2nd Skimmer in lower end does not work?

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N

NCSalt

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Apr 26, 2009
120
Raleigh, NC
First, we do not close our pool in the winter, we keep the pump, and waterfall running during freezing temperatures etc.

Second, the pool has been running perfectly fine until today! Hubby has took several dives into the pool, it's been around 70-72, has now dropped to 66 because of colder weather and because we added fresh water!

Third, today, we cleaned out skimmer's, backwashed etc....and we noticed that the lower end skimmer is not sucking any water in....we snaked a waterhose down there, and after an initial obstruction we got some of it lose and there is a slight change but not enough....!

Note: we've had really bad pollen this year and all the other Crud that falls of tree's (we are surrounded by hardwoods very close to the pool)....some of the stuff that falls of the pool is very small (small particles) but we are pretty dilligent about empting skimmer's and pump filer, backwashing and manual skimming....!

Has anyone ever had these problems, and if so what should we do!

Thanks,
T in NC:)
 
Hey Dave,
Thanks for the response...as usual quick and with questions...how have you been?

Yes, there are separate lines, but I'm not sure if there is two different valves....all valves are open all the way...so it should not make a difference. I noticed whenI backwashed that it wouldn't work right either and took a little bit (the water was surging through the backwash hose instead of flowing freely at first) but then it worked...this pollen is really doing a number on our backyard..I bet it's just as bad my you!

Just checked again, the lower end skimmer is still very very very slow....the deep end skimmer is working just fine. There is a water outlet on the same side as the skimmer but in the deep end that seems to surge water too....they may be on the same pipe-line?

Thanks for helping out Dave....have a great weekend!
Cheerio,
Salty!
 
I've been fine, thanks! The pollen has made a mess of my already messy pool and I am struggling to get it sparkly. I know it will happen eventually but this year has been tough.

It sure sounds to me like you have an obstruction in the pipes. Perhaps a glob of something that got released when you cleaned out the skimmers. I would again insert the hose into that slow moving skimmer and try to clean it further. I can't imagine you can damage the pipes with a hose so you can force it in there pretty hard and try to knock loose whatever obstruction that might be.

Assuming that fails, you might try a Drain King. You can get one at HD/Lowes and they screw onto the end of your hose. insert the drain king down into your line and turn the water on. The Drain King then will hopefully swell and create a seal so it ends up pressurizing the pipe that's obstructed and "blowing out" whatever is in there.

A Problem with that might be that your pipe turns too quickly or too sharply underneath the skimmer and you won't be able to fit the DrainKing down far enough to get it to seal.
 
You might also try blowing it out from the other end. Disconnect the pump, turn off the other skimmer and the main drain, and stick that hose in where you disconnected it. This should blow the obstruction back into the skimmer!

Take care!
 
Hello over there in Raleigh!

I couldn't resist piping up to say hello! I am envious to hear that you've already been in your pool. Ours is under renovation, and is empty, awaiting its beauty treatments to come. It will be well over a month until it is swimmable--can't wait!

I hope that you have success clearing whatever is clogging your skimmer line. Please let us know how the story ends and what you did to get it going again. :)

Lana
 
It sounds like there is an obstruction in the line. Another good way to jar something loose is to purchase a rubber bladder that hooks up to a garden hose. With the pumped turned on, put the rubber bladder down the skimmer line and turn on your hose. The bladder then expands and pressurizes the line thereby hopefully pushing whatever is clogged through to your pump basket. If that doesn't work, you can also buy a cheap drain snake on a coil that can adapt to a drill to make it easy to wind up and down. I've used them before and they work great.
 
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