Leak from skimmer, what is this other pipe for?

[tripflex]

Here's my pool setup.

There's the drain at the bottom of the pool and the skimmer. There must be a T underground because i cannot set it to pull from just the skimmer or from just the bottom. There is only one pipe that comes out of the ground by the pool pump.

Now, my pool definitely has a leak and i think it is coming from the skimmer area. Once the water level gets below the skimmer it does not leak anymore, which makes me wonder what this second pipe is for in the skimmer. Whenever the pump is on it only sucks water from one of the pipes...does anybody know what the second pipe in there is for? Maybe that's where the pool is leaking from (i hope, would hate to have to pay $$$$$ to have someone dig up my yard)

Well thanks for the input guys!

 

[JohnT]

It's for the main drain. Water feeds into the skimmer from the drain, then back to the pump.

Your leak could be anywhere in your plumbing. Is your pump below the water line of the pool?

 

[tripflex]

It's for the main drain. Water feeds into the skimmer from the drain, then back to the pump.

Your leak could be anywhere in your plumbing. Is your pump below the water line of the pool?

It's difficult to say because of how far away the pump is from the pool but i would say that it's either at level or below. I guess i just need to pay someone the $200-300 to come out and find the leak for me, pool is green again already and im tried of spending so much money on cleaning the pool just for it to get green again in two days.

For some reason when i started to get it clean about a month or two ago it wasn't leaking, once everything got cleaned up it went right back to leaking. I wish i would have figured this out before i purchased the house...now i feel like i got hosed on the whole deal, maybe they just kept filling the pool up each time i went over there...who knows.


You said it's for the main drain, which from what you're saying im guessing you mean that the drain from the bottom is piped up to the skimmer and then from the skimmer it goes to the pump? But if that's true, why does the pump still work when i have this piece in the bottom of the skimmer: (also, anybody know the name of this piece?)

 

[JohnT]

That looks like a Hayward float valve that allows your pump to draw from the main drain only if the water level drops below the skimmer.

Check your backwash/waste line, if you have one, for water flow while the pool water level is at normal level.

 

[tripflex]

That looks like a Hayward float valve that allows your pump to draw from the main drain only if the water level drops below the skimmer.

Check your backwash/waste line, if you have one, for water flow while the pool water level is at normal level.

You can't really see it in the picture but at the bottom of it there is just basically a pipe that comes out with a valve on it and it's just an open pipe at the end. Should i just open the valve to see if water comes out? What would it show if there was water flow when water level is normal? I guess my best option would be to leave the water level below the skimmer, get it clean again and then call out a company to find the leak? Im sure they won't find the leak with a green pool would they?

 

[JohnT]

You don't have a waste line with your cartridge filter.

You seem to have some excess plumbing. Do you have a slide? Pool Cleaner?

 

[tripflex]

You don't have a waste line with your cartridge filter.

You seem to have some excess plumbing. Do you have a slide? Pool Cleaner?

Yeah if you look at the top of the picture there is two pipes and a hose running between them. There was a booster pump there (still is but it leaks), so i just used the flex pipe to bypass the booster pump. I was thinking about cutting the 1/2" pipe where it splits from the 2" pipe into a 1/2" and a 2" right before the T, and putting a valve in there just to close it off. The way i have it now it still pumps the water through and it goes the the jet that is in the middle of the pool.

When i got this house the only thing that survived was the filter, had to get a new pump and redo the piping for the jets, the Jandy valves were stuck and leaking. As you can see the new white pipe where the T is (one side goes to all the jets the other side goes to two jets that are on the little seat thing in the deep end.

I also think there might have been a slide or something at one point, on the long side of my pool near the grass there is some rock that used to surround the pool, i was cleaning it up and ended up finding two pipes sticking out of the ground each with a cap on them. They are about equally spaced the length of the pool. I checked one of them and it goes straight into the pool right next to where the pipe is, the other one i'm unsure about.

 

[duraleigh]

(also, anybody know the name of this piece?)

I don't know the name of it but it's an equalizer. It has an adjustable plate underneath and you can equalize (or not) the flow from the main drain and that skimmer.

 

[tripflex]

So i'm confused now...does the drain from the bottom T somewhere underground, one pipe leading to the skimmer and one to the pump? And if there's no water in the skimmer it only pulls from the bottom? I don't see why there are two pipes in the skimmer then?

 

[JohnT]

So i'm confused now...does the drain from the bottom T somewhere underground, one pipe leading to the skimmer and one to the pump? And if there's no water in the skimmer it only pulls from the bottom? I don't see why there are two pipes in the skimmer then?

No. Water runs from the drain to the skimmer through the pipe that is closer to the pool. As the skimmer is pumped out it creates some flow through the drain pipe. If there is no water in the skimmer, the pump loses prime unless you have a low water bypass which basically connects the drain pipe and the pipe leaving the skimmer to go to the pump together.

 

[Guest]

(also, anybody know the name of this piece?)

I don't know the name of it but it's an equalizer. It has an adjustable plate underneath and you can equalize (or not) the flow from the main drain and that skimmer.

I really think you want to have that wide open unless your pump screams and it sucks more than you can feed it.!

 

[tripflex]

It must have a bypass then because the pump still works whenever the water level is below the skimmer