Just bought a house with a pool - need to lower water level

[ces]

Hello everyone,

I bought a house with a pool and moved in last week. I have never owned a house or pool before, so it's been a week of new experiences. I have been browsing this site quite a bit to get up to speed, and have spent way too much time at the pool store. I now have good chemical balance and clear water. However, my pump is randomly turning off and firing back up every few minutes. After speaking with an employee at the pool store, he suggested that my water level is too high, which in turn is causing the pump to shut off. I did some quick measurements and confirmed that the water is about 3 inches above the skimmer inlet. I believe that draining some water should fix my issue, but the previous owner did not label any of the valves and I have no idea how to proceed (all of the Youtube videos I watched had the valves labeled). What I do know is that I don't want my skimmer to be working when I drain because of the risk of it sucking in air, so I want to turn that off completely.

I have attached a photo of my system. As you can see, there are two blue valves, and a red valve. The red valve discharges the water (I confirmed that). The blue valve on the left cannot be opened all the way because it is blocked by the PVC piping on the left. The blue valve in the middle can be opened all the way. When I close it up (as it is currently pictured), it seems to me that my skimmer has less suction. When I open it up, it feels like my skimmer has much more suction. Is it possible that my main drain and skimmer share this valve, and opening/shutting it is basically switching between both? If so, does this mean I can never completely turn off the skimmer suction? Have any of you ever seen this type of setup?

I really appreciate all the help and insight contained in this forum, especially for us new pool owners. Thanks in advance!

 

[pinguy]

Your skimmer won't suck air if the water level is over it. You should be able to open the red valve and turn the pump on to drain water.

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP and congrats on the new pool!

One of the blue valves should be the drain and one should be the skimmer(s). Vertical is open and horizontal is closed. I agree that you should be able to drain water without the skimmer sucking air, it should draw from the bottom if it gets low. And if it does start to draw air and make a lot of noise close the drain valve and turn off the pump.

Although, I don't understand why the water being high in the pool would make the pump shut off.

 

[ces]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the responses! The water level issue is something that someone at a pool store brought up. However, even after lowering it, the pump is still flipping off every 5-8 minutes. It's also hot to the touch. I cleaned out the skimmer basket next to the pump and confirmed that is working. Someone at another pool store suggested that it is either my capacitor, or the motor itself.

 

[atttech-2]

I would not think capacitor that just gives the motor the boost it needs to get going once it is running the capacitor has little to do with it. If it is getting hot I would think thermal switch, of course it should not get hot enough to shut down, could be something stuck in the impeller, could be restricted suction line or bad bearings. How does it sound any screeching noises? Any chance you got a home warranty from the seller while the fix might be simple if you have a warranty you might want to let them deal with it. If you want to fix it your self there are many pump experts on here.

 

[pooldv]

Agreed, probably not the capacitor. Bearings or clogged impeller are likely culprits. What is the filter pressure now? And what is it when clean? Never mind, I see you have been there a whole week! What is the filter pressure now?

 

[pooldv]

What does the water look like? How many gallons is your pool? We need to figure out how much bleach to get in the pool so you don't get some algae.

 

[ces]

The filter pressure is about 9 PSI. The pool is 15,000 gallons. The water is clear right now and I had Leslie's do a water test and it came out good. No screeching noises or anything like that. I checked the impeller-with the skimmer basket hatch open and the pressure release valve open on the filter, when I turn the motor on water shoots out of the valve relief.

The motor hums still right along and then suddenly cuts out, waits a few minutes, then fires back up. I spoke with a pool repair guy and based on the photos and my description of the issue, he believes the motor is on its way out because it is overheating and causing itself to shut down. He suggested that I turn it off for now since it's just burning up electricity, and get a new motor. He's coming out early next week to take a look.

Unfortunately, I don't have a home warranty or anything like that.

Thanks again for all of the advice!

 

[pooldv]

For the time being you can add 1/2 a jug of 8.25% generic bleach every day to keep the pool clear. No scents, not splashless or easy pour. Use a pool brush to to mix it into the water.

What are you thinking on the pump? Want to change the motor? Get a new pump? Are you a DIYer?

 

[kimkats]

The motor hums still right along and then suddenly cuts out, waits a few minutes, then fires back up. I spoke with a pool repair guy and based on the photos and my description of the issue, he believes the motor is on its way out because it is overheating and causing itself to shut down. He suggested that I turn it off for now since it's just burning up electricity, and get a new motor. He's coming out early next week to take a look.

I had my husband look at this and he agrees with ^^^^^^^^.

So for now keep it off. Put some bleach in and brush, brush, brush. You can put in a sub pump to help the water around.

Kim