Skimmer for Intex - Wide mouth? Model?

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nelson411

nelson411

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Aug 5, 2011
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Hi all, :wave:

We want to put in a through wall skimmer in our 9 X 18 Intex Ultra frame. Any recommendations on what kind of skimmer, make, model, etc.? Wide-mouth vs. regular?

Any help would be appreciated. You all are the best! :lovetfp:

Cheers,

Liz :wave:
 
I just put in a Hayward standard thru-wall skimmer (SP1091LX DYNA-SKIM) in my 18'x48" Ultra Frame. It's nice because it has a butterfly gasket and did not leak at all. I left the original intake hooked up and put ball valves at both the skimmer and old intake. They come together at the pump with a 1.5" PVC Y-adapter. With only the skimmer open, it has mad suction and keeps the pool incredibly clean. When someone is swimming I open both of them to protect from something getting stuck in the skimmer and running the pump dry.

The weight of the standard skimmer is fine on the outside of the wall. I haven't tried vacuuming yet off of the skimmer, but I do not expect any problems there either. From the instruction on the Hayward skimmer, it looks like the wide mouth is just an adapter that connects to the standard skimmer. I believe that comes factory sealed though. So the wide mouth would sit a few more inches off of your wall.

I definitely don't need a wide mouth for a 18' round. And again, I like the butterfly gasket to help prevent leaking.

Scott
 
Here are a few photos. I cut my liner when the pool was 2' filled. Make sure the gasket is flush with the liner in between the gasket flaps.



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Hi Scott,

thanks for the pictures. They really help. I already ordered the same skimmer from Amazon, and so it should be here on Monday. It looks like it was made for the pool. :goodjob:

I might bug you again about installing it later. :bowdown:

Many thanks,

Liz :wave:
 
Sure thing. I also highly recommend installing the 1.5" ball valves at the skimmer, inlet and outlet. They are much better than plunger valves from intex. You'll have to make the Intex to PVC adapter for the inlet/outlet though using a PVC bushing and also cut some gaskets out of gasket material to seal it. Very easy and cheap to do. I used this part from Grainger:
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/ww...ch&Ntt=4FYD7&N=0&GlobalSearch=true&sst=subset
There is a whole thread on how to make these in the AGP Forum if you search. Just sand down the letters and make your gaskets.
 
Thanks Scott! :goodjob:
eras2r said:
Sure thing. I also highly recommend installing the 1.5" ball valves at the skimmer, inlet and outlet. They are much better than plunger valves from intex. You'll have to make the Intex to PVC adapter for the inlet/outlet though using a PVC bushing and also cut some gaskets out of gasket material to seal it. Very easy and cheap to do.
Click to expand...
Say what????? I think I will turn this task over to my hubby. I'm pretty challenged when it comes to DIY. I think he's got the DIY gene. He'll know what you are talking about!

eras2r said:
There is a whole thread on how to make these in the AGP Forum if you search. Just sand down the letters and make your gaskets.
Click to expand...
I seem to remember that thread.

Thanks so much!
Liz
 
Hi,

ylomnstr said:
So when you install this skimmer, you also keep using the under water return too? How far should it be from the under water return?
Click to expand...

We kept both the original Intex return, and added the new Hayward return. I read somewhere (I can't remember where) that the return and skimmer needed to be 3 feet away from each other.
I really like having two returns. It really improves the circulation of the pool. We also are adding a fountain to go to one of the returns.
I was so surprised how easy and how well it went. We are not DIY folks (maybe we are morphing into them!), but based on what I learned from this board, it went really really well.

Are you installing one too?
 
Im new to this pool stuff and was wondering if cutting the pool to put a thru wall skimmer in, as above, would damage the pool. (ie: tear later or ?) I am afraid to cut the side wall of my pool! Did you glue extra pool liner and then cut through 2 layers or something? I have an Intex Ultra 18'x 48" and would love to do this mod. Thanks for the info
 

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Hi Lopestyler,

lopestyler said:
Posted: July 16th, 2012, 3:41 pm
Im new to this pool stuff and was wondering if cutting the pool to put a thru wall skimmer in, as above, would damage the pool. (ie: tear later or ?) I am afraid to cut the side wall of my pool! Did you glue extra pool liner and then cut through 2 layers or something? I have an Intex Ultra 18'x 48" and would love to do this mod. Thanks for the info
Click to expand...
We did not place an extra piece of liner over the opening, though I have read others do that. The skimmer seems like it's in place, and there are no signs of rips or tears so far... :)

