Question about valve setup

[gchino15]

Hi everyone,

I'm a new pool owner and I wanted to know which way I should turn the valves so that my pool runs correctly. What does each valve do and which ones are my skimmer lines, main drain and return.

Also I wanted to know how can I tell if DE is floating back into the pool?

Thanks in advanced for all of the help. I took some pics of different angles.

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[JasonLion]

The valve directly above the pump controls water flow to the pool cleaner vs to the pool returns.

The valves in front of the pump are a little less obvious. I suspect the one closer to the pump controls main drain vs returns, and the other one slightly to the side picks between two different pool returns. However, it might take a little experimentation to be sure of that.

If DE is getting into the pool you will see it. Are you getting DE in the pool? Or are you just worried about the possibility?

 

[gchino15]

Hi JasonLion,

In regards to answering your question about the DE, I have to say yes to both of your questions.


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[JasonLion]

The most common way to get DE into the pool is when there are small holes or tears if the filter grid fabric. It is also possible to get DE into the pool if you fail to rinse after backwashing, or if there is a leak in the pumping that allows the filter to drain down when the pump is off.

 

[gchino15]

Thx for the feedback JasonLion.

I have another question about the valves, specifically the one above the pump. Does it matter which way I turn the valve?

The valve that has the two pvc pipes hooked up to it, could those two pipes be the skimmer pipes? Does it matter which way I turn that valve?


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[JasonLion]

The preferred valve positions depend on what you are trying to do. Normally you would have as little water going to the pool cleaner as possible so that the pool cleaner still runs at it's design speed. Meanwhile the suction valves would typically be setup so that water is drawn from all three sources equally.

If you want to manually vacuum you would need to adjust the suction valves so that extra suction goes to the skimmer you are vacuuming from. If you are having problems priming the pump it is often nice to setup the valves so you draw water from a single source, until the pump is primed, and then readjust to draw from the other two sources.

 

[gchino15]

Thanks JasonLion, I will play with the valves settings and see what happens.