Sand filter pump sucking my skimmer plate in

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Pooldummy1989

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May 28, 2016
2
Abilene
Ok, I was trying to get my pool clean and ready for this Memorial Day weekend. I have an Intex Pro Series frame pool, 16x48 5,000+ gallons. I have a 2650gph sand filter pump with salt water system.

The problem I am having is that when I put my skimmer plate into my skimmer to vacuum out the pool, the suction is so great that the skimmer plate collapses in and the skimmer even gets sucked in. It looks like an empty soda bottle when you suck the air out. I checked all my hoses, no cloggs or anything to cause it to try to suck everything in. Everything is flowing fine until I put the skimmer plate on with the vacuum hose attached. Idk what to do to prevent this. Can't clean the bottom of pool if I can't suck up the dirt. Any ideas??
 
You just have a lot of suction. Since the skimmer plate is junk anyway, this won't hurt. Drill a relief hole in it. Start small, maybe 1/4" That might reduce the suction enough so it doesn't collapse but still provide enough pull to vacuum. Enlarge it if you need to. And if the experiment fails, so what? You needed a stronger vacuum plate anyway.
 
Richard320 said:
You just have a lot of suction. Since the skimmer plate is junk anyway, this won't hurt. Drill a relief hole in it. Start small, maybe 1/4" That might reduce the suction enough so it doesn't collapse but still provide enough pull to vacuum. Enlarge it if you need to. And if the experiment fails, so what? You needed a stronger vacuum plate anyway.
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good catch Richard, I was thinking the skimmer not the skimmer plate :)
 
Pooldummy1989 said:
Any suggestions on a different, more sturdy skimmer plate??want to know in case the relief hole doesn't work out.

Thanks for the idea.
Click to expand...
Not from me. I like to live dangerously and connect the vacuum straight into the suction port, with a PVC plumbing adaptor to keep the hose collar from getting sucked in to plug the pipes.

This is actually upside down. The hose slips over the skinny part and the coupler fits down inside the hole and rests on a lip.

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