Aack.. dropped rock in skimmer

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poolnoobgrandma

poolnoobgrandma

Gold Supporter
Sep 15, 2018
938
Seminole, FL
Pool Size
17000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite Pro (T-15)
I use a small river rock to weigh down the hairnet in my skimmer. Maybe 2 x 3 x .5 inches. When I was changing the hair net in the skimmer yesterday I dropped it in. I immediately went to turn off the pump. We tried using our wet vac to suck it out to no avail. I've called the PB for recommendations. Until I hear back, can/should I run the filter with the skimmer off, just using the main drain?
 

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If the rock is small enough, I would consider closing all the supply lines except the skimmer in question and crank the pump to full speed to see if you can get it to move all the way through the pipe to the pump basket.
 
Perhaps you can try the opposite actually instead of cranking up pump to suck it further up the suction line, try putting a drain bladder into the line from the pad to fill that line with water and create sealed pressure to push it back out…or if you have a blower for winterizing using that instead.. and maybe simultaneously vacuuming from skimmer end with shop vac. If there’s enough pressure and rock is small enough you might push it back up but may be hard to move the rock
 
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duraleigh said:
do you remember your normal psi on the pool gauge? If the rock is presenting a serious obstacle to efficient flow, your psi will be lower and it NEEDS to come out

Click to expand...
I did run with the skimmer (and main drain) on for a couple of minutes yesterday to see if the rock would come through. Psi was within normal range. Right now just running with main drain. PSI in normal range.
Waiting to hear back from PB tech to see if we want to push vs. pull.
 
The problem with leaving a rock in the line is that it will allow other debris to pile up with it and can cause a major blockage. The idea of using a drain cleaner (bladder) from the pump back to the pool is best. If you can thread a longer piece of pipe into the bottom of the skimmer, with the water running in a drain cleaner, block the flow from the skimmer with your hand until you can't hold it back, and then release it suddenly. The surge of water will, many times, continue to push the obstacle back and out of the pipe. Many take many tries. Never try to push it further toward the pump.
 
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Take the divertor valve lid off. Use a plumbing snake like device and push the rock back to the skimmer , something stiff enough to make the corners. Then use a vaccuum cleaner with a small hose to grab the rock. Shoud not be too hard or take very long.
 

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Darin said:
Take the divertor valve lid off. Use a plumbing snake like device and push the rock back to the skimmer , something stiff enough to make the corners. Then use a vaccuum cleaner with a small hose to grab the rock. Shoud not be too hard or take very long.
Click to expand...
If you follow this, be very cautious, as anything like a plumber's snake that you get to go past 3 elbows might not be able to be removed. House plumbing (drains where a snake would be used) uses sweep elbows, nice long, smooth curves. Pool plumbing, like home water supply plumbing, uses hard 90-degree bends, except in very new installations, that will be very hard to push past and even harder to pull back.
 
The text above says use a plumbing snake like device that will make the corners.
Think about a stiff electric cord, (conductor) without the end.
The text does not say to use a plumbing snake.
 
So, PB didn't get back to me yet. I've been running with the main drain only and I'm getting tired of manually skimming bugs and stuff. There are lots of 90 degree turns between the skimmer and the pump. Do you think I'll make the situation a lot worse if I partially open the skimmer valve? I'll leave the main drain valve open as well, so that the pump pressure will be ok just in case.
 

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Looking at your media file there's no way it'll make it to the pump basket. Best would be to get it out from the skimmer end. You may want to reduce a wet dry vac hose down to a 1 inch vinyl hoes and remove water from the skimmer pipe hopefully it'll catch the small rock on the end of it via vacuum suction.
 
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Update:
We tried the drain king. Water moved into the skimmer, but no rock. We bought an endoscopic camera with a 16 foot cable. We'll be taking a look tomorrow hopefully see the rock, and then devise an extraction strategy.
 
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SoDel said:
If you have a pressure washer, something like this jumps to mind:
Click to expand...
Mind reader!! My husband ordered the nozzle yesterday... He already has the super long hose. Fingers crossed!
I promise I'll post the outcome of this adventure. There are lots of similar threads that just end with lots of suggestions and no outcome reported.
 
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