Trouble shoot pump basket not filling with water quick enough

Jun 25, 2011
57
Ok, so I'm not sure what happened honestly. I am not the first owner of the pool and I did not do the initial plumping, nor do I know anything about the plumbing except how to hook it up and make it go. I will say that I have been caring for the pool for about 8 years and I've never had much of an issue. I'm probably going to have to post pictures if needed because I'm sure no one will understand what I'm saying but Ill try.

From the skimmer basket the hose goes to the port dial doo-dad (I have no idea what this is called), from there it goes to the pump, to the DE filter, and back out to the return on the pool. All of a sudden my return is terrible, and also my suction when using a vacuum. This happened all of a sudden. It isn't just the return that is bad, its the whole system, getting the water to fill into the basket "seems" to be the issue? The return shoots out water in "spurts" instead of a strong steady stream. Looking at the basket it seems like the water just isn't filling as quickly as the pump can pump. I thought maybe there was a clog somewhere between the skimmer, the port dial doo-dad, and the pump but I am not seeing anything of the sort. What should I attempt to fix next.
 
Try priming the pump by cracking the basket lid and allowing any air to escape from the basket. Tighten it back when the water begins to flow out. Turn the pump back on and see if the problem quickly returns.

Is there air exiting the return?

I tried that already. And yes.. it seems like air is exiting the return. But I see no noticeable leaks or cracks anywhere.

I seem to have found some problems i might be able to find solutions too. One is the my pump skimmer basket needs a new O - ring, or in this case oddly shaped rectangular ring, however I can't find my model of skimmer basket anywhere. I have all the information for the pump itself but not the skimmer basket.
 
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