Skimmers Have No Suction

Jump to latest Follow Reply
ajw22 said:
To recap, your skimmers and main drain work for normal pump and filter water flow. Your are now having problems getting adequate suction from a skimmer to vacuum. You were able to vacuum a few days ago.

Anything you vacuumed had to flow through the pump basket and impeller to get into the filter. Does your pump basket have any large gaps in it? I would check inside the pump around the impeller for debris that got caught there.

If the pump basket and impeller area is clear of debris then I would again look at backwashing or opening your filter and checking the sand. Have you ever deep cleaned the sand?

www.troublefreepool.com

Maintenance and Cleaning of Pool Filters

Maintaining your swimming pool filter system is important. Learn how to clean and maintain your pool filter at low cost & enjoy a Trouble Free Pool.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm going to check the impeller area tonight when I'm home from work to see if there is anything in there. I have not deep cleaned the sand myself. According to the prior homeowner, he had the sand changed last August. From what I read on here, that's around an every 5 year exercise?
 
As directed, turned the main drain off and have the skimmer valve in the open position. Pressure will not get above 5 PSI.

Skimmer closest to the pump house has a whirlpool effect with water rushing into the skimmer (see picture). Skimmer furthest away does not seem to have the same effect going on.

I have also attached a picture of the filtration system “boiler plate”.
 

Attachments

  • 8BD6AFB7-CCD3-4803-9245-1D69CDA95943.jpeg
    8BD6AFB7-CCD3-4803-9245-1D69CDA95943.jpeg
    390.1 KB · Views: 16
  • CC0954DD-2AAC-418D-A8C1-0DA9D896E243.jpeg
    CC0954DD-2AAC-418D-A8C1-0DA9D896E243.jpeg
    615.2 KB · Views: 16
  • 80DD1BF7-7ED3-4464-8D23-3AF7D38E6316.jpeg
    80DD1BF7-7ED3-4464-8D23-3AF7D38E6316.jpeg
    466.1 KB · Views: 23
  • 552B4A85-B97F-420B-8531-474BFBA4204F.jpeg
    552B4A85-B97F-420B-8531-474BFBA4204F.jpeg
    243.7 KB · Views: 23
If you get the "whirlpool" effect in your skimmer, there can only be two reasons... One is that your water level is too low and the other is that the weir door is stuck up..

In theory, it should be impossible for a pump to suck more water out of the bottom of the skimmer than can fall in from the pool..

The input to the skimmer is about 12" by 10" or so the the output is only a 2" or smaller pipe...

The water needs to be at about the middle of the skimmer mouth.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
If you get the "whirlpool" effect in your skimmer, there can only be two reasons... One is that your water level is too low and the other is that the weir door is stuck up..

In theory, it should be impossible for a pump to suck more water out of the bottom of the skimmer than can fall in from the pool..

The input to the skimmer is about 12" by 10" or so the the output is only a 2" or smaller pipe...

The water needs to be at about the middle of the skimmer mouth.

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I have some concerns about there maybe being a leak somewhere, although the pool was as full as can be when it was opened two weeks ago. This is an older gunite pool and the pool company who serviced it before we owned the house said it was in great shape and would last a long time. Just hoping its not a leak somewhere.
 
The skimmer you pictured needs more water in the pool. Your skimmers are not exactly at the same height and you have to set the water level by the higher skimmer. It is not unusual, I have the same situation with my skimmers.
 
ajw22 said:
The skimmer you pictured needs more water in the pool. Your skimmers are not exactly at the same height and you have to set the water level by the higher skimmer. It is not unusual, I have the same situation with my skimmers.
Click to expand...
I second that. There's not nearly enough water at least by the picture. You probably have lots of air in the system and having a lower psi is in line with this tehory.
 
For those of you who may have been following, we had a professional pool company out today to take a look at the situation. It seems that the skimmer lines in our pool have disintegrated. Additionally, two of our skimmers have cracks in them. So, that ends the pool experiment for this season. I will be awaiting a quote for them to dig up concrete and replace lines. I'm sure it will not be cheap.

Appreciate the help.
 
  • Sad
Reactions: lazygirl1978
Thats a bummer. Keep us informed of what they propose and how it goes.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Has anyone had any experience with having skimmers and skimmer lines replaced in an inground pool? Now that this has been determined to be the issue, I have a 45+ year old gunite pool that needs to be repaired. They're going to have to dig through concrete/cement to pull the old lines out and put the new in. Just looking to see what is reasonable in terms of cost; can provide pictures if that helps. I did get a quote from them but it seems extremely high. Thanks!
 
jkowskidpm said:
i would suggest starting a new thread with new situation at hand, i think you will get more "traffic" to your inquiry
Click to expand...

Keep the discussion here. Understanding the history is valuable.

Forum Rules

TFP Rules Welcome to Trouble Free Pool. This forum is closely moderated. We have earned a reputation as one of the friendliest forums on the net and we have designed our site rules to protect that reputation. Above all we ask all members to please treat others as you would like to be treated...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

1. Please keep related topics in one post. That way, the entire storyline and related advice is located in one spot which makes it easy for other members to follow and offer further advice.
 
Maritime said:
Older gunite pool, supposed "disintegrated" skimmer lines, concrete decking already in poor shape. Any input on cost?
Click to expand...

Nobody can comment about cost without seeing the actual situation. Costs very by region and contractors willingness to do the work. Rehab is always more expensive then new construction and many contractors are not interested.

Get 3 to 5 bids and nail down scope of work in writing. When you get the bids post them here with the bid specifications and then you will get some critiques.
 
ajw22 said:
Nobody can comment about cost without seeing the actual situation. Costs very by region and contractors willingness to do the work. Rehab is always more expensive then new construction and many contractors are not interested.

Get 3 to 5 bids and nail down scope of work in writing. When you get the bids post them here with the bid specifications and then you will get some critiques.
Click to expand...

I have a quote for $45,000 which seems preposterous to me; I could virtually build a new pool for that amount in the Northeast. $27,000 of that is for 1500 sqft of something called "Ecofinish". The remainder of the expense is for the skimmer and line replacement. They also quoted a new pump.
 
Maritime said:
I have a quote for $45,000 which seems preposterous to me; I could virtually build a new pool for that amount in the Northeast. $27,000 of that is for 1500 sqft of something called "Ecofinish". The remainder of the expense is for the skimmer and line replacement. They also quoted a new pump.
Click to expand...
Seems the quote is for a complete redo of the pool itself (Ecofinish is a type of finish of the pool). $18,000 for fixing piping and new pump is quite a bit ludicrous.

aquaBRIGHT Pool Finish: Benefits, Colors, and More

Learn about Aquabright - the smooth, durable, and enduring coating for concrete and plaster pools. Make your pool stand out!
www.ecopoolfinish.com www.ecopoolfinish.com

Let's bump someone who may know a bit better @bdavis466
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply