Drain issue or air leak?

[mts37]

Hi,

New pool owner here and trying to figure some things out as I get ready to close down for the season.

I've got a main drain and skimmer and they connect somewhere underground (only one suction line out of the ground into the pump).

I was curious to see what would happen if I plugged off the skimmer, as I thought maybe the easiest way to drain the pool below the skimmer for closing would be to plug the skimmer and just pump from the drain. After plugging the skimmer, I thought the pump would just pull harder from the main drain. What actually happened was the pump started losing prime and I could here a lot of air in the sand filter.

When things are running normal, there is no sign of air leakage anywhere, so what could be the issue here??



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[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

Your skimmer have two holes in the bottom?

 

[mts37]

Welcome to TFP!

Your skimmer have two holes in the bottom?

No, one hole in the bottom of the skimmer.

Also, some more info: I know that there is at least some flow through the main drain as I swam down and put my hand near it and felt some suction.

And I know I should have some more details about my pool equipment in my signature but I'm a little behind on getting all the details now as I've just moved into the home a few weeks ago, but here are some details:

Pump is 3/4 HP (normally reads about 12-14psig on the discharge), sand filter, in line chlorinator, propane pool heater, one pool return.


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[JohnT]

May just be the plumbing can't supply enough water to your pump through just the drain.

I'm surprised you can feel any suction at the drain. Newer covers are designed to spread the intake to minimize pull, and your equipment wouldn't seem to move an excessive amount of water.