Sand Filter Playing Possum

[dar-lita]

Hi All:

I hope I don't seem like I'm double posting. I'm trying not to, but I have another question concerning hooking up a vaccuum hose to my sand filter. My filter has great suction when it's filtering. It jets out the water very fast. I have checked the suction for the inlet into the filter and feel that there is great pull.

I have the following equipment for vaccuuming......a double duty vaccuum head that can either be hooked up to a vaccuum hose or can be attached to a water hose. I also have the vaccuum hose that came with wanda whale. I tossed wanda because she wasn't cooperating and I couldn't get her to work. The pieces to the vaccuum hose fit together and seem very tight with no leaks.

To make a long story short, I got home yesterday and was excited to conquer the vaccuuming problem and realized that maybe I didn't prime my hose enough with water. I took my time and made sure the hose was filled and then attached it to the vaccuum head and then kept the hose under water and hooked it up to the inlet. I cracked my knuckles and crossed my fingers, switched the filter on (the lever was in the filter position), and......................wow..................no suction. :grrrr:

I know I'm a newbie, but for the life of me, I can't figure it out.

Again, I appreciate all the help I can get.

 

[Richard320]

I have my pump running, then i reach in and hold the weir shut so all the stuff floating inside the skimmer gets sucked into the basket, then pick the basket up above the water level and let the weir go. Then I pull out the diverter. At that point I can see and feel the suction. Then I fill the hose and stab it in the inlet. The pump makes a little noise for a second or two and then everything's good.

Question: Have you shut off the main drain? Because it's a lot easier for the pump to pull through a relatively short pipe than it is through a long narrow hose.

More questions: You say no suction. But do you see flow from the returns? What happens if you pull the vacuum hose out while the pump is running?

 

[dar-lita]

Hi Richard320.

Thanks so much for your response. I am all new at this and for the life of me have never figured out the vaccuum thing and have always been stuck messing with the garden hose. It can get very frustrating.

I did try to paste in a picture of my filter but it wouldn't work. Basically, with this filter, it sits on the ground outside and the skimmer basket is attached to it on the ground, not inside the pool. One hose goes from the skimmer basket and attaches to a plunger. The plunger screws into the outlet in the side of the pool. The other hose goes from the filter to the other plunger outlet into the pool. Honestly, I thought I was doing everything right. I know that the hose is supposed to be primed, but can figure how to hook it up to where I get the most suction. I am in awe of people who have figured this out. I am at a loss. I won't give up the ship though. There has got to be a way to rig it so that it will work. Maybe there is a way to actually hook it over the site into the skimmer basket without attaching it into the outlet in the pool wall.

I hope this all makes sense.





The skimmer basket is down on the ground and attaches to the filter itself. The only way to really hook up the hose to it is thru the wall of the pool.

 

[Richard320]

Does this look like what you have?
[youtube:2ioegvt5]hxHn-uOC-mg[/youtube:2ioegvt5]
Interesting comment at 2:00 about restarting the cycle

or maybe this?
[youtube:2ioegvt5]nPW_rfYIeuU[/youtube:2ioegvt5]
In which case it only uses a garden hose, there is no way to connect it to the pool pump.

 

[redhdgirl417]

When I had my 16' Intex, and the only option was the **** garden hose vacuum (WORTHLESS!) I ended up just using the garden house attached with zips to my leaf skimmer pole by siphoning to clean the pool...took FOREVER but worked a heck of a lot better than that other contraption. Sorry I don't have a better solution for you.