When using the 1 ½†hose hooked up to the skimmer this year I noticed that I didn’t seem to be getting the suction I did last season. I first noticed this when I had the vacuum head attached to the hose. I took that off and it still doesn’t seem as powerful as it used to be. There is no blockage in the hose and I did notice that the pressure goes down to about 6psi when the hose is connected to the skimmer and normally it runs at about 15psi. I decided to check the pressure after I noticed a change in the sound of the pump when the hose would be connected. I have only lived in this house with the pool for about 3 years and I had no pool experience before this, so it is possible that this always happened and I just never noticed it before. Is it common for the pressure to drop when you hook up the hose to clean the pool? Is there something else that I am missing? Any input or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.
Poor suction when vacuuming?
- Thread starter mtw826
- Start date
Are you getting bubbles in the pump basket when vacuuming?
Is the main drain valve (if there is one) fully open.
If your hose has a swivel cuff, is it on the vacuum end and not the skimmer end?
Any chance of a leak in the hose?
Is the main drain valve (if there is one) fully open.
If your hose has a swivel cuff, is it on the vacuum end and not the skimmer end?
Any chance of a leak in the hose?
It's normal for the filter pressure to drop some when hooking up the vacuum. You've just added a good amount of suction head to the plumbing when you hook the hose up. Not only is it not as large as regular pipe it's corrugated and therefore adds a lot of flow restriction.
Thanks everyone for your input. No air in the pump basket. Hose does not have a swivel cuff and there is no leaks in the hose, I did my best to pressure test it.
Like I said maybe I am imagining that it used to have better suction. Just thought I would ask if there was something else I could be missing.
Like I said maybe I am imagining that it used to have better suction. Just thought I would ask if there was something else I could be missing.
I have always had trouble vacuuming because of low suction. I finally solved the problem. It turns out I had a small piece of plastic in the pump. I mean small. The pump still worked, but it wasn't as strong as it could be. I had to remove the pump basket to reach into the pump and when I did I found the plastic. Put everything back together and now I can vacuum. Don't know if your problem is similar, but you might want to check and make sure there is no debris caught in the pump.
Follow up: I ended up taking the pump basket out and with the pump off I stuck a 4 inch screwdriver in by the impeller and moved it around a bit. I had a bunch of pine needles caked around the impeller. I have to do this every so often now, I can tell when its time based on the way the pump sounds. I basically was just spinning the impeller with the screwdriver and stabbing in there where I could. Make sure there is no possible way the the pump can come on while doing this. Turn off the breaker if you have to.
