Skimmer not getting stuff off surface of pool

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Flbeachluvr

Flbeachluvr

Bronze Supporter
Mar 19, 2016
445
Port Orange, FL
I finally figured out what has been floating on the surface of my water. I netted the pool surface and let everything dry on the net to see if I could figure out what the little bits of clear stuff were. Upon drying, it looks like a lot of small bug wings (yuck) as well as some tiny bug bodies. We are in Florida and don't have a screen enclosure so we knew bugs would be an issue. However, I'm wondering why these aren't being pulled into the skimmer? I'm currently running the pump from 10-6 and am using a hair net in the skimmer basket. I check the basket daily and don't seem to be getting much in there. Also, when I check the skimmer I often find the weir floating in it. It seems to come off frequently. I do have the returns (3) going in a circular motion and only change the direction when I run my Kreepy Krauly.

Is there something else I should be checking to see why my skimmer seems to be leaving so much floating stuff on the pool or is this just normal?
 
I would say not normal at higher speeds my pool completely skims in about 4 minutes at low speed about 15 minutes. If the weir is coming off that could explain most of it, without the weir much of the surface velocity is lost and you are mostly filtering not skimming. If you can get some good pictures I am sure you will get some suggestions on how to fix it. If it can't be fixed there are replacement inserts that can take the place of the original. Also do you have a separate valve for the skimmer and main drain and if so how are they set? I would have about 70%-80% of the flow coming from the skimmer.
 
At work now so no pics until I get home. With the weir it seems there are two tabs on the end but they don't fit securely into the sides of the skimmer opening. Both my husband and I have messed with it but it seems like one of the holes isn't deep enough to keep the weir attached. As far as the valves go I'm still learning about what's what but we have everything turned just like our PB told us to. We do have two separate valves for the skimmer and main drain and only change the skimmer valve when running the Kreepy Krauly and then set it right back. We have never touched the main drain valve.
 
The weir is critical to skimming. Say the pump pulls 5000 gallons per hour. That's 83 gallons per minute; 19250 cubic inches per minute. If the skimmer opening is 18 inches wide and the weir allows ½" of water above it, that's 9 square inches. So for the water to keep the skimmer well full -- which it will, as water seeks its own level -- that's 2,138 inches per minute. 35 inches per second; 2 miles an hour. That's not very fast, easy walking speed and way slower than your hand sweeping across the surface. Now what if you double or triple the depth of the water across the weir? 12 inches per second. If you drop a ping pong ball a foot away from the skimmer, in the current, it will take a full second to enter.

The point being, you need velocity to skim the surface. If you look at a creek, where it widens and gets shallow, the water gets covered with slime. Where the channel narrows, it speeds up and the water looks clear. Same thing with the pool.
 
Ohh, technical talk lol!

Would the fact that the pool is super full have any effect? This is just a recent issue by the way. My husband (who does none of the pool maintenance) took it upon himself to add water to the pool and then we got a good inch of rain so our water level is the highest it's ever been-almost to the top of the skimmer. Also, I used to find my floating thermometer inside my skimmer all the time and now it just goes around in circles.
 
Flbeachluvr said:
Ohh, technical talk lol!

Would the fact that the pool is super full have any effect? This is just a recent issue by the way. My husband (who does none of the pool maintenance) took it upon himself to add water to the pool and then we got a good inch of rain so our water level is the highest it's ever been-almost to the top of the skimmer. Also, I used to find my floating thermometer inside my skimmer all the time and now it just goes around in circles.
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Not really, not as long as there is still air space above the top of the weir. That's why they float, to keep a fairly constant water depth above them regardless of actual pool level.
 
too full would reduce skimming a bit as the 1/2 inch of water could be an inch or more depending on how full we are talking. I let my water level get high when I can because of our drought but I do notice a reduction in skimming, it's a trade I am willing to make. as for the weir based on your description a pin drop of PVC glue or JB weld on one or both post might do the trick if you get a bit too much or a sharp edge you can carefully sand it a bit.
 
In doing some other research on the web (and finding a few old posts here) it does look like my super high water level may be a factor. No rain predicted for this week and it should be hot so I'm hoping the water level will go down on it's own due to evaporation. I guess for now I'll just net the pool daily.
 
Take a look inside the skimmer below the basket, some have an adjustable cover plate over the suction line held by a post or screw that could have moved on you and reduced the flow. If you have one set it to full open since your have valves at your pad to control things.

The other less likely setup is a float valve (flying saucer looking device) that sits below the skimmer basket. They are mainly useful in a setup like I have where the main drain is plumbed through the skimmer. Since it sounds like your main drain is plumbed separately if you have one you can try removing it, but as I said not likely you do.
 
atttech-2 said:
Take a look inside the skimmer below the basket, some have an adjustable cover plate over the suction line held by a post or screw that could have moved on you and reduced the flow. If you have one set it to full open since your have valves at your pad to control things.

The other less likely setup is a float valve (flying saucer looking device) that sits below the skimmer basket. They are mainly useful in a setup like I have where the main drain is plumbed through the skimmer. Since it sounds like your main drain is plumbed separately if you have one you can try removing it, but as I said not likely you do.
Click to expand...

No cover plate over the suction line, just a hole and no float valve either.

I know the suction works as I had my Kreepy Krauly running this past weekend and it was moving around just fine.
 

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I set my suction valves to about 80% skimmer and 20% drain. Closing off some suction at the drain will put more suction at the skimmer. Weir operation is key. There will be a point where the water level will become too high and reduce velocity into the skimmer. Here are a bunch of weirs, Pool Skimmer Weirs. Skimmer Weir Doors. Skimmer Weir. if you need a new one.
 
I will check the valves when I get home and maybe post a pic. I wasn't home when the PB walked my husband through the equipment and my husband didn't really pay much attention. He did make a note of how the PB said the valves should be and that we should only change them when we vacuumed the pool.

The weir itself is fine. It's just that it doesn't attach well to the opening. It seems that there should be two holes for the spring-loaded pegs to go through but one of the holes isn't really deep enough to keep the peg in and with the high water level it just keeps knocking it out.
 
I will post a pic of my water level in relation to the skimmer when I get home but I really think that's the issue. The water is actually to the very top of the tile. We have no rain predicted for at least the next week so I'm wondering how much water I could expect to evaporate on it's own? Average daily temps here are around 80 and the pool gets full sun all day.
 
Well I changed the suction so that 100% is going to the skimmer. The weir is staying attached (in doing some more investigating it looks like it's just held on by pressure) and I've been messing with the direction of the the returns. We'll see how it looks when I get home.
 

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