Skimmer main drain diverter question from a newbie

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Wildcat

Wildcat

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Jun 30, 2013
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Tucson, AZ
Read a lot of the posts on this topic but I am still confused.

I have a diverter that looks like the one in the photos in equipment section. Have two pipes in bottom of skimmer, both same diameter. One pulls water like the devil with the diverter and basket out, the other not a thing.

I have two main drains in my deep end. When pump is running I can feel no pull at all when I stand on them. I would think I should.

My water quality is good, other than i am getting a new VS pump and new filter soon as the pump is noisy and inefficient and the filters need replacing so for a few hundred more I am going to get a new cartridge filter system.

Also, do not understand how diverter works as it seems like when the disk is down it covers both pipes completely.

I am sure the answer is in here somewhere but I did do a search and 8 or so threads.
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!! :wave:

The floor drains are designed such that you should not be able to feel the water flow for safety reasons. Your floor is plumbed to the second pipe in the skimmer that does not have suction. When you slide the flap closed on the diverter, then water can not be drawn from the skimmer so it is pulled from the floor up through the other pipe.

To be clear, you have the diverter that looks like this?
lovingHDTV-SkimmerDiverter.jpg
 
Yes, my diverter looks like that. I think it may be broken as there is a floater but no side flap. There is a screw with a borken piece of plastic which may be the remnants of a broken flap. Time for me to go the pool store look at what a new diverter looks like. Thanks, will check back in when I check out the diverter to make sure i understand how to adjust it.

And i guess I am to understand that the skimmer side pipe that goes to the pump should have lots of suction and the main drain side not so much
 
Yup, sounds like your sliding flap on the bottom is missing:
51-270-1136(bottom)_XL.jpg


You will only feel suction in the pipe going to the pump. At this point with no flap, most of your suction is going through the skimmer and likely very little if any through the floor. When you get a new diverter and close the flap completely, you may be able to feel or see debris sucked into the floor.
 
My flap deformed, so I cut a piece of thicker plexiglass to replace it.

When the flap is 100% closed, it draws close to 100% from the main drain.

!00% open, it's easier to draw from above - gravity and all that - so you get nothing from the main drain. Which matches your experience perfectly.

If the water level in the skimmer gets too low, the float inside gets sucked down, blocking the skimmer inlet and pulling 100% from the main drain. It will stay like that until the suction is released, either by lifting it off or by the pump shutting off.

It's trial and error setting up the balance. Even with 100% main drain, if you have the correct drain covers, you won't feel any suction to speak of. I experimented with mine so that I just barely see a reduction in turbulence in the skimmer.
 
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