Low skimmer suction - better when pop up pump is on

[mdramir]

I am having trouble with low skimmer suction. The filters are brand new and running at 10 psi. The skimmer suction is lower than normal (been this way since reopening last month). It's low when I shut off the main drain on the Jandy valve. What's odd to me is the suction improves in the skimmer basket when I turn on the pop up jet pump. Is that normal? When both pumps are running the psi is still around 10.

These are Jandy Stealth pumps.

The pumps sound normal. The skimmer/drain pump sounds really good---not noisy at all. The pop up jet pump is more noisy---it makes a gurgling sound. Both have been refurbished in the past two years although I am not ruling out a bad pump.

My pop up jet pressure is also low around 10 psi for all of the stations except one. One station will have a psi around 14, but the rest have low pressure. The valve system is two years old.

The filters are new. The skimmer and pump baskets are all clean. I just put new lids on the pumps. I didn't pull anything out potentially clogging the impeller when I put a coat hanger in there. The pumps seemed primed, but I'm not an expert. Water level at the skimmer is a bit higher than in the middle and it seems like enough water is getting in there. There's some suction, especially when I turn on the pop up pump so water is getting in there, but I wake up every morning after running the system all night and the top of the pool is still fairly covered in small bits of debris.

I tried a drainx hose attachment to see if anything was clogged at the skimmer to the pump and nothing came out and nothing changed.

I don't see any water leaks.

I appreciate any insight. Thank you!

 

[mas985]

I am having trouble with low skimmer suction. The filters are brand new and running at 10 psi. The skimmer suction is lower than normal (been this way since reopening last month).

Has the filter pressure always been at 10 PSI, even with the old filters? That seems low for that pump. What is the model# of the pump?

It's low when I shut off the main drain on the Jandy valve.

Does the filter pressure change when you shut off the MD? If so, by how much?

What's odd to me is the suction improves in the skimmer basket when I turn on the pop up jet pump. Is that normal? When both pumps are running the psi is still around 10.

It looks like the in-floor pump plumbing is completely separate from the main pump so no, it is not normal and it should not make a difference if that is running or not. However, I don't know how it is plumbed underground so there could be something odd going on there. You don't have venturi skimmers do you?

My pop up jet pressure is also low around 10 psi for all of the stations except one. One station will have a psi around 14, but the rest have low pressure. The valve system is two years old.

Has it always been that way? That seems low. In-floors generally are supposed to run at around 20 PSI. What is the model # of this pump?

The filters are new. The skimmer and pump baskets are all clean. I just put new lids on the pumps. I didn't pull anything out potentially clogging the impeller when I put a coat hanger in there.

You might damage the impeller doing that. You should really separate the wet end from the motor and inspect the impeller directly.

Do both the filter gauge and the in-floor manifold gauge go to zero when the pump shuts off? If not, the gauges could be bad.

 

[mdramir]

The pump is the Jandy CL340. It's usually not this low. The low skimmer suction is also new to this season.

There's no change in pressure when I shut of the main drain or toggle back and forth.

I don't know what type of skimmer I have, but the need to turn on the pop up system to get the skimmer to have enough suction is new. It's a new issue that wasn't there previous years.

I think my next step is to change the pop up valve system. I did this two years ago. That's the last component I haven't changed. My guess is there's some issue related to the paramount system or the filter/skimmer pump isn't drawing enough water.

Thanks for your help!