Low Pressure when intake from Pool, High pressure when intake from Spa

[sttanzione]

I'm new to learning to maintain my own pool. I have been able to find a TON of solutions on this site, but now I'm stuck at a new problem, any help would be greatly appreciated.

I've had a bunch f tiny seedling fibers from a giant tree fall in to my pool lately. Last month I noticed low pressure coming out of my pool and after reading here, checked my skimmer basket. At the time, I knew I would have to eventually clean the filters, but put it off because cleaning the skimmer basket fixed the issue... it was packed full.

Recently I noticed my pressure getting low, suction was also low in pump skimmer basket, and the pressure out of the spa jets was low... so I figured it was time to clean the filter.

I followed the directions to clean my Pentair fnsp 48 DE filter, and all when well, but no there is virtually no pressure at all (nearly zero, but can feel a little water going through).

However, when I switch the intake to the Spa, still out to the spa... I get crazy high pressure 30 or so.... what I've normally seen was about 10.

Read a lot of forums, checked for clogs in the pump, re-checked the filter... no luck.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

-Steve

 

[mas985]

Welcome to the forum!

Sounds like the skimmer line is blocked. Try back flushing from the pump toward the skimmer with a hose wrapped in a rag.

 

[drummerdan]

Welcome to the forum!
Sounds like the skimmer line is blocked. Try back flushing from the pump toward the skimmer with a hose wrapped in a rag.

I'm having a similar problem. Hey Mark can you explain a bit more info this process please? I've never heard the term back flushing. Are you talking about putting a garden hose up the intake of the pump? Wouldn't that potentially lead to the wrong skimmer (ie. it might lead to the skimmer line that's not blocked)?

 

[mas985]

Yes, you flush backwards from the pump to the skimmer(s). However, if you have two skimmers, you will need to turn one off in order to flush the other. Some setups have a valve at the pad to do this but if your skimmers connected underground, then you may need to use a plug in the skimmer to prevent the flow. The pipe connection is usually threaded so you can use a threaded plug. Just alternate flushing each skimmer or just the one that is plugged.