Concerns about PoolSkim

[numberonenole]

I finally got the thing completely hooked up. I had a few problems getting the pipes to stay together that were finally fixed.
Now, I notice that my pressure has gone up by about 5 and the inline chlorinator which is turned to off is now full of water. Before, even when I had it on high it was never full of water!

I also wonder if the poolskim is creating aeration which is causing my pH to go up? I see little bubbles in the water around the net.

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Your PH is rising? What are your test results? (what is the pic supposed to show?) IF you see bubbles, then yes there is aeration...I'm not sure why it would be caused by the poolskim.

 

[numberonenole]

Sorry! The picture is supposed to show how the inline chlorinator is filled up with water. There are three tablets in there and the water line is higher.

I don't know why there are tiny bubbles coming up. Maybe when the water is sucked into the poolskim over the top of the bumper it is also drawing some air? I think I will remove the bumper and see what happens...

As for the pH, it was up to 8, but I think that was because I know I had too much aeration going on when I was trying to get the pieces of the poolskim to stay together (I stripped one of the screws and had to get a replacement and that took a couple of days). I've used muriatic acid to bring it back down to 7.5 and had no problem using the muriatic acid because my TA was high. Now my TA is perfect as well as my pH and I want to keep it that way! Of course, we finally got rain so who knows what is going on out there today. I ran out in the rain and dumped some chlorine in since that is the most important thing...right?

Am I even making any sense? We moved our 3 year old out of our bed a week ago and while he has been sleeping even better than he was with us, I have not slept at all! I alternate staring at his video monitor all night with staring at the 4 year olds wondering who is going to get up and wake up the other one...and they are in separate rooms. I've got to stop obsessing!

Thanks!

 

[heatmisr]

You may need to backwash your filter. I noticed when mine is dirty, my poolskim bubbles. There shouldn't be any bubbles. It should look like a vortex.

 

[numberonenole]

Thanks for the replies.

I backwashed my filter just last week and I hadn't had any pressure rise to indicate that it needed to be backwashed again.

I removed the bumper and couldn't get but a teeny, tiny little vortex that would come and go, so I'm not sure it works without the bumper? Does anybody use theirs without it? How close do you have it to the surface? I had the poolskim, without the bumper, about 3 inches from the surface and couldn't get it to suction.

Since I couldn't get it to work correctly without the bumper, I left it in. Now this morning I have little eruptions of water coming up from the middle of the poolskim. It looks like bubbling lava! Now I'm worried about my pH again.

Anyone have any suggestions about the rise in pressure and the water that has shot up into the inline chlorinator? I hate to take the thing off now that I worked so hard to get it on. Thanks.

 

[Titanium]

I removed the bumper and couldn't get but a teeny, tiny little vortex that would come and go, so I'm not sure it works without the bumper? Does anybody use theirs without it? How close do you have it to the surface? I had the poolskim, without the bumper, about 3 inches from the surface and couldn't get it to suction.

If what you're calling the "bumper" is the same as what I call the "floating hat", then yes, the PoolSkim needs the bumper/floating hat in order to work properly. Won't skim a darn thing without the bumper/floating hat.

 

[FlyboyTR]

We installed a PoolSkim on Friday…and thus I remembered this thread. Once properly positioned, we were very pleased with the results and the simplicity of this unit. As to the bubbles…the vortex that is created inside the hat (as the water spills over the rim, like a round waterfall) also carries with it some air. This air is mixed with the water and is then pushed into the bag. It then bubbles back to the surface. No problem…

After you removed the hat and then reinstalled it, you commented about it: {“I have little eruptions of water coming up from the middle of the PoolSkim. It looks like bubbling lava!”} Please check how you reinserted the hat. It is directional. Turn it 180 degreed and reinsert. There are two cut-outs (1/2 circles) on the bottom of the hat, a small one and large one. The small one must be facing the inlet side of the unit.

Based upon my experience (limited as it is…) I don’t think the minor bubbling of the PoolSkim would have a noticeable impact on the pH.

Travis :-D

 

[AnnaK]

Good reply, FlyboyTR.

The tiny bubbles are a result of the vortex drawing in air. The larger air bubbles are broken up when they're forced through the netting and become tiny bubbles. When you remove the hat, deactivating the vortex action, the bubbles disappear.

I doubt that this bubble action produces enough aeration to impact a pool's pH.

 

[FlyboyTR]

Thanks Anna!
I have sponged off of everyone here for so long …it felt good to be able to contribute something for the Team!

 

[learthur]

Isn't a chlorinator supposed to fill with water!?