Multiports brings to mind a bronzed cruise ship holiday stopping at multiple ports around the world. Sorry, but in the land (or water) of pool maintenance.
Sand and DEE filters use a multiport valve to help clean or backwash the filter media. They have multiple ports inside the valve that allows the water to move in multiple directions.
The most common multiport valves have a locking lever handle that can be turned to any one of 6 settings: filter, waste, closed, backwash, recirculate, and rinse.
By changing the position of the lever, you can route the water coming from the pump around or through your filter in different ways. This routing of the water allows you to perform various maintenance operations on your pool water.
These are the settings.
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- This is the normal setting for your filter valve and will stay locked here most of the time. This is the setting responsible for removing the contaminants and debris from your pool.
- This is one of two ‘bypass’ settings on the multiport valve. It redirects the water pumped from the pool, and sends it straight out of the backwash line or hose.
- This position is rarely ever used and means that water cannot enter the valve.
- This setting reverses the flow of water as it enters and exits the filter tank. Its purpose is to clean the filter by flushing out the dirt and debris.
- This is the second ‘bypass’ setting on the multiport valve, where water is drawn in from the pump and then returned to the pool, bypassing the filter.
- This setting is used after backwashing a sand filter.
Remember to always turn your pump OFF before turning the Multiport Valve. Changing positions while the pump is running can damage the valve, and cause pressure to build inside the system causing a blowout. Nobody wants that!
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