Trying to understand my pool plumbing

[allenzak]

Hi guys, found this forum a couple weeks ago and love it, great info and everyone is really helpful. Had some great luck SLAMing (still going on) and while I was thinking about, wanted to check in on the plumbing.

I bought the house a couple years ago and never really fully understood the pool plumbing. The pool man who used to service it was nice enough to label the pipes for me, but I’m still unsure of it all. I’m a DIY-type and don’t want a regular pool man, so as I continue to maintain the pool, I figure this would be a good place to ask some questions around the plumbing. The photo is of all the pipes and valves in the pool station. I’ve tried to label what I know/what was labeled by the pool man. I used the spa once when we moved in but can’t really remember how to do it. My questions are below based on the corresponding letter of description. Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance!





A) This lever is always in the left position for standard operation.
B) This lever, moved up, turns on my vacuum in the pool when I attach the hose and vacuum debris
C) This lever, moved down, is labeled “skimmer.” I haven’t ever used it. Question: I’m assuming this is where I keep the lever if I ever hook up an automatic skimmer?

D) This lever is always in the right position for standard operation. I’m assuming that if I turn the heater on, this is where the hot water would heat the pool
E) This lever, moved to the left, is for “Spa Filter/heat.” I think this is where I shift the lever to if I want to heat my spa.
F) This lever, moved in the middle, is labeled “return.” Question: What does that mean? Where the hot water goes out to the pool or spa?

G) This is labeled “spa.” Question: what does that mean?
H) This lever is always in the right position for standard operation. I couldn’t make out what it’s labeled. Question: what does that mean?
I) This is labeled “Suction” in the middle and connects directly to the pump. Question: what does that mean?

J) This lever is always in the down position and on the back of it’s labeled “Spa Bypass.” Question: what does that mean?

If you guys have any other insights or comments on anything, I'd love any extra info I could get. Thanks!

 

[jblizzle]

First, note that opposite the handle on these valves is says "OFF" That shows you what pipes you have turned off. This is the key to visualizing how these valves work.

It is also really hard to follow the pipes given your pictures ... I can not tell if ABC is a 2-way or 3-way valve.

ABC: This is your pool suction valve. Where is the water pulled from when the handle is to the left? I think when the handle is down, you are actually pulling in water from 2 places. Hard to see
DEF: This is your return valve, all it does is choose between returning to the pool/the spa/ or both. F would just return the water to both the pool and spa.
J: While in pool mode, this valve allows some water to enter the spa to maintain proper chemistry and then spill over into the pool. You can adjust this to change the amount of spill over.
GHI: This is your main suction valve. The chooses if you want the suction to come from the spa or the pool.

So if you want to turn on the spa, you turn DEF and GHI 180 degrees and turn on the heater.