Clogged skimmer pipe.

[Crimson]

I was sucking up a lot of leaves out of my pool and I think I managed to suck up too many at once and clog the pipe that goes from my skimmer basket to the pump. I get a little flow through it but not much. I tried sticking a garden hose in the line to backflush it but no luck. Any suggestions here? I assume pool companies have some sort of pressure device which will clear this if I can't?

Thanks,

 

[Crimson]

Did some searching and found I can buy a drain cleaning bladder which attaches to the garden hose to give it a better seal. I'll try that. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

It's called a Drain King. You'll need that.

In the future, go get yourself a Hayward inline leaf canister and always use that. Never suck large leaves into your pool plumbing. I clogged my vacuum line with mesquite debris once.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

 

[pooldv]

If the drain king doesn't work then you can get a plumber's snake and push it through.

 

[Crimson]

Tried the drain king.. didn't work.. it seems like I have enough flow that the water can get through but not build up enough pressure to push the leaves out. Maybe I need to clog it up more.. lol. Perhaps next I'll try the snake.. :\

 

[ewkearns]

Let me just offer.... this shouldn't happen..... but some genius pool repair folks..... use DWV for skimmer lines...... You might be able to break more than you can fix. Not your fault, but.....

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Have you tried to advance the drain king or a hose from the pump end going "backwards" to see if that works?

 

[Crimson]

Have you tried to advance the drain king or a hose from the pump end going "backwards" to see if that works?

yeah I've tried both directions unfortunately.

 

[duraleigh]

I'll bet you get it with that snake. Work it from both sides and you will break it up.

 

[Crimson]

Just to update (Since I hate when people don't do that). I ended up having the local pool company come out and blast it with CO2. It took 4 tries to get it to clear as he ran down his tank to empty. Since it was a 'partial' clog it really didn't have enough resistance to blow it out it seems.. enough air got through the clog. The tech said its normally very obvious when it does it, he can feel the pressure build then suddenly clear. In this case it just blew like it was clear from the start. After the 4th try when he ran his tank dry we moved the valve back and the leaves finally came through. Whew! $100.. I guess I learned my lesson to put an in-line filter in and not suck the leaves through the pipes.

 

[cowboycasey]

Crimson, I followed that advise this year

48 bucks and works great Amazon.com : Zodiac Cyclonic Automatic Pool Cleaner Leaf Catcher Canister : Patio, Lawn Garden