New Homeowner- I Need Advice

Hey everyone! Just bought a home with a pool and I’m trying to figure out if my valves are turned in the right direction. The filter isn’t getting any pressure, and the leftmost valve controls my waterfall. My Polaris doesn’t seem to be turning on either.

Any advice on how I should set my valves? Totally new to this, so any help would be awesome!
New Pool

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The large item on the right is the filter. The three things with electric motors are pumps. The two bigger pumps have strainer baskets with clear lids. The smaller pump is likely a booster pump for a robot vacuum. The tall cylinder with the lid that looks like a crown is for chlorine tablets.

Is your water feature pump working well? Is your main pump (on the right) full of water in the strainer basket? Does the valve between the main pump and filter have labels? How many skimmers and floor drains do you have?

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@AquaAdventurer There are no labels anywhere, unfortunately. The water feature pump only works when I flip a switch inside. The strainer on the main pump is filled with water and bubbles at the top. There is one floor drain and two skimmers.

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A lot of people aren’t aware that placing too many restrictions, like sharp 90-degree turns, near the pump’s inlet and outlet can cancel your warranty. It might look cool, but it’s likely not practical at all.

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The setup of this pool system is really frustrating. Whoever did the plumbing didn’t do a good job.

To fix it:

Look at the pump all the way to the right in the picture. Turn the black valve in front of it so the handle points towards the pump. If the handle is facing away from the pump, it won’t work properly. Also, the main drain is completely turned off.

It seems like there are diverter valves before each pump to stop water flow when the pumps are off. Is the pool lower than the pumps? If yes, grab a hose and a 5-gallon bucket. Turn off the pump on the right, adjust the valve so it closes off the skimmers, and then fill the pump with water using the hose until it starts overflowing. Quickly get the lid back on and start the pump. If it doesn’t overflow, pour the bucket of water into the pump fast, put the lid on, and start the pump again. Once it starts working, open the valve to the skimmer just a little, then keep opening it gradually until it’s fully open and the handle is pointing at the pump.

If water is coming out of the jets, the skimmers are working, and the filter pump basket is full of water when running, the filter is building pressure. But remember to fix the valve at the filter pump intake and make sure the main drain is open too.

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Just search for a video on YouTube. Lots of people share advice about the valves and offer tips on how to take care of your pool :pinching_hand: