still learning about what I just bought. what is this thing?

[lordmundi]

ahh yes!! ok, we tried turning that on... it's a bit much! but glad to know what thing to investigate if it isn't working. thanks!

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

we tried turning that on... it's a bit much!

I added one recently and it can be a bit much on full blast. You can easily add a diverter valve under the blower to reduce the amount of air flow to the spa.

 

[lordmundi]

You can easily add a diverter valve under the blower to reduce the amount of air flow to the spa.

ooh... that sounds interesting. are there any guides or examples on adding a diverter valve like that?

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

ooh... that sounds interesting. are there any guides or examples on adding a diverter valve like that?

There are a couple ways to do it. I went the cheap route since I wasn't sure if it was really needed or if it would work.

I plumbed a T-fitting with a $13 ball valve in-line below the blower. The valve is a bit hard to turn, but does allow me to bleed lots of air off to decrease air flow to the spa. Cost was about under $20. If you don't have any 2" PVC pipe laying around, cut a 3" section of pipe out of the blower line where the T goes and use it to connect the valve to the T-fitting.

Option 2 is to install a 3-way Jandy diverter valve in the same spot. These valves are somewhat pricey and availability is limited. A cheaper version of the same style valve would work just as well. You would want the valve situated so the "inlet" is pointing up at the blower.

 

[lordmundi]

Still getting my feet wet with a pool that came with a new house. I notice when we hit the "Spa" button on the remote, the two motorized valves move and the spa starts heating up. I'm guessing the intake must be changing on the pool side because also some debris starts floating out of the skimmers (I know that the pool water level was probably too high - we've had insane amounts of rainfall around Houston). In any case, I'm trying to understand what all these valves do and exactly which direction the water is flowing in all of these pipes.

Here's what I know - I've got 3 pumps. 1 for the cleaner (in the back against the wall), 1 is the main filter pump (on the left), and 1 for the waterfall feature (on the right). There are two motorized valves. One is on the main filter pump and one is on the far left hooked up to the heater (presumably related to the spa). I have no idea which lines are coming from the pool and which ones are going back out to the pool.

Of the non-motorized valves, the one on the right is attached to the waterfall (again, not sure of the direction of the water). I'm not sure what the two sideways pipes are connected to it - perhaps the waterfall has two places for water to come out? Another non-motorized is split between two pipes that then go into the motorized valve on the main filter pump. Again, not sure what this is for. I have noticed that the flow through one of the skimmer baskets appears to be more than the other. Could this be related?

Anyhow, if someone could help me learn what all of these pipes and valves are I would really appreciate it! See attached pictures.

 

[anthonypool89]

if someone could help me learn what all of these pipes and valves are I would really appreciate it!

Wow! I think your pool should have come with a schematic diagram explaining all that! Hope you get it all figured out. What sort of valves / controls are on the filter? If you experiment with different settings on the filter - backwash, vacuum to waste, regular filtration, etc. plus all those other valves - I'd think you should be able to determine which lines provide the return water to the pool and which are coming from the skimmers (how many are there?) Assuming this is your first season with it and that you've not yet winterized all this? I believe I'm correct in saying that a heater is generally one of the last components prior to the water returning to the pool - at least that's how mine is plumbed. If so, pipes coming into the heater are after the filter, and anything coming out of the heater should be heading back to the return lines. It actually sounds like you already know enough to probably determine whatever else you're not yet sure of. If not, might there be a possibility of finding out from the previous owners how all of that works? I'm counting 12 individual lines that go into the ground. Be interested to see what replies you get. I wish you the best!!

 

[amwillg]

Water leaves a pump from the top.

The waterfall valve is on the return side going back to the water feature; as you guessed, it does look like there are 2 places for water to come out and you can choose how much comes out of each.

The 3 pipes coming out of ground and going to main pump through the motorized valve are your skimmers/drain. The valve before the motorized one would be for adjusting suction to the individual skimmers. Do you have 2 skimmers and 1 main drain? Is there a drain in the spa, or does it spill over? Possibly the single pipe to the right of the motorized valve is the spa drain if it is being selected during spa mode. It might also be the main drain if the spa spills over into the pool, but it wouldn't make a lot of sense to only select the main drain in spa mode.

The motorized valve on the left is receiving return water that has gone through the filter and the heater. Left going to the ground would be the spa and the ones to the right of this valve are going back to the pool (you can see the in-line chlorinator here, which would not be on a spa return). This is also where the polaris pump is drawing its water from (the hose to the booster pump)

The water going back to the spa is right beside the pipe for the spa air blower (farthest left pipe).

The only other pipe not mentioned is the waste water pipe, which leaves the filter's multiport, has the clear eye hole to see dirty water, and dives into the ground in front of the left motorized valve

Debris is floating out of skimmer when skimmer suction stops? Do you have the flapper doors (weir door) installed? Many new-to-me pools do not have them since the prior owners may not have replaced them when they broke. They help with skimmer effect and prevent debris from going back to the pool.

 

[BassPlayingDude]

Debris is floating out of skimmer when skimmer suction stops? Do you have the flapper doors (weir door) installed? Many new-to-me pools do not have them since the prior owners may not have replaced them when they broke. They help with skimmer effect and prevent debris from going back to the pool.

Ditto. Check to see if your weir doors are missing. Sometimes they get removed for winterizing and not put back.

 

[lordmundi]

Water leaves a pump from the top.

The waterfall valve is on the return side going back to the water feature; as you guessed, it does look like there are 2 places for water to come out and you can choose how much comes out of each.

The 3 pipes coming out of ground and going to main pump through the motorized valve are your skimmers/drain. The valve before the motorized one would be for adjusting suction to the individual skimmers. Do you have 2 skimmers and 1 main drain? Is there a drain in the spa, or does it spill over? Possibly the single pipe to the right of the motorized valve is the spa drain if it is being selected during spa mode. It might also be the main drain if the spa spills over into the pool, but it wouldn't make a lot of sense to only select the main drain in spa mode.

The motorized valve on the left is receiving return water that has gone through the filter and the heater. Left going to the ground would be the spa and the ones to the right of this valve are going back to the pool (you can see the in-line chlorinator here, which would not be on a spa return). This is also where the polaris pump is drawing its water from (the hose to the booster pump)

The water going back to the spa is right beside the pipe for the spa air blower (farthest left pipe).

The only other pipe not mentioned is the waste water pipe, which leaves the filter's multiport, has the clear eye hole to see dirty water, and dives into the ground in front of the left motorized valve

Debris is floating out of skimmer when skimmer suction stops? Do you have the flapper doors (weir door) installed? Many new-to-me pools do not have them since the prior owners may not have replaced them when they broke. They help with skimmer effect and prevent debris from going back to the pool.

holy cow... this post is so helpful! I think I'm going to go label everything. thanks so much! the debris floating out - They do have flapper doors, but I think the issue was the pool was too full. I drained some of the water to waste to lower it and I hope that improves. I think I was more curious why there appeared to be more suction from one skimmer than the other and I think you answered that! (the manual valve to the left of the motorized is cheating to one skimmer more than the other).

thanks again!