Main drain plumbing

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Shaun0au

New member
Nov 4, 2020
3
Sydney Australia
Hi All,

Long time reader, first time poster (I live in Australia). I bought a house with a pool which i have been operating generally ok. However i'm getting down my very long to do list of fixes, one of these being figuring out my pools main drain plumbing and functionality. (The pool would be about 20yrs old). See photo below for reference to my question below.

My Question: Does my main drain run into my skimmer before returning to the pool pump? or is my main drain just a 'pressure relief valve'. And what is the function of the 'golf ball' thing in my skimmer box.

My Pool is a ~55,000L fibreglass pool with:
- 2 inlet jets (Connected to 1 inlet pipe)
- One Skimmer basket which plums to the pool pump
- it appears to have 1 main drain at the deep end

The plumbing at my pool pump consists of:
- 1 return line (From Pump/chlorinator to the pool (Inlet jets)
- 1 line coming from pool connecting to the pump
- There no valves or junctions, only 1 out pipe and 1 in pipe coming out of the ground

I don't know where my main drain line may connect in with my pump line, unless it comes in at the skimmer box.

My Skimmer consists of some sort of ball / valve looking line with what appears like a golf ball stuffed into it, i'm not too sure what the function of this is, but kind of assuming this may link up with the main drain, so that the main drain gets sucked through the skimmer to the pump to create suction..

The main drain inlet in the deep end of my pool does not appear to have any suction what so ever.

My Question: Does my main drain run into my skimmer before returning to the pool pump? or is my main drain just a 'pressure relief valve'.

My pool appears to run fine without the main drain operating, however i want to improve it if possible, i also get a very fine dust accumulate on the bottom of my pool which i'm hoping an operating main drain may solve..? what are your thoughts.

Thanks in advance for you consideration and reply.

Shaun

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hello,


Pull you skimmer basket out, how many holes are in the bottom? If theres one then thats the line back to your pump. If there is 2 and one of them isnt capped then thats your Main Drain and pump line, you will need to find out what type of skimmer you have and purchase the valve that will sit down there and direct water flow. Not 100% on what the golf ball thing is. need to see if you can remove. Best to figure out your skimmer manufacturer and that will tell all on how it operates
 
Thanks for your quick response Elheffy,

To confirm, the outlet under the skimmer basket has 1 pipe running out(1 hole), which goes to the pump. The skimmer is pretty old, i'm not sure i'll be able to determine the manufacturer.

Do some skimmers have the main drain pump line coming into the skimmer where the 'golf ball' is? The 'golf ball' is in there pretty tight, i would have to get very aggressive to try and remove i think (drill or hammer or something).

Shaun
 
Is that one the only drain in the pool? I can't guess what the golf ball is about, but if it is in effect plugging up the drain line, I would just leave that alone, especially if your pool is filtering and skimming satisfactorily as is. If you have only a single drain cover in the pool, then if you make it active that is a serious hazard. It's illegal here to build a pool with a single drain any more, because they can cause, have caused, serious injuries and deaths, by trapping people to the bottom.

If your single main drain is inactive, leave it that way.
 
Yes some skimmers here builders would run main drain into skimmer to save cost on running 2 lines to pump. Then a diverter valve is used to direct water. If you can figure out where that line is I would run it as well the pool came with one Main Drain that isn't illegal until you remodel pool. If you are concerned you can have a VGB grate installed on Main Drain. Attach some photos of skimmer with skimmer basket out, skimmer throat and lid someone here has had to have seen that skimmer before
 
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Thanks for your replies, I only have 1 outlet hole under the skimmer basket, and that goes to the pump, there is no way of knowing if the main drain connects anywhere along that line..

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a make/model of the skimmer if that golf ball thing isn't a potential line to the main drain, i might just leave it all alone. It's not causing me too many problems..

Thanks again.

Shaun
 
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