Do I have a clogged pipe?

[dannieboiz]

I remember when I run my pump, the water in the pump's skimmer goes all the way to the top clear glass and all I see is a tiny bubble twirling around. My pump has been running noisier these days. I was doing some maintenance on the pool today and noticed that water is not going all the way up to the glass only just passed the basket line and jumping all over the place.

My filter's PSI is @ around 17. I'm do for a backwash this season which I'll do soon but need to figure out the pump issue first.

What's the best way to clear a clogged filter line?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Can you isolate your skimmer and main drain from each other and test them by turning each valve individually to see where/if water is coming from there to your pump or not?

 

[dannieboiz]

I should have done this before asking...

Went out and backwash a couple times till water is clear. Psi dropped to 11 and skimmer is back to the top.

 

[jblizzle]

FYI, with a starting pressure of 11psi, you should really be backwashing when the pressure rises 20-25% to 13-14psi.

 

[dannieboiz]

FYI, with a starting pressure of 11psi, you should really be backwashing when the pressure rises 20-25% to 13-14psi.

That's great to know, I'll keep that in mind. For whatever reason I kept on thinking if it's under 20 psi I'm ok.

 

[kcindc]

I have noticed small air leaks when my pressure gets higher than the 25% rise. I'm sure it is from my 1980s flex pipe that has been repaired a few times.