Pool Newbie - Stupid question im sure - Thank you in advance

[steves86ta]

Hi All,

I just moved into a new house and one of the features (and reason we picked the house) is the pool/spa. It has an inground plaster pool and spa.

I'm still learning the settings/features of the pool but i wanted to ask here as i think something isn't right. It has a Sta-Rite pump/heater setup with an pentair easytouch controller system.

I'm unsure of the amount of gallons the pool has, but I'm not sure if it matters for my question(s).

We were in the pool Saturday afternoon and i had turned on the Waterfall. It worked great - almost a laminar flow. My kids had asked me if i could pull the pool vacuum out while they swam and played. So i unplugged and removed the vacuum. Then turned the pump and waterfall back on. With the vacuum removed, the waterfall flow is basically a dribble/almost non existent.

I grew up with pools and have some experience with them but it has been a while. I thought the flow through the skimmer should/would be enough to support the waterfall. But it seems that as long as the vacuum port is unplugged and covered (it has a spring loaded cap) then it starves the pump for water and it does not flow much at all. Also the filter does not build pressure unless the vacuum port is open. I took an extra piece of vacuum hose and plugged it into the port and turned the waterfall on and the water flow out of the waterfall was restored.

What things should/can i check? Another thing i have noticed is that the skimmer does not seem to work great. I have checked and there is not much debris in the skimmer but it does pick up some stuff. I can take pictures of the setup, i found the "Skimmer" tube and valve, i have attached a few pictures of the filter and setup. But im not sure how to adjust or if i should even try adjusting this valve.

Other than that, the pool is nice and clear. Just would like the features to work without the vacuum in the pool. And i dont want to leave the vacuum port open since i have little kids.

Thank you in advance.

 

[cowboycasey]

the picture with the the name pool suction.. You have the skimmer almost all the way blocked off, looks like 80% vacuum, 20% skimmer... if you move that lever straight up it will pull 50% from the skimmer and 50% from the Vacuum port.. if you move that lever to the right it will pull 100% from the skimmer...

Most of the time you should run 50% from both. lever straight up...

 

[steves86ta]

the picture with the the name pool suction.. You have the skimmer almost all the way blocked off, looks like 80% vacuum, 20% skimmer... if you move that lever straight up it will pull 50% from the skimmer and 50% from the Vacuum port.. if you move that lever to the right it will pull 100% from the skimmer...

Most of the time you should run 50% from both. lever straight up...

You see... when i said it was a stupid question that is what i meant...

So i moved the valve, just to see the range of adjustment i found the stops on both ends. I set it at about 50% and the skimmer works a heck of a lot better now. Thank you!

My only question stemming from this is the pool vacuum i have (picture attached) now wont move at 50% between the two, I was able to find a happy medium between the two but its closer to 75-80% Vacuum over Skimmer is that by design? Should i run more vacuum when the cleaner is running? And then if i pull the vacuum out turn up the skimmer? it will run the vacuum slower, but it wont climb more than a quarter way up the walls, and ive watched it "fall" over. I didnt have time to watch and see if it somehow will recover itself, i pushed it over with the net.

Thank you again!

 

[Oly]

A independant robot cleaner solves this problem, is less expensive to operate, does not load up your filter, no unsightly hoses and does not have to live in your pool 24/7.

 

[steves86ta]

A independant robot cleaner solves this problem, is less expensive to operate, does not load up your filter, no unsightly hoses and does not have to live in your pool 24/7.

while im not against changing up equipment, i am sure theres an alternate solution that can use the equipment i have?

If not, what vacuum do you suggest?

Thank you

 

[Bperry]

A independant robot cleaner solves this problem, is less expensive to operate, does not load up your filter, no unsightly hoses and does not have to live in your pool 24/7.

Yep. I grew up with the family pool with a pressure side cleaner and so I tried keeping ours running thinking robots were just a silly new thing. The new robots just work tons better and I have no regrets ditching the old cleaner.

 

[Oly]

while im not against changing up equipment, i am sure theres an alternate solution that can use the equipment i have?

If not, what vacuum do you suggest?

Thank you

You can make your system work by manipulating your valve and redirecting the suction. You should research and consider a robot cleaner for the reasons l listed above, they really are an innovative improvement in pool cleaning. Your setup has some used value and can offset the cost of a bot. Check out this vid of the Maytronics s200.....

 

[steves86ta]

You can make your system work by manipulating your valve and redirecting the suction. You should research and consider a robot cleaner for the reasons l listed above, they really are an innovative improvement in pool cleaning. Your setup has some used value and can offset the cost of a bot. Check out this vid of the Maytronics s200.....

Thank you - I will look into that one and other options.

With this, technically i would not have to run the vacuum and would/could just run this. So i would run my pool vacuum/filter half the amount of time also? If so I can see this being an electric bill savings as well. Correct?

Are there any robot's to "stay" away from?

Thank you

 

[Oly]

Redirecting you ...... Pool Cleaners

 

[cowboycasey]

Great suggestion.. I love my suction side cleaner but now that I am building an inground pool I am getting a robot also.. I am still plumbing in a suction side hose for a vacuum just in case.. They work great for dropping pool level or vacuuming manually..

ANd not a stupid question, really a great question because now you know how to operate your pool