New to pools. Lots of questions

[rmeav8er]

I bought a house this past winter in upstate NY. The pool was already closed and I wouldn't know what I was looking for even if it was open. The previous owner always had the same compaly come out and open and close it. We had the same company open it this past Friday, more because I had no idea where to start. 48 hours later, it's still murky and I'm pulling lots of leaves off the bottom. This is probably due to the house being empty for several months before the pool was closed last year. I haven't tested the water yet but that's not what I'm looking for quite yet. Once I get to that point, I'll test and post results.

My first question is about the valve I have coming in from the pool to the pump. After some research, I'm assuming that 1 of the pipes is the skimmers and the other is the main drain. I think that port 1 is the skimmers since when I switch it over to port 1 full, I can see the water moving into one skimmer. I'm assuming the other skimmer has a blockage in it since I can't get water to move through it at all. Where do I need to set this valve to get the most gunk out of the pool? Do I need to have the majority coming through the main drain or the skimmers?

My second question is about the PSI on the filter housing. When I have it set to port 2 full(which I think is the main drain), the PSI is about 9. Anytime I add port 1(skimmers) to the mix, it goes up to 23. Any idea why or what that means? The company that came out to open the pool didn't back wash the filter. I've read this should be done when the PSI is about 10% over clean. Not sure how to get my baseline with 2 very different readings.

Third question is in regards to the backwash hose on the filter. Right now there is a hose that I was told for the backwash just hanging out on the ground since we couldn't figure out where it should hook up to. Any thoughts where it might go? I also have a random pipe sticking out of the ground directly in front of the filter by the 2 pipes coming from the pool.

Fourth question. I know we need a pool cleaner of some sort. I have lots of other things to do besides spend time cleaning my pool. I was thinking about getting a Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus robot cleaner. I know opinions on brands are going to vary but is something like this what I'm looking for to make my life easier?

I have a rats nest worth of piping and will be redoing it all this fall. Some of it goes to a solar system that leaks like a sieve and will need lots of work before I can send the water through it.

I'll be happy to answer any specific questions and will greatly appreciate the help. Any other advice or good threads to start with would be helpful. I tried to search but don't really know where to start.

 

[rmeav8er]

I tried to add more pictures but apparently I'm over my limit.

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

Maybe I can help with a couple of those questions.

On the skimmer versus main drain: it's possible that it is plumbed the way you think, with skimmers on one side, main drain on the other. It's also possible that each skimmer has a side so you can shut one to vacuum from the other, which means the main drain has to be plumbed some other way, which could be up through the bottom of a skimmer. Or skimmer two could be plumbed up through skimmer one. In either case you'd need a diverter valve in the bottom of the skimmer, below the baskets.

Have you seen anything in the skimmer or in the shed that looks like either of these?

Those are diverters.

Also look below the skimmer baskets and see if there is one or two holes. If there aren't two, then you have no need for a diverter. How the one works is like this:

Second question: the pressure behavior you describe is normal. When you give the pump maximum water on the inlet, you'll get maximum on the outlet and thus higher pressure. Restrict the intake and you lower the pressure. Restrict it all the way, you get zero flow and zero pressure. I get higher pressure and better flow if I draw from pool and spa. You get better pressure when you draw from two sources, too. For general operation, you want maximum water for maximum filtration, which means maximum pressure. So wherever that setting is, use that for baseline and backwash indication.

If the backwash hose is one of these thin, flimsy vinyl things that go flat, odds are the backwash just gets dumped out on the yard somewhere and not into a sewer. Someone would have hardplumbed it to a sewer, most likely. A warning: if there is even a hint of a kink in the hose before you backwash, it will twist itself into a full kink when under pressure and pop so fast you won't believe it. Trust me. It won't straighten itself out.

Pool cleaner, can't help. I'm a Luddite who uses a manual vacuum and a hose in the skimmer.

 

[rmeav8er]

Skimmer is only a basket with one hole in the bottom of the opening. When it was winterized, they put a green bottle of something in it that blew out the water and stayed it over the winter to keep the water out. I guess I'll have to diagnose a blockage in the other skimmer.