HEATER: A device used to heat
the water. It may be electric, fuel operated or solar powered
heat.
HEAT PUMP: The antithesis of
the air conditioner, the heat pump's cooling coil removes heat
from the air while the condenser coil transfers it to water cycling
through it.
INFLUENT: The water coming into
and up to the impeller from the suction lines. These pipes are
under vacuum pressure.
LATERALS: Elongated, capped plastic
nipples at the bottom of a sand filter which are slotted to allow
for water passage while keeping the sand in the filter tank.
MECHANICAL SEAL: A seal behind
the impeller which prevents water from running out along the
shaft of a motor. aka; pump seal.
MOTOR: A machine for converting
electrical energy into mechanical energy. Your motor is known
as the dry end of the filter pump. It drives the impeller, which
moves the water.
MULTIPORT VALVE: A 4 or 6 position
valve combining the functionality of several valves into one
unit, revolutionizing pool plumbing. The six common functions
are described below:
Filter: This is normal water flow through the filter, say, top
to bottom. This is where the valve sits 99% of the time.
Backwash: When the pressure gauge indicates, you will need to
backwash the filter. When the handle is turned to backwash, the
flow through the filter is reversed, say, bottom to top. The
effluent water (out of the filter) is directed to the waste line.
Rinse: After backwashing, it's a good idea to rinse for 15-20
seconds to remove any residual dirt that may "poof!"
back into your pool after backwashing. Rinse flows through the
water in filter fashion, say, top to bottom, but effluent is
sent out the waste line.
Recalculate: This setting bypasses the filter, water coming into
the multiport does a U-turn and heads back towards the pool.
Used only when the filter is broken (at least it's circulating),
or when adding specialty chemicals which specify using this setting.
Drain / Vacuum to waste: This useful setting allows you to vacuum
up large volumes of debris that would either clog the filter
or pass through it because of its small size. Dirt that is vacuumed
passes right out the waste line. It is also the setting of choice
when draining the pool or lowering the water level (if you didn't
need to backwash, which also lowers the water level).
