Pool Newbie Dumb Questions

[mamaguff]

Hi ya - we just got a 21' round AG and are loving it! But here's my dumb questions for the day;

- so far we have found 4 round "donut" shaped thingies in either the bottom of the pool or the pump skimmer. They appear to be made of silicone and may have come from a hose joint. They're about 1.5 inches in diamter. They aren't a part you would buy, but rather some kind of material the would have been applied during the pool's install. Question: aren't they supposed to stay where they were put or do you think this is just a bit of excess that has floated off????

- should you see movement on the top of the water from the pump return eyeball? I think it's supposed to be at a 45 degree angle, but our neighbour has a nice ripple going on the top of his water, and ours doesn't unless we aim it up more. To ripple or not to ripple????

- is it okay to have a stainless steel bolt and wingnut underneath the pool ledge on inside of the pool? The "feet" of the solar blanket roller (Feherguard) need to be bolted down. One bolt would go outside the pool wall, but the second one would be inside the pool wall. Not IN the water, just up under the ledge above the water. Would this cause any future issues??

- and finally . . . how exactly do you clean out the skimmer of the pump (Hayward UltraPro LX)? I understand it to be: turn pump off, block skimmer hole (tennis ball, plug thing I bought, etc), remove pump cover, let water left in piping gush out, clean out skimmer, replace cover, remove ball/plug, turn pump back on???? Am I missing something? Do I need to block up the eyeball hole too? Do I need to fill the pump skimmer area back up with water after I clean it out?? Do I need to prime the pump or will it do that itself?

I'm sure they'll be more in the weeks to follow . . . but anwers to these would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

[matt4x4]

SS bolt inside of pool - not a problem, just make sure it's SS.

Cleaning the basket - I guess you don't have shutoff valves - a good thing to add, and not expensive. Do it this fall after you drop level for the winter, or you can do it now, but it means plugging skimmer and return really good to hold all the water back.
Yes, plug both ends, otherwise water will still come through.
Remove lid, clean basket, reinstall everything, might want to lube o ring on lid for good seal.
remove blockages to allow water back in, here's what I do, at this point, I unscrew the lid of the pump just a bit, the excess air will get pushed out of pump from the water pushing in. fasten lid down again, turn system on, within about 20 seconds all excess air will be purged out return valve and everything is running smooth again.

[The Raddish]

Yes, plug both ends, otherwise water will still come through.

One trick you can do too is to set your multivalve on your filter to "close". This should sufficiently block the return side. I installed a ball valve on the filter side and just use the "close" setting on the filter to stop the return side. Seems to work well enough.

[mamaguff]

Thanks for your replies. That's great.

Any other responses about the "donut thingies" or ripples??? Come on - you gotta help a girl out here!

[aylad]

If you have issues with high alkalinity, you do need to adjust the eyes upward to get a ripple in the water. I also keep mine adjusted up because of the way the builder put the returns and the skimmer--the return helps direct floating "stuff" toward my skimmer and helps keep the surface clean. If you don't have alk issues, then the ripple at the surface isn't really necessary.

Janet

[Poconos]

No such thing as a dumb question...only when people refuse to listen to advice. The donut things are probably just silicone seal that peeled off something as you suspect. I wouldn't worry about it unless something starts leaking. Coincidentally...is the system plumbed with 1.5" PVC? Enjoy the pool.
Al

[gpshemi]

Are they completlely round and fairly thick?
They also make a donut that goes on pool hoses too for pool cleaners to make them float (sink) right. You don't have some of those kicking around for some strange reason right?

gpshemi

[matt4x4]

If the donut thingies look machine made (perfectly rounded) I wouldn't know what they may be, however, if they are uneven, they are likely because someone smeared silicone on all the joints before pushing the hoses or pipe on and clamping it, this will form a ring inside the orifice where the excess silicone was pushed back by the hose, this ring only grabs the remaining silicone by a thin edge and the force of the water will grab it, rip off the remaining bond and push it out or into the sand filter or pool depending on which pipe it was in to begin with.
Nothing to worry about, just throw it out.

[mamaguff]

Yes - it sounds like the donut thingies are the smeared silicone! They are definitely not perfect or machine made. Thanks for the piece of mind!

Thanks!