Skimmer Baskets Popping Out of Place

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Animal827

Animal827

Gold Supporter
Apr 26, 2021
76
East Norwich, NY
Pool Size
16500
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair iChlor 30
I know I have been posting a lot lately, but I just had my entire pool renovated from plumbing to liner and everything in between.
Before my pool contractor is "off the hook", I want to make sure I understand everything.
This problem with the skimmers I have read is a simple fix by placing a rock inside the skimmer basket.
My additional questions are what could be the cause of the skimmer baskets popping out of place...not completely but just hovering out of place?
Also, for new construction, shouldn't this be something that doesnt happen?
A few other notes: my pool contractor still has not installed eyeballs in the returns.
I do see sometimes see occasional air bubbles coming out of the returns.
I also see some tiny air bubbles hugging the walls.
My psi is anywhere between 9 and 21 depending on the speed of the pump.
If anything else is needed to troubleshoot please let me know.
 
Animal827 said:
This problem with the skimmers I have read is a simple fix by placing a rock inside the skimmer basket.
Click to expand...
Make sure the rock is bigger than the tubes below the skimmer to your pad.
Animal827 said:
I do see sometimes see occasional air bubbles coming out of the returns.
Click to expand...
Likely your iChlor making the gas it should make.
 
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Animal827 said:
My additional questions are what could be the cause of the skimmer baskets popping out of place...
Click to expand...
Not enough flow to keep them seated. I have this problem as well when running the pump as low as possible to still skim. The skimmer works at 1200 RPMs but the baskets float. It's common with home run suction lines.

If I turn up the RPMs, they stay put, but a simple weight lets me run lower RPMs to save on electric, so a big rock that doesnt fit down the suction pipe it is.
 
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Animal827 said:
I know I have been posting a lot lately, but I just had my entire pool renovated from plumbing to liner and everything in between.
Before my pool contractor is "off the hook", I want to make sure I understand everything.
This problem with the skimmers I have read is a simple fix by placing a rock inside the skimmer basket.
My additional questions are what could be the cause of the skimmer baskets popping out of place...not completely but just hovering out of place?
Also, for new construction, shouldn't this be something that doesnt happen?
A few other notes: my pool contractor still has not installed eyeballs in the returns.
I do see sometimes see occasional air bubbles coming out of the returns.
I also see some tiny air bubbles hugging the walls.
My psi is anywhere between 9 and 21 depending on the speed of the pump.
If anything else is needed to troubleshoot please let me know.
Click to expand...
Look for a Val-Pak skimmer basket for your model skimmer. They are heavier material to begin with and then have an additional weight added just to solve that issue. Mine has been in my skimmer for 25 or more years, never pops up. They do cost a bit (a lot) more, but a well worth it. Used to be advertised in trade magazines with one under each of the wheels of a pick-up.

Until the vinyl gets a bit older tiny bubbles on the material may last a while, then they go away. Did that on my last above-ground pool when a new liner was installed.
 
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Air gets compressed in the filter and then explosively decompresses when the pump turns off.

A check valve between the pump and filter would help, but you need to address the source of air, which is probably a suction side air leak.

The filter is probably too small for the flow.

If you have a variable speed pump, you should run it as slow as possible.

The heater needs about 35 to 40 gpm.

Other than when you are using the heater, you should not need a lot of flow.
 
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I had an issue where some water was back-flowing through the suction pipes when the pump would turn off, swelling up the skimmer basket sock and returning all the gunk back into the pool because it was too much gunk all at once for the weir door to keep contained in the skimmer area. The only reason the skimmer basket itself wasn’t also floating up is because I have one of the heavy weighted Val-pak baskets. Adding a check valve in the return line after the filter completely solved that issue. It can also be before the filter, I don’t think it matters where you place the check valve since it is a closed system.
 
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Animal827 said:
I know I have been posting a lot lately, but I just had my entire pool renovated from plumbing to liner and everything in between.
Before my pool contractor is "off the hook", I want to make sure I understand everything.
This problem with the skimmers I have read is a simple fix by placing a rock inside the skimmer basket.
My additional questions are what could be the cause of the skimmer baskets popping out of place...not completely but just hovering out of place?
Also, for new construction, shouldn't this be something that doesnt happen?
A few other notes: my pool contractor still has not installed eyeballs in the returns.
I do see sometimes see occasional air bubbles coming out of the returns.
I also see some tiny air bubbles hugging the walls.
My psi is anywhere between 9 and 21 depending on the speed of the pump.
If anything else is needed to troubleshoot please let me know.
Click to expand...
I bought a heavy duty Val-Pak skimmer basket. Heavier than the regular flimsy baskets.
 
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