws here because the pool guy said he'd have to call Pentair to figure this out. Thought maybe there was something with the plumbing messing with the speed of the pump - I know - far fetched but I'm at the straws faze here. Thank you for any ideas anyone has!

 

[mknauss]

If your rpm will not change to above 1750, try setting one to below 1750. To be honest you should not need the high rpm to operate your pool.

If the pump will run at a rpm at less than 1750 rpm, I would check to be sure that 1750 is not set for the max rpm the pump will run at.

 

[jfdub]

Will check that, thank you. I feel like it needs to run faster because it takes days to get grass clippings off the top of the pool after mowing the lawn. The only direction the wind blows in my backyard is right to left and the PB put 1 skimmer on the far right of the pool which gets next to nothing in it and the 2nd on the house side a little more than halfway across the pool. So I always have floaters in the left side of my pool that take forever to get sucked up. Is there any resolution for this?

 

[jfdub]

Spot on advice - I just went out and set it to 1300 and it went straight to exactly 1300 RPM. Do you know where a setting would be that would limit the RPM of the pump in an easytouch Pentair system? I can't find it in any of the obvious menu settings - maybe on the pump itself which says is disabled due to being controlled by the easytouch?

 

[mknauss]

You set the max rpm at the pump. You have to put the ET in Service Mode and then go to the pump to adjust the max rpm. Use the pump manual for instructions.

Sounds like you have issues with pool design. But also, I now see you have an in floor cleaning system. That takes high rpm too. Make the utility of a VS pump not very useful.

 

[jfdub]

Thank you @mknauss !

Yes bad PB experience all around...

In floor they hard sold us on is useless so I don't even have the valve open. We have a robot cleaner to clean the floor since in floor just pushes all debris to the sides of the pool, not the main drain. Don't get me started!

 

[Jimrahbe]

JF,

Do you have standard wall returns (eyeballs) on the side wall of the pool where water is returned after the filter, or does all your return water pass through the In-Floor Cleaning System??

Do your skimmers have weir doors between the skimmer mouth and the skimmer basket?

Do you run with the Main Drain fully open or closed to 5 or 10%

How many hours a day do you run the main pool pump?

All of these things have an effect on skimming..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[zea3]

Also how high is the water level in the skimmer opening? Is it higher than 1/2 way up the skimmer opening to the pool?

 

[reggiehammond]

My pool will only skim well, getting annoying grass clippings and crepe myrtle flowers, with main drain completely shut down and all suction coming from the skimmers. Not sure if that’s possible with your IFCS, but changed my world when I read that tip.

 

[jfdub]

JF,

Do you have standard wall returns (eyeballs) on the side wall of the pool where water is returned after the filter, or does all your return water pass through the In-Floor Cleaning System??

Yes, I have regular returns as well and also a waterfall into a spa that waterfalls into the pool which is where most of the water is returned to the pool (now... because I can't get the RPMs above ~1750)

Do your skimmers have weir doors between the skimmer mouth and the skimmer basket?

Yes

Do you run with the Main Drain fully open or closed to 5 or 10%

I used to have it closed but the latest pool repair company that came out told me that's kind of a hazard because if the water in the pool gets too low for the skimmers it'll kill the pump. My autolevel system isn't working either so I have it open ~25%.

How many hours a day do you run the main pool pump?

8 hours

All of these things have an effect on skimming..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[jfdub]

Also how high is the water level in the skimmer opening? Is it higher than 1/2 way up the skimmer opening to the pool?

Yes, it's ~1/2 way up the skimmer

 

[jfdub]

I put the ET into service mode and checked the pump - it is set to a max of 3450 RPM.

 

[jfdub]

My pool will only skim well, getting annoying grass clippings and crepe myrtle flowers, with main drain completely shut down and all suction coming from the skimmers. Not sure if that’s possible with your IFCS, but changed my world when I read that tip.

I'll probably do that when I'm not traveling.