Vac problems

[purple_duckk]

Ok, bought a house with a pool, working on turning it from black water to a sparkling oasis in the desert of Detroit. I've been rocking out the chlorine for a few days and I can now clearly see the bottom of the shallow end and vaugely see the bottom of the deep end. As stuff is dying sediment is accumulation on the floor of the pool concentrated in a ring about 6 inches wide where the walls slope to the floor, but covering the entire floor just not as thick.

I bought a length of vac hose and a vac plate for my skimmer and my first vac attemt went well. Got tons of garbage up and things were going smoothly. The problem is now when I try to vac I can't get enough suction. I fill the hose with water, attatch the vac head and vac plate, but when I put it all together it vacs fine for a little while but eventually loses all suction. I even tried plugging the other skimmer to increase the suction and that lasts a little longer but still eventually loses all suction and the vac plate even bubbles and pops out of the skimmer basket.

Any suggestions or ideas? I've been brushing as much stuff to the bottom of the deep end trying to get as much gunk into the main drain as I can and I think it it is clearing up but just not as fast as it did after my first successful vac job.

 

[Casey]

How is your pressure? Have you back washed? That could be the issue. You have a lot of stuff in there that you just vac'ed up.

 

[purple_duckk]

I Backwash when the pressure hits 15 psi as the filter says. Even when the pressure is at 8 or 9 right after backwashing this problem happens.

 

[Casey]

It could be a blockage. Someone more qualified will have to chime in. :?

 

[JohnT]

It sounds like either the skimmer basket, pump strainer basket or the filter itself is getting clogged. On a dirty pool, it's normal to have to backwash several times while vacuuming, and not unusual to have to clean the baskets as well. When you backwash, make sure you do it for 3 minutes or so to ensure the filter is really cleared.

 

[launboy]

To me it sounds like your pump is slowly losing prime. Are there air bubbles in the pump when you vacuum? What about during normal operation?

If your hose has a swivel cuff on one end, make sure it's on the end that attaches to the vac head and not the other side.

Adam

 

[hayfarmer]

I turn my main drain off so i have more pull from the skimmer, just what i do.. you have to have a main drain to do this..
good luck

 

[purple_duckk]

I'll double check the hose, but I think the swivel part is on the vac head. I'm not sure if I can turn off my main drain. There isn't a valve on that line near the pump.