Spa low level with suction on?

[RAAV]

My pool is configured such that the spa overflows into the pool and the pool suction/vacuum is set to 100% of the return.

This means the spa gets sediments over a few weeks at the bottom of the spa.

The steps are always to revert the suction 100% to the spa, then I’ll sweep everything into the suction at the bottom.

I’ve had weekly pool service for years and this is always what the pool guy did.

I started to play around with the valves and open suction on the spa just a tiny bit. To my surprise, when the pool equipment turned off, my spa would wind up low by 1-3 feet. I initially had it at maybe 40% and slowly backed down over a few days and pretty much any open setting results in low water level for the spa. (It all drains into the pools instead)…

I hope this makes sense.. I’m wondering if there’s anything I’m missing or if this is simply the way things work for a spa connected to a pool…

(Photos are just the left operation, the black pipes on the right side are only when using the heater)

 

[Jimrahbe]

R,

If the spa is above the water level of the pool, then water will always drain back into the pool when the pump is off... Unless the Intake valve is full in the pool mode. and the Return line has a check valve in it..

I can see a check valve in your return line

If you move the Intake valve to full Pool position it should stop draining.

Your Pool service was doing it correctly.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[RAAV]

Jim,

Now that you mention it, that’s totally what’s happening… the water level in the spa matches that of the pool…

What do you mean by move the intake valve to full pool? That’s the pool valve suction or something else?

 

[Jimrahbe]

R,

If you can show me a few more pics of your equipment, so that I can read all the labels, I can walk you through how your system should work..

If not, the valve in front of the Ivory pump, that selects if the water is coming from the Pool or Spa, is called the "Intake valve".

The valve after your Salt Cell, is called the "Return valve" and it should select if the water is going back to the pool or spa.

Your Intake valve should be set to the Spa mode, or the Pool mode, but yours is somewhere in between and that is not how the system was designed to work.

Thanks,

Jim R.