Has anybody used this? It's a two-door weir that has curved doors, and they claim upwards of 100 dollars in energy savings per year. I'm assuming the savings come from reduced pump run time because of how the system works. The weir is supposed to increase the velocity of the water entering the skimmer because of a reduction in pressure, kind of like a whirlpool...(Bernoulli's principle), in turn giving you a faster turnover rate. Is this another too-good-to-be-true product?
Aqua Power Skimmer Weir
- Thread starter POOLGOON
- Start date
That looks like an interesting idea, but their justification for their device doesn't really make sense to me. They say that you can save money by reducing the pump run time while using their product. But you can reduce the pump run time while not using their product and get the exact same advantages/savings without any obvious problems.
Nearly everyone runs their pump way too long, and nearly everyone can reduce their pump run time, with or without a new weir design. Surface clearing happens in significantly less time than the average pump run time, so even if they do improve the surface clearing rate, it still won't make any difference as surface clearing will happen regardless.
The big potential advantage of a design like that is that you could run the pump at a lower speed and still get effective skimming. However the current crop of pumps can't take advantage of that since their peak energy efficiency happens at speeds that are high enough to get effective skimming with existing skimmer designs.
A better approach to the same underlying issues for now is to get a timer that can be programmed in shorter increments and to run the pump for twenty minutes to half an hour six or so times a day. That will get you way more surface clearing than most people get now, and still provide enough filtering and mixing to keep a healthy pool going strong, and it is a far simpler retrofit than trying to change the skimmer.
Nearly everyone runs their pump way too long, and nearly everyone can reduce their pump run time, with or without a new weir design. Surface clearing happens in significantly less time than the average pump run time, so even if they do improve the surface clearing rate, it still won't make any difference as surface clearing will happen regardless.
The big potential advantage of a design like that is that you could run the pump at a lower speed and still get effective skimming. However the current crop of pumps can't take advantage of that since their peak energy efficiency happens at speeds that are high enough to get effective skimming with existing skimmer designs.
A better approach to the same underlying issues for now is to get a timer that can be programmed in shorter increments and to run the pump for twenty minutes to half an hour six or so times a day. That will get you way more surface clearing than most people get now, and still provide enough filtering and mixing to keep a healthy pool going strong, and it is a far simpler retrofit than trying to change the skimmer.
Jason makes a strong argument, 
I couldn't justify spending $80 on a piece of plastic when there are clearly ways to achieve the same result.
Not to side with the company or anything, but the weir is spring loaded so it just snaps into the skimmer mouth...you don't have to replace the entire skimmer.
I couldn't justify spending $80 on a piece of plastic when there are clearly ways to achieve the same result.Not to side with the company or anything, but the weir is spring loaded so it just snaps into the skimmer mouth...you don't have to replace the entire skimmer.
Seems to me that it could reduce the SURFACE skimming as it looks like the water can enter the skimmer over the full height of the weir. I thought that was one of the major advantages of the typical door in that water can only enter over the top which is mostly off the surface.
Could another advantage be that it will skim the sub-surface (a few inches). Sometimes there are those anti conformist leaves that fall just below the surface and kind of sit there for a while...
Regardless of lessening the overall size of surface skimming, it does increase the flow/suction which should negate the smaller surface area. Plus, as mentioned above, it would increase the skimming of subsurface "stuff". Being that the suction would increase, it would mean I could run my pump on the low setting for most of the time. That to me is the money saver, not the actual run time of the pump, but the speed of the pump. If the price is right, I'd like to give it a try. Did a few searches (bing & google) but could not find a retailer. Does anyone know where to purchase the item??
keene3b07 said:
This is why, if the price is right, I'd like to test it out. However, I still can not find a retailer. Pinch A Penny does not list it on their web site.
In nearly all pools you can run on low anyway. The only common exception is pools with more than two skimmers, which tend to require a slightly higher total flow rate, with conventional skimmers, to keep the skimmers working properly.LI poolguy said:
I believe they just started carrying it at my local PAP, within the last two weeks, so it might take tame for them to post it online...
I know each store is an individually owned franchise so they can choose to bring in outside products as well. (This store sells Big Green Eggs)
I know each store is an individually owned franchise so they can choose to bring in outside products as well. (This store sells Big Green Eggs)
doncaruana said:
Unfortunately, I still can't locate a vendor that carries it. Would like to try it as well.
Just got a PAP flyer today advertising it (I'm down here in FL). Our skimmer doesn't have a weir....is one necessary?
girlgeekFL said:
The weir improves the surface skimming and also prevent the junk from floating back out of the skimmer when the pump turns off ... but they are not "required"