Skimmer sucks air on Intex Pool

[PhilH]

Hi all,

I'm new here & only had one question. I have a 15' x 42" Intex metal frame pool. I am at the moment using the pump that came with it. The 1000 gph pump & paper filter all in one. I get plenty of water flow with it so far. I also have the Intex Krystal Clear Saltwater System on it. I have not had any low flow errors on the unit, so the pump is working fine. Water flow is fine as long as the skimmer is not connected.

When I connect the hose for the skimmer to the water intake on the pool it works fine for a few hours. Then the unit builds up air in the pump & I have to purge the pump at least twice a day. I have the skimmer at least 3 to 4 inches under water so I have no idea where the air is coming from.

When the skimmer is disconnected I can go between filter changes without any air buildup problems at all.

Thanks For Any Help

Phil

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, PhilH

It sounds like you have a suction side leak that worsens when you add the skimmer (and it's related head loss). Check you connections and your filter cover seal/air release to make sure they are not leaking. By the way, suction side leaks are tough to diagnose on the intex carts, since you can't observe in the filter area for bubbles (or lack of them) like you can observe a typical leaf basket.

 

[Maxxheadroom]

I had a similar issue with mine (Although I am running 2 2500 GPH pumps, I was getting massive air in my system. I went through checked every O-ring, put Vaseline on each one, made sure everything was clean and tight. To no avail, still getting so much air my salt water generator would shut down, I was about ripping my hair out. I stopped and thought about what I had not checked yet, the intake where the hose goes from my skimmer to the pool side. I pulled the hose off, and unscrewed the hose adapter and holy yuck I found the problem. My intake was completely clogged with hair, bugs, and other generally nasty things. So I unscrewed the port from the pool popped it out and quickly slid a coffee container lid over the hole (and to my surprise only lost a couple gallons of water) I cleaned the intake and it is working good as new! My pumps were pulling so hard on that intake that air was getting by O-rings somewhere in the system. I have been running now 2 weeks without any issue.

 

[PhilH]

That is what was happening to mine. My intake return was getting clogged up. I fixed that when I took the skimmer off. Then I figured out the real problem.

When I opened up the pump to change the filter air would come up & burp out the intake return. This would fill up the skimmer hose with air. Of course when you turned the pump back on the air would get sucked back into the system.

I fixed this by disconnecting the skimmer hose from the intake return before opening the pump for filter replacement. After purging the lines of air & turning the pump back on I would then reconnect the skimmer hose. I haven't had any problems with air since.

Phil

P.S. If you use the little black plugs before opening the pump then the above doesn't happen..