No skimmer suction, spa won't fill to spillover.

[icatchlight]

So I am new to this, and coming off a bad pool guy (pretty sure he pulled the majority of the labels off my pool, plumbing pipes). Anyway, the pump is new and the vacuum is working just fine but as the title states I have no suction at the skimmer and the spa is very slow to fill and does not quite spill over. There is no debris in either the skimmer or the pump basket and I just cleaned the filter system.
I was going to use a drain king to take care of any suspected clog in the skimmer line, but I'm not sure exactly where to insert the drain king. I also realize that it could possibly be a valve issue. Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Jimrahbe]

i,

I assume that you have a suction side vacuum that is connected to a port in the side wall of your pool..

If that is true, then that is how you currently have your valves set.. to suck water from the vac only..

The valve on the far left of your pic, selects either your Skimmer and/or your Vac port. It is currently set to all Vac. Notice that the "off" tab is pointed to your Skimmer line, shutting it off.

Turn that valve 180 degrees and see if your Vac shuts off, and your Skimmer starts to work.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[1poolman1]

So I am new to this, and coming off a bad pool guy (pretty sure he pulled the majority of the labels off my pool, plumbing pipes). Anyway, the pump is new and the vacuum is working just fine but as the title states I have no suction at the skimmer and the spa is very slow to fill and does not quite spill over. There is no debris in either the skimmer or the pump basket and I just cleaned the filter system.
I was going to use a drain king to take care of any suspected clog in the skimmer line, but I'm not sure exactly where to insert the drain king. I also realize that it could possibly be a valve issue. Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

Move the handle on the valve to the far left to about the 11:00 o'clock position. That will open both the cleaner port and the skimmer. Move it to 3:00 o'clock and the skimmer will be open and the cleaner shut off. Your skimmer is shut off now. You may not be able to run both a suction cleaner and the skimmer at the same time.
Your pump is NOT a variable-speed pump, despite the way it is advertised. It is a 2-speed pump and it may only be operating on the low speed if you don't have automation or a two-speed time clock. There is a small switch on the back cover that switches from high to low if there is no other way of changing speeds. If the pump is running on low, it may not be able to lift water over the dam-wall and cause the spa to overflow and likely won't run a suction cleaner, either.
Best guess is that the seller of the home needed a new pump and bought that very inexpensive one ($225.00) to make the sale.
It would be good to start saving to get a good, true, variable-speed pump.

 

[icatchlight]

First, thank you, thank you, thank you! I must be suffering from the Mandela effect because in my head that valve lever has always been in that position. Obviously, that is not the case. I simply turned lever and lo and behold, I have skimmer suction and the spa is filling! Thanks for helping out the rookie!

PS - Switched the pump to high, big difference.