Spa Valves
First, the homeowner should understand the purposes of the valves to instead of memorizing which ways valves go. The way we at Crystal Pools and Spas Inc. plumb our swimming pools is this. Before the pool pump there are 4 pipes coming up out of the ground then going into a Jandy Never Lube spa valves then directly into the pump. 3 valves are close together and the 4th is on the other side of the Jandy Never Lube valve. The 3 together first off is your swimming pool suctions, one for each skimmer and the other or third for you main drain/s in your pool. The other pipe or 4th pipe is your main drains of your hot tub or spa. All 4 of these pipes are suctions that lead into your pump that suck the water.
Next thing to understand is the water is returned to the pool by coming out of that same pump that the 4 suction pipes go into. The water is directed into your filter usually with us a Clean and Clear 520. Once the water goes through the filter it is directed through your heater. After the heater there will be another Jandy Never Lube valve with one pipe on each side. One pipe will be the the clean water going to the swimming pool and the other pipe will lead to the jets/returns into the hot tub/spa.
On a normal running of your pool you will put the Jandy Never Lube valve (has off written on it, not the handle itself but the off) off sign pointed towards the one pipe coming out of the ground or your hot tub/spa main drain suctions. So visualize, you will have 100% of your water being sucked from your two skimmers and two pool main drains. Then on the return side or the Jandy Never Lube valve after the heater you’ll have the off facing mostly the spa returns, NOT all the way. The reason you do not turn it all the way off is so that you will get chemicals/chlorine into your spa to sanitize it. So say it is cracked open, out of the heater it goes to the Jandy Never Lube valve and say 80% of the clean water will go to the pool and 20% will go to the hot tub/spa.
So this should give you a nice visual, when you want to go in the hot tub/spa you will turn the off the Jandy Never Lube valve on the suction side towards the 3 pool pipe suctions so that now you are sucking water 100% out of the spa main drains. Then on the return side, post heater, you will turn the Jandy Never Lube valve’s off to the pool return. Therefore getting 100% of the clean heated water going to the spa jet’s/returns.
The last thing to remember is after going into your spa turn your valves back to where they were prior to turning on your spa/hot tub. 100% spa suction off and 80% pool to 20% spa return side. If you can imagine what the pump is doing and taking water from it is very easy for you, the homeowner, to not get confused by this process!
If you have any questions about your hot tub/spa or any pool related question please email me at kevin@nolapools.com or reply to this and I will get an answer to your shortly. And if you have any pool service needs like a renovation, re-plaster/resurface and you live in SE Louisiana or Southern Mississippi please give us at Crystal Pools and Spas an opportunity and you will not be disappointed in our workmanship. Thanks!
