Skimmer versus main drain questions…

[johig]

This week I have been catching up on a few items that were not properly taken care of or explained to me by my pool builder. The long story short is, thanks to this website and a little detective work, I was able to determine that the weir door and float valve were never installed in my skimmer. I also confirmed my main drains (there are two as required by code) are plumbed in series with the skimmer on the same suction line. I installed the missing weir door and float valve this week but I’m interested in advice/opinions on how to set the float valve "correctly". It seems like a lot of people on the forums say using the float valve and pulling water through the main drains are not important. Especially because I have an autofill and use a robotic cleaner.

However, I like the idea of keeping the float valve as a backup measure for pump protection and the use of the main drain for filtering and mixing water from areas other than the skimmer. My question is what to do with the flap on the bottom of the float valve? It seems very imprecise for finetuning the balance of skimmer suction versus drains. The flap also looks like it could get knocked out of position fairly easily. Am I wrong? Even with the flap fully open, the valve seems to drop the skimmer flow noticeably. I assume that means there is some suction from the main drain. Does anyone have any advice on what is necessary to get useful flow from both the skimmer and drains without running the pump at an unnecessarily high speed? Can I just remove the flap entirely and still get some suction from the drain? Does the flap need to be half-closed? A quarter? Is there an accurate way to set the split between the skimmer and drain with this setup, or is it just trial and error with the flap setting? (By the way, I have a Waterways skimmer with this type of float valve https://www.amazon.com/Waterway-Plastics-806105099358-Renegade-Skimmer/dp/B01N4OI7XA )

It's very possible I’m overthinking this but, then again, that's probably why I enjoy TFP so much . Any advice or opinions on this topic are welcome, with thanks in advance.

 

[ajw22]

You are playing around with a piece of 1950s technology that no one in the last 20+ years has given any thought to.

It never worked well but at the time it was the best they had.

Do whatever satisfies you and move on.

 

[Jimrahbe]

j,

I fooled with that issue with a couple of rent house pools, and it was just a waste of my time. They have been running just fine, without a main drain, for the past 8 to 10 years.

It is your pool, and you should do what you want with it. Just don't get your hopes up..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[johig]

You are playing around with a piece of 1950s technology that no one in the last 20+ years has given any thought to.

It never worked well but at the time it was the best they had.

Do whatever satisfies you and move on.

Thanks. Sadly this makes sense. The most innovative thing about my pool builder was their sales pitch so, in hindsight, I’m not surprised to learn they used an old (cheaper?) method here. I guess the good news is the pool has stayed clean and clear for the last two years without a float valve, so I guess it can’t be that important.

 

[johig]

j,

I fooled with that issue with a couple of rent house pools, and it was just a waste of my time. They have been running just fine, without a main drain, for the past 8 to 10 years.

It is your pool, and you should do what you want with it. Just don't get your hopes up..

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks, Jim. It’s reassuring to know this is not a critical issue. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. - Jonathan

 

[KJB1]

This week I have been catching up on a few items that were not properly taken care of or explained to me by my pool builder. The long story short is, thanks to this website and a little detective work, I was able to determine that the weir door and float valve were never installed in my skimmer. I also confirmed my main drains (there are two as required by code) are plumbed in series with the skimmer on the same suction line. I installed the missing weir door and float valve this week but I’m interested in advice/opinions on how to set the float valve "correctly". It seems like a lot of people on the forums say using the float valve and pulling water through the main drains are not important. Especially because I have an autofill and use a robotic cleaner.

However, I like the idea of keeping the float valve as a backup measure for pump protection and the use of the main drain for filtering and mixing water from areas other than the skimmer. My question is what to do with the flap on the bottom of the float valve? It seems very imprecise for finetuning the balance of skimmer suction versus drains. The flap also looks like it could get knocked out of position fairly easily. Am I wrong? Even with the flap fully open, the valve seems to drop the skimmer flow noticeably. I assume that means there is some suction from the main drain. Does anyone have any advice on what is necessary to get useful flow from both the skimmer and drains without running the pump at an unnecessarily high speed? Can I just remove the flap entirely and still get some suction from the drain? Does the flap need to be half-closed? A quarter? Is there an accurate way to set the split between the skimmer and drain with this setup, or is it just trial and error with the flap setting? (By the way, I have a Waterways skimmer with this type of float valve https://www.amazon.com/Waterway-Plastics-806105099358-Renegade-Skimmer/dp/B01N4OI7XA )

It's very possible I’m overthinking this but, then again, that's probably why I enjoy TFP so much . Any advice or opinions on this topic are welcome, with thanks in advance.

I’m new to this too. My pool is about 1 1/2 years old and they still used the same plumbing as you describe. A couple friends in town had pools done the same way recently. I played with that flap on the float and then noticed it was cracked one day so I took it off and threw it out. Never noticed a difference. Just figure the main drain is a back up / fail safe. My friends with pools didn’t even know what the float was when I asked.