Skimmer not sucking and other questions?

[mcj115]

Hello all from a newbie to pools!

Last year I bought a house with a 20 x 40 in-ground pool with a vinyl liner. The pool was built in 1981 but is still in great shape with regular maintenance from the previous owners.

Anyway the pool has two skimmers....one in the shallow end, one in the deep end. The skimmer the in shallow end works (sucks well) however the simmer in the deep end barely seems to work. On the supply side the both jets work well with no air bubbles. I will say when I start the pump it take a minuet for the flow to start and there are a few bubbles initially. Generally speaking the with the one skimmer works well to keep the pool clean. Generally speaking should the skimmers be balanced? Is there an easy way to test/flush the one skimmer line? The pool keeps clean, IP don't want to make a problem where one doesn't exist however I just wanted to ask to see if this is normal and it it inst, to see if there is an easy fix; or also to see if this is a large problem that required immediate resolution.

Secondly...The pool has a large drain or something at the bottom of the deep end. This is a large circular thing similar to a dinner plate and not a domes strainer. What is this thing? What does it do? When/under which function of the multi-port valve is this used? Could this just be an obsolete part?

Thanks

Mark

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello Mark and welcome to TFP! For your skimmers, owners with two of them typically have a "diverter valve" or disc in one. It slides or adjusts to allow flow to the 2nd skimmer, so you may want to look for that. It would be obvious in the bottom of the skimmer if you have one. Now if each skimmer was plumbed separately that would be different. In general, you want to see good water surface movement towards the skimmers. Your wind direction will dictate often times which skimmer gets the most action each day.

As for the item on the bottom, I'm guessing that's your main drain. It may be plumbed by its own line back to the pump, or may feed off of one of the skimmers as well - again the adjustment or diverter. Hard to tell, especially with a pool from '81. But you should be able to follow the pipes that come-up out of the ground near your equipment pad just before going into the pump. If they are not labeled, post a picture for us and maybe we can help. Nice to have you with us.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Mark,

How many pipes come out of the ground and are attached to the input side of your pump. As Pat says, it is hard to tell how your pool is plumbed as there are a number of different ways it could be done.

On the other hand, a lot of pools only have one skimmer and no main drain, so just the way you are should not cause you any major issues. Still, it would be nice to get the other skimmer working if possible.

A picture of your equipment pad would be great and another one showing what is under the skimmer baskets would be helpful also.

Thanks,

Jim R.