New pool owner and need help identifying piping

[mas985]

Some of this may be guesses so keep that in mind.

1) This is on the pressure side of the pump so it may have been a pressure side cleaner.

2&3) One is from the skimmer and the other main drain. My guess is the main drain has the valve but it could either one.

8. That looks to be the filter backwash line. What type of filter is it? It may just need to be backwashed.

[Palombaro]

Thanks for the help!

I'm going to open it up and see what kind of filter I have.

[mas985]

If it has a backwash valve, it is probably DE and if not, cartridge although some DE filters don't have backwash valves either but it is rare. I take it you never cleaned the filter?

[Palombaro]

Thanks for all of the replies.

I haven't done anything but skim and brush the pool. We just bought the house.

Here's a pic of the filter......just a little dirty, huh.

[PoolDoc]

That's a DE filter -- dirty, but otherwise looking OK, and not overloaded with DE powder.

It's a PacFac / Pentair Pool FNS DE filter. Here's the Pentair brochure
http://www.pentairpool.com/pdfs/fnsplusDS.pdf
and instruction manual
http://www.pentairpool.com/pdfs/FNSPlusOM.pdf
which you will want to read. You'll also need to find out which model you have -- that will put a limit on what the maximum flow and pump size should be.

Be careful with the grids -- they are dacron sail cloth over a fragile plastic grid -- and the grids get more fragile over time. The grid assemblies are usually not cheap, though I haven't looked up costs on that unit.

And, when you re-assemble the filter, be CAREFUL to clean both the tank O-ring *and* the groove under the O-ring. Dirt there will often cause a slow leak, and can damage the ring (also usually not cheap). Also, be careful not to stretch the O-ring . . . or it will be too big to get back into the groove. (No fun to be had there!)

[Palombaro]

Thanks for the the pdfs Ben. They are going to help a lot! I'm glad to hear that it's salvagable. I'll definitely take my time so I don't damage the grids, I still have over a month before the water temp will come down so there's no rush.