New Gunite Pool. Main drain clog

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sudolg

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Sep 5, 2013
7
Hi all,

New the the board here. I have a new Gunite Pool with River Rok. My main drain is clogged...most likely in the T between the 2 drains. I'm sure its with the RIver Rok plaster from the installation. My PB came out with a diver today with a failed attempt to push water in both directions to unclog it. This did very little to help. Only a small amount of water will come through when I close my skimmers and will quickly starve my pump. My PB now says its fine and that the pool is not meant to only have main drains open without a skimmer. Any ideas on how I can fix this situation?
 
bobby1017 said:
sudolg said:
Hi all,

My PB now says its fine and that the pool is not meant to only have main drains open without a skimmer.
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I don't know the fix but this statement is lame, never heard that before, you should be able to have all suction through the main drain if you choose.
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I agree...have a new pool and I can run FULL BORE off the main drains and get full suction. Something is WRONG for sure with your setup.
 
Thanks. I know this is the case but just wanted to ensure I wasn't missing something. Again, I'm getting just a tiny bit of flow now so they did something but still clogged. They are now talking about poring some acid down the main drain pipe to see if they can loosen the stuff. Hoping pure muriatic acid doesn't eat throughthe glue on the PVC lines....
 
sudolg said:
Thanks. I know this is the case but just wanted to ensure I wasn't missing something. Again, I'm getting just a tiny bit of flow now so they did something but still clogged. They are now talking about poring some acid down the main drain pipe to see if they can loosen the stuff. Hoping pure muriatic acid doesn't eat throughthe glue on the PVC lines....
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Any way you can run a snake through the lines ? They have those "water snakes" that might help.
 
I'm not familiar with River Rok but if the clog is composed of a cement binder material and if it's at the lowest portion of the drain piping system, would it be possible to break up/weaken the clog by pouring full strength muriatic acid into the drain. From what I can see online, PVC piping appears to have satisfactory compatibility with muriatic acid. Not sure if glued joints are just as compatible and the job would likely require a full drain of the pool - which is made somewhat harder without a main drain!

I've got no experience doing this and it's kinda hair brained, but with care it might work.

Edit: ...and before doing anything, it seems like it would be a good idea to get the pipe video scoped to verify the actual cause.
 
Yeah, i agree with you. I think this is the best approach. Draining pool would be best. I do want to get it scoped to see the clog for myself and exactly where it is just to be sure. Thanks for the comments....

With regard to the snake....not sure....I'm sure its plaster because this pool is brandy new so may be hard to move without chemicals. Perhaps scope first and go from there.....
 
You don't say where you are. Do you have building inspectors? The PB cannot walk away without insuring that you have dual drains that are hydrostaticly balanced. Otherwise he must close off both drains. In other words both drains must flow equally into the pipe beyond the T. Any clogs that might affect this are very problematic.

This is not just that he has not completed your pool to the contract specifications, its a life safety issue.
 

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