Skimmer draws water well, floor drain - nothing

[azsaltpool]

I have th exact same problem as the originator.

Split off of this topic. JasonLion

Skimmer draws water in very well. Floor drain - nothing. I can put leaves right on the opening for the floor drain and nothing happens.

This is my pool:
7 years old
11,000 gallon salt water pool
4 cartridge filters
Auto cleaning with pop-ups
Single motor/pump for cleaning
Separate single motor/pump for water feature
Whisper Flo pumps with filter basket
Century Centurion motors
Two pipes under the skimmer basket & the one away from the pool accepts the vacuum hose
I have the water regulator below the skimmer basket that is pictured above about 1/3 open.

So far I have:
Cleaned the cartridge filters
Cleaned both the skimmer and pump baskets
Turned the black valve in all directions**

**NOTE: As a sidebar I do not know what turning this valve does or what it should be set at. Opposite the handle side on the valve is labeled "OFF"

The vacuum has normal suction, its just that the flow is not drawing in any water, leaves, etc. from the dual floor drains.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JohnT]

You really won't notice the flow on the floor drain. They are designed to reduce concentrated suction for safety. Is your drain plumbed directly to the pad or does it go through the skimmer?

 

[JasonLion]

Your main drain is plumbed to your skimmer. The device under the skimmer basket is designed so that it will draw water from the skimmer unless the skimmer is blocked with leaves and then it will switch and draw water from the main drain. There isn't anything simple you can do to draw more water from the main drain unless you are willing to block that skimmer or change how things are plumbed.

The large black valve in the picture controls where water returning to the pool goes. In the picture it is setup to send water two different places at the same time. I don't know where those two different places are. Do you have two returns, or possibly two sets of returns? There is also a small pipe with a blue handled valve that sends water to a third place. It is turned off in the picture.

 

[azsaltpool]

Thanks for the replies.

The blue valve is a second water feature - a spray fountain that shoots water out of a nozzle.

OK - its good to know that the valve simply controls the return water. I have two return 'jets' - they are on opposite ends of the pool. This makes sense.

I did close the opening on that piece under the skimmer expecting it to draw water from the bottom. It didn't. In the past, I would see leaves, etc get sucked into the bottom drain when I did this. Not right now though.

 

[JasonLion]

It is possible that the drain has become clogged. One thing you can try is to get a garden hose and a Drain King (or a carefully packed rag to seal the hose to the pipe) and try to force water through the pipe to the main drain in the skimmer backwards through the drain and into the pool. If the pipe is clogged that will generally force the debris backwards into the pool, messy but effective.

 

[daddybug]

Do you have a pool cleaner?

 

[azsaltpool]

Seems as if there is flow, but very restricted at the floor drain. Will try drain king.

Might have to get in...ugh.

Thanks for the help.

 

[daddybug]

If you have a pool cleaner it acts like your main drain. Main drains are pretty useless in a IG pool (unless you enjoy brushing everything)

 

[azsaltpool]

One last question - I thought the pool cartridge tank water pressure should be around 2-3psi. Its 8psi. Does that indicate an issue?

 

[JasonLion]

The pressure you should see at the filter is different for every pool. Numbers like 8 psi are more common than lower numbers, but 2-3 psi is perfectly possible.

The thing to keep in mind is that the pressure will go up as the filter gets filled with debris. When the pressure has gone up about 6 psi from it's starting pressure it is time to clean/backwash the filter. It should then go back down to the starting pressure and start climbing again from there.