New Pool Owner With 2 Quick Questions

Hi folks,

Just bought a house with an in-ground ground pool that I'm about to open for summer. I've been reading all about opening pools for 2 weeks, so I think I'm ready except for 2 problems.

1) I have 4 pipes that come out of the ground. One goes into the pump. Two come out of the filter. The third one just sits there 4 feet out of the ground and connects to nothing. It has a threaded cover at the end. I don't know what this pipe is or if there is anything I should do with it. Should I take off it's cover?

2) I have the Hayward EC-65 pump. Out of the pump comes what I can only describe as a pipe splitter. Two pipes connect to the splitter. My guess is one pipe is the waste line and the other pipe goes back into the pool with the filtered water. Looks like:
.........___<Pipe>
........|
------|
........|___<Pipe>
In between these 2 pipes is a lever. It has two settings. Port 1, and Port 2. I was expecting it however to say "Filter" & "Circulation" like most tutorials I read have described. So, if I am correct that the lever is intended to set it to Filter or Circulation, how do I know which is which? If I'm wrong, what should I know about this lever?

Thanks a ton!

Hi, Null,

I can't answer your important question on the valve....never owned one. Others on the forum do, however, so this will bump you back to the top for a response.

Question #1 is somewhat easier. Don't remove that cap with the pump running!!:D Seriously, it may be a spare for some future purpose or , more likely, it was for something that has since been removed. If your plumbing appears to be functioning normally, I'd keep thinking about it for a while and I'll bet you'll figure out it's purpose. You might even shut the pump off, take off the cap, and turn the pump back on....be prepared to shut it back off!! :D

Great. Thanks. I won't touch that old line.

Concerning Number 2 though. Talked to the pool store. They said it sounds like I have 2 return lines. His advice was to always leave it set on 1/2 which uses both lines. One thing I forgot to ask though:

If I have 2 return lines, does that mean I should 3 holes in the pool that requires the eye ball fittings? One that sucks water and 2 that send filtered water into the pool? Because I can only find 2 holes in the pool. Otherwise, where does that additional pipe go to?

I doubt you have an eyeball fitting that sucks water. That is unsafe as someones hair could be sucked into it and they could be held under water. Most pools have either one or more skimmers and or a main drain that supply water to the pump. After the filter the water is returned to the pool by the return outlets. My pool also has a dedicated line that kind of looks looks like a return but is for a pool sweep to be hooked up.

1) I have 4 pipes that come out of the ground. One goes into the pump. Two come out of the filter. The third one just sits there 4 feet out of the ground and connects to nothing. It has a threaded cover at the end. I don't know what this pipe is or if there is anything I should do with it. Should I take off it's cover?


More than likely, it is a pressure side vac line that was removed when the system was re-plumbed.

2) I have the Hayward EC-65 pump. Out of the pump comes what I can only describe as a pipe splitter. Two pipes connect to the splitter. My guess is one pipe is the waste line and the other pipe goes back into the pool with the filtered water. Looks like:
.........___<Pipe>
........|
------|
........|___<Pipe>
In between these 2 pipes is a lever. It has two settings. Port 1, and Port 2. I was expecting it however to say "Filter" & "Circulation" like most tutorials I read have described. So, if I am correct that the lever is intended to set it to Filter or Circulation, how do I know which is which? If I'm wrong, what should I know about this lever?


If the pipe (before the split) is coming out of one end of the pump it is not doing both waste and return. It sounds like it is a valve to control the return - spa/pool. Don't quote me on it but with a picture of the setup I think everyone could be more detailed.

Ok...Got it. I don't have a drain to waste line....Just a valve with a cap. The pipe that comes out of the ground and just has a cap on it is just either an extra line or it's for something that was changed/fixed/removed. The 2 pipes the come out of the multivalve port from the filter are both return lines.

Thanks for everyone's help!