Here's how we did the install:
We installed the skimmer about an inch below the main white seam. We held the skimmer up and put a small level on it to be sure it was level. The level didn't work so well since the pool side was a bit warped since the sides had not pushed out all of the way. It is a rectangular pool, and the sides do not pop out completely until the pool is full. If I had it to do again, I would wait for the pool to fill so the sides will pop out, and then let some water out before we do the install.
I was terrified to do it :? , but the liner was very tough and did not rip. The liner on the Ultra Frame is pretty thick, and there were no tears (or tears!). :) We installed the skimmer first before cutting. The pool was not completely full, so we had no water close to the opening. We placed the face plate and the gasket up against the side of the inside of the pool, and we used an awl to punch the holes for the screws through to the outside of the pool. Then my husband held the skimmer and other gasket up on the outside of the pool while I installed the screws on the face plate from the inside of the pool. After the skimmer was installed, we cut the opening to the skimmer using the face plate as a guide. We used an exacto knife to cut it.
We were quite relieved that it went so well, that we decided to cut a hole for the Hayward return. As you might have read, the Intex holes are not standard, and so it is bigger than the Hayward return. So now we have two returns, and I think it really improves the circulation. :goodjob:
We are really glad we did the mod, and the new skimmer does a great job and works really well with the pump. This is the best pressure we've had ever.
Best to you on the mod! :goodjob:
Cheers,
Liz and Dave :wave:
 
I have not installed a skimmer to an Intex pool but I did install my skimmer in my steel wall pool. I only made two holes one for each of the top corners and placed the screws into the inner frame and placed the inside gasket on the two screws. I then pushed the top corner screws through the holes in the liner. On the outside I placed (hung?) the outside gasket on the screws and then held the skimmer body up to the wall and screwed the two screws into the skimmer body. I then punched holes for each of the remaining screws and ran them into the body. After the body was tight, I cut out the liner in the middle.

I don't know if it works this way for Intex installs but it reduces the stress of making sure you cut the correct size.
 
Hi techguy,

techguy said:
only made two holes one for each of the top corners and placed the screws into the inner frame and placed the inside gasket on the two screws. I then pushed the top corner screws through the holes in the liner. On the outside I placed (hung?) the outside gasket on the screws and then held the skimmer body up to the wall and screwed the two screws into the skimmer body. I then punched holes for each of the remaining screws and ran them into the body. After the body was tight, I cut out the liner in the middle.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a great technique! Sounds like you didn't have any leaks.

Thanks,

Liz
 
here is a pic of my 18x52 inch round intex hard plumbed with a standard thru wall skimmer and fountain......Mike
pool3.jpg


pool1.jpg

very easy modification a good diy project
 
lopestyler said:
Im new to this pool stuff and was wondering if cutting the pool to put a thru wall skimmer in, as above, would damage the pool. (ie: tear later or ?) I am afraid to cut the side wall of my pool! Did you glue extra pool liner and then cut through 2 layers or something? I have an Intex Ultra 18'x 48" and would love to do this mod. Thanks for the info
Click to expand...

You shouldn't have any problem with the liner because it is reinforced with fiber and the skimmer will be holding it all together. Installation is simple. My local hardware store didn't have a 1 1/2" pipe nipple so I glued all of my parts together and used the hose barb to attach my factory hose.

I put mine in with the pool full of water so I split the gasket and trimmed around the inside, about 1/8", to take the lip off that was left. You'll want a perfectly flat gasket in order for it to seal properly.

As for advice, if you don't have a #3 philips bit, go ahead and buy one. You'll need the extra torque and grip to fully seat the screws.



- - - Updated - - -

poolsam said:
With the Hayward SP1091LX Dyna-Skim Above-Ground Pool Skimmer, did you glue your pvc 1.5 inch ball valve right to the lower end or use a screw attachment?

View attachment 30693
Click to expand...

You will need some sort of threaded adapter to screw into the bottom of the skimmer. It has female 1 1/2" pipe threads. If our hardware store would have had a 1 1/2" pipe nipple, I would have bought a threaded ball valve and just screwed it all together. Instead I had to get a conglomeration of fittings and pipe to install mine.
 

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