No suction when I try & vacuum to waste

[NYSportzNut]

Hi,

First post to this forum - I have an inground pool with sand filter system & salt generator.

My problem is that I tried to vacuum to waste yesterday & found that there was no suction coming from my deep end skimmer (had main drain & shallow end skimmer shut) or vacuum hose. It worked fine with the dial set to filter & I have no problem backwashing so I know my waste piping is working right. Any ideas? Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[JohnT]

Any chance you lost prime? You probably have increased flow when going to waste, and a single skimmer may not be able to supply enough water to the pump.

 

[NYSportzNut]

Thanks for the reply John, its very possible that I lost prime, I will open my main drain a little just to get enough water to keep prime. Thanks for the advice. Question though - when I vacuum through filter setting, I have the same setup main drain and shallow end skimmer closed & have no problem - wouldnt I lose prime here as well?

 

[JohnT]

Thanks for the reply John, its very possible that I lost prime, I will open my main drain a little just to get enough water to keep prime. Thanks for the advice. Question though - when I vacuum through filter setting, I have the same setup main drain and shallow end skimmer closed & have no problem - wouldnt I lose prime here as well?

Going to waste, you don't have the resistance of the filter against the pump, so it moves more water. More water going through the pump increases the demand on the inlet ports. I'd start with everything open to make sure you hold prime, the gradually close the others until you get to the point you have good suction but the vac doesn't stick too much.

 

[NYSportzNut]

I will try it this evening. Thanks John

 

[NullQwerty]

Any advice when you only have 1 skimmer and no drain? I'm having an issue of maintaining prime when vacuuming to waste.

 

[Bama Rambler]

A problem of losing prime is a suction leak somewhere. Check the hose and vacuum plate. Then start checking the pump basket lid o-ring and the drain plugs.

 

[NullQwerty]

Ok, thanks! I think it's the hose. It keeps kinking up.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Yeah it probably has some pinhole leaks from the kinks.