New to the pool game HELP!

[Coolhand75]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the group. My wife and I just bought a new to us home that has and older in ground pool. We never had much luck with the above ground style pools. So I have zero idea how to properly work it and there's no labels on anything. I was hoping someone could help make sense of it. I pretty sure I pull up on the aluminum handle to back wash, the red ball valve i have no idea what that's for and the multifunction valve is for the heater maybe. Please help it needs to be backwashed bad there's all sorts of debris in there.

 

[lightmaster]

While I don't know much about sand filters, looks like that red ball valve cuts off water coming into the filter from the pump, probably for when you change the sand or add DE powder. The spigot right before the red ball valve is probably to let you hook up a hose to drain some water out after it rains, if the water level gets too high. the black 3 way valve going into the pump controls the flow between skimmer and main drain, assuming you have a skimmer and main drain.

Please add whatever info you can to your signature so we can get an idea of what your pool is to help you. AG vs IG, fiberglass (FB) vs vinyl vs gunite vs plaster. You have a heater obviously and Sta-Rite sand filter, so add those. If you can read the model of the filter and also your pump, please add that as well. Basically anything that could give us an idea of what runs your pool.

Also, if you haven't ordered a test kit yet, order either the TF-100 or K2006C (I personally use and prefer the TF-100, the amount of reagents is more geared towards what a residential pool uses). Link to the TF-100 is in my signature. Do yourself a huge favor and order a SpeedStir as well. Its so worth every penny you spend on it, making your testing take a fraction of the time and much much easier.

 

[Coolhand75]

Thank you very much for your reply. I'll add the other stuff to my signature asap

 

[AftonJeeper]

I haven't seen that style valve used on a pool but I think you are right about the aluminum handle being for backwash. It looks like it pulls up on a plunger to allow water out the lower pipe that goes back into the house. Can you confirm that that pipe is connected to a drain someplace?

Otherwise I think lightmaster has you well covered. Let us know what else we can help with.

 

[Richard320]

Coming out the front of the pump you have a three-way valve that most likely is split between skimmer and main drain. You'll have to experiment to see if that's true and which side is which. Or maybe two skimmers.

Coming out the top of the pump you have a hose bib to bleed off excess water. That ball valve -- who knows why it's there. I wouldn't touch it. Those things tend to bind and break and you don't want that.

Then you have a push-pull backwash valve that works thus:

From there is goes through the filter and then the heater and then back to the pool.

As mentioned above, find out where the waste pipe goes. You don't want to backwash and then discover you've overwhelmed the drain it feeds and flooded some part of the house.

It's very common that those push-pull valves get stiff. Sometimes it takes a real tug to lift it. And sometimes the internal O-rings get buggered up. So after you've backwashed, let things run a bit and check for any drips in that waste line. Rebuilding the valve isn't terribly complicated once you get the shaft pulled out. That's the hard part.

 

[Coolhand75]

Thanks for all of your input. So I think the waste water goes into the sewer it's hard to see. It's 15 to 20 feet from the nearest excess point I can see it I assume it's a drain clean out. The multi port valve does work the skimmer and the sweep. Other question I have is when the pump turns off every the pressure releases in the system and the skimmer and everything in the skimmer floats up is that normal? I think there might be to much pressure in the system I took more pictures to share. Please let me know what you think.

 

[AftonJeeper]

Does the pump basket empty when it shuts off also? If so you might have a suction side air leak, read up on it here: Suction side air leaks. Sometimes you just need a little silicone lube on the o rings.

The PSI does seem high to me but I don't have a sand filter. Have you tried back washing it yet? Does the gauge go to 0 when the pump is off? How is the flow from the return jets? We recommend cleaning the filter when the pressure rises 20-25% over the clean pressure. It might be a good idea to do a deep cleaning of the sand.

 

[Richard320]

It's normal for floating debris to float when the pump shuts off. There's no more suction pulling it down. Some skimmer baskets lock into place by turning a few degrees. The ones that don't benefit from a large clean rock set inside to weight it down. Find a rock bigger than the pipe opening at the bottom.

The pressure might be high... or it might not. There's more to it than just how clean or dirty the sand is. Size of the pump versus size of filter, how long the pipe runs are, the pipe diameter, even the size of the return eyeballs. Every setup is going to be different. You'll just have to backwash good and make a note of the clean pressure. At the end of the season, you might even want to try a deep cleaning. Then you'll know for sure what normal is.

 

[Coolhand75]

Does the pump basket empty when it shuts off also? If so you might have a suction side air leak, read up on it here: Suction side air leaks. Sometimes you just need a little silicone lube on the o rings.

The PSI does seem high to me but I don't have a sand filter. Have you tried back washing it yet? Does the gauge go to 0 when the pump is off? How is the flow from the return jets? We recommend cleaning the filter when the pressure rises 20-25% over the clean pressure. It might be a good idea to do a deep cleaning of the sand.

It does read zero when off the jets seem to have good flow

 

[Coolhand75]

It's normal for floating debris to float when the pump shuts off. There's no more suction pulling it down. Some skimmer baskets lock into place by turning a few degrees. The ones that don't benefit from a large clean rock set inside to weight it down. Find a rock bigger than the pipe opening at the bottom.

The pressure might be high... or it might not. There's more to it than just how clean or dirty the sand is. Size of the pump versus size of filter, how long the pipe runs are, the pipe diameter, even the size of the return eyeballs. Every setup is going to be different. You'll just have to backwash good and make a note of the clean pressure. At the end of the season, you might even want to try a deep cleaning. Then you'll know for sure what normal is.

I back washed it last night it was the first time for me as is the house is new to me also. The picture with the gauge is after I back washed. I backwashed it for 2-1/2 minutes.

 

[Richard320]

I back washed it last night it was the first time for me as is the house is new to me also. The picture with the gauge is after I back washed. I backwashed it for 2-1/2 minutes.

Was the water clear or still tinted? Kind of hard to tell with your setup, since you can't see the outflow. There's no way of knowing if that was long enough or not.

Not sure how handy you are, but it is possible to buy clear PVC pipe and splice a piece into the waste line so you can see how clear the backwash is. Or isn't.

 

[Coolhand75]

Was the water clear or still tinted? Kind of hard to tell with your setup, since you can't see the outflow. There's no way of knowing if that was long enough or not.

Not sure how handy you are, but it is possible to buy clear PVC pipe and splice a piece into the waste line so you can see how clear the backwash is. Or isn't.

I'll have to try that. I drained two or three inches out of the pool when I backwashed. It was over full to begin with. It should have been clean I guess