12/15/09

When you are vacuuming the pool, you will need to turn the valve to the following position.

Notice the off points to the main drain, such that all of the water will be pumped from the skimmer valve, and this is where we hook the vacuum hose to.

When we are done vacuuming, make sure that we put the this valve back into the original configuration.  

 

                

 

 

 

 

           Setting when vacuuming

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           This is where the skimmer valve is located.  Lift the lid up and insert the vacuum hose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        When finished the valve needs to be in this position

 

 

 

 

 

Pool Drain Systems

We've already seen that the water in a swimming pool needs to circulate through a filtering system, to remove dirt and debris. During normal operation, water flows to the filtering system through two drains at the bottom of the pool and a skimmer drains around the top of the pool.

The main drains are usually located on the lowest point in the pool, so the entire pool surface slants toward them. Most of the dirt and debris that sinks exits the pool through these drains. To keep people from getting their hair or limbs caught in the plumbing, the drains are almost always covered with grates or antivortex covers (a cover that diverts the flow of water to prevent a dangerous vortex from forming).

The skimmers draw water the same way as the main drains, but they suck only from the very top of the pool (the top eighth of an inch, typically). Any debris that floats -- leaves, suntan oil, hair -- leaves the pool through these drains. The diagram below shows a common system.

 

 

The return port

 

Most swimming pools also have a couple of vacuum ports, which are only used in pool cleaning. These ports attach to pool vacuum cleaners, which work something like ordinary vacuum cleaners except that they suck water instead of air. The vacuum ports may have their own pumping system, but in most pools they are driven by the main pump.

 

A pool vacuum cleaner

 

After making its way into the various drains, the water flows on to the filtering stage. In the next section, we'll find out what the pumping and filtering systems are all about.