Both skimmer lines clogged with leaves. Drain king not working.
- Thread starter Drockfresh
- Start date
shop vac? air pressure? plumbing snake?
The real question, how did your lines get clogged if you have skimmer baskets?
The real question, how did your lines get clogged if you have skimmer baskets?
That's a good question. I had a lot of construction done on the pool...plus we have so many trees it's usually covered during the winter.
One of the skimmers is full of polymeric sand from the paver remodel. Nice.
That's a bummer! I would probably go with a plumber's snake. Disconnect the pump if it is connected with unions or put a towel or something to catch the junk. If there are Jandy valves in front of the pump take the cover off first and try to grab stuff there.
Here's a shot in the dark but it usually works for me. I call it popping (not trademarked yet). Get the VS pump going at full speed on the main drain open the skimmer line, wait for the pump to recover then slam shut the main drain valve. Count to 5 and re-open. Rinse and repeat. Hopefully that will get it. If not I suggest rigging up an air compressor to a threaded fitting for the skimmer and trying that, don't forget to open the pump lid.
GL!
GL!
Another thing you could try is to use the drain king on one end while holding a tennis ball in the other end to build up pressure. Hold the tennis ball as the drain king runs until pressure builds up. You'll be able to tell when the pressure is really building up because you'll hardly be able to hold the tennis ball in place and the sound of the drain king will change. When it does, quickly release the tennis ball to let the pressure release immediately. Keep repeating until the blockage is removed. I had my skimmer line plugged with pine straw (skimmer basket was missing) and the drain king alone would not do a thing. Mostly because water would move thru the pine straw blockage and not really build up pressure. It took about 5 tries of the tennis ball trick to have a giant clump of pine straw come flying out.
One of the lines magically unclogged itself. The leaves blew into the motor and the valve that was unscrewed popped off. It was very dramatic.
Now I just have to deal with the one line that is clogged with sand.
Now I just have to deal with the one line that is clogged with sand.
I broke one shop vac and got a nicccce shock. So I ordered and even bigger shop vac! Will keep you posted.
