Initial Vacuum to waste in gunnite pool

[MamaC4]

Pool company opened 35K gunnite pool in New England. Waiting for the company to do an initial vaccum takes weeks and I realized we probably have equipment on hand from previous owners. If I want to vac to waste so as not to require cleaning out my pump basket every 5 mintues, I should get one of these skimmer vacuum plates, correct? That's the only piece of gear I don't have -- but it sounds like it would be a time saver/game changer.

Any other first time initial vacuum/cleaning tips?

 

[Texas Splash]

I'm still old school (and cheap) so I vacuum manually. Just a hose into the skimmer hole, a vacuum head on wheels, and a pole. Then you can place your MPV on WASTE and go for it. But be mindful of the water level. Pumping to waste will drop it quickly.

 

[Jimrahbe]

If I want to vac to waste so as not to require cleaning out my pump basket every 5 mintues, I should get one of these skimmer vacuum plates, correct?

Mom,

I am not sure I fully understand what you are saying???

If you use your pool pump to vacuum, it does not matter if the water goes to waste or not, it still has to travel through your pump basket.

Edit... OK... I now see where adding the vac plate allows the skimmer basket to stay in-place.. I have a robot so I am a little weak on the details of vacuuming.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[MITBeta]

It's easier to clean a skimmer basket than a pump basket. A skimmer vacuum plate will allow you to keep the basket in and vacuum at the same time.

 

[Apsuhead]

I got a skimmer plate when my robot went out for over a month. Still kept my skimmer sock on there when I vacuumed. It caught everything and made it easy. Didn’t get to my filter basket and didn’t have to lose water by going to waste.

 

[MamaC4]

Thank you all for confirming what I thought.... I got the plate and plugged the other skimmer with a tennis ball, and got started. I had to stop before finishing because the vac seemed to lose suction and I suspected I'd filled the skimmer basket. I got the shallow end done, which wasn't bad compared to the deep end. I'm opening a pool that's been covered since October in New England, so it's BAD! I let the pool fill back up a day, and scooped as many leaves as possible out with a net, then let it all settle back down. I essentially had to start over in the shallow end, but this time I made it to the deep end and only have about 1/4 of the pool to go. Again, this session nearly filled my skimmer basket and I could hear the fitting at the skimmer plate sucking air because the water had dropped below (and it's like a 20 year old hose fitting with a small crack). I think if the pool were just needing a weekly "Tidy" then I could do it in one session, but this is like a recovery effort to get the pool swimmable before this weekend when it's 90 degrees.

Next question: I freaked out when I re-started my system after cleaning out the skimmer the first time, and switching back to filter. I had waited to have enough water, but the pump still needed to be primed, correct? I did it, but held my breath as the psi climbed up soooo slowly. The pump basket always had water in it, but the filter pressure started out around 10psi and hung out there a minute before starting to climb and spit water from the air release. Does this all sound normal? So each time I have to shut down to clean the skimmer basket, I need to prime the pump in Filter, re-establish suction on the hose, and then turn it all off, switch the multi-port to Waste, and then start vacuuming?

I'm grateful for my handed-down Polaris for the weekly cleaning!

 

[Texas Splash]

Does this all sound normal?

Yes. If you allow the water to leave teh filter, it takes a few seconds to fill back up to the air relief valve. The important part is having the ump pot (under teh clear lid) full of water. It helps to keep everything cool while spinning really fast.

 

[MITBeta]

I'm opening a pool that's been covered since October in New England, so it's BAD!

How do you cover your pool? This is what my NE pool looked liked on opening this year. This is typical since adopting TFP.

 

[MamaC4]

We have a mesh cover over our inground pool. Things blow in, and leaves basically act like tea in the water for 7+ months. You must cover yours with a solid cover?

 

[MITBeta]

Yes