Do I need a weir door? That, and a few other questions...

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theroos17

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Apr 14, 2010
18
We are new owners of an old pool. Thanks to help from this site, we've gotten the water under control in the last few weeks, and now are trying to fix other issues. One thing that I noticed is that the skimmer does not have a door on it - does it need one? My husband doesn't seem to think it's a big deal. If it does need one, are they pressure mounted? I cannot see as to where it would install otherwise.

In addition, when I run the filter with the vacuum in the skimmer, it seems that I get a ton of air bubbles going through the return the entire time it's plugged in. I do fill the hose with water as best I can before plugging it in. Take the vacuum out, bubbles cease, as long as I have the port valve just right. When I run the system on full main drain or full skim I do get air in the lines. I plugged up a pinhole I found, but there has to be something else. I've seen a lot of mention of the o-ring on the pump cover. Does this refer to the gasket around the pump filter basket lid? I've noticed that ours has seen better days, but again, hubby doesn't seem to think replacing it would do anything at all. My thought is that if I were to replace it, it might improve the situation further...
 
Yes, you need the weir. It assists greatly in skimming by creating a current in to the skimmer. Mine snaps into place in a slot on each side of the skimmer body.

It sounds like you are sucking air through the vacuum hose. Either cuts, etc. in the hose or the joints aren't snug.

If it sucks no air when the hose is removed, and starts sucking air when you insert the hose, then the hose-vacuum assembly must be the culprit.
 
A skimmer will draw in water just fine without a weir door, but it won't skim debris off the surface any where near as well.

The air in the returns is very likely caused by the bad o-ring/gasket on the lid of the pump strainer basket. From your description, it sounds like you could limp along with it the way it is, but it would be much better to replace it.
 
Re: Do I need a weir door? That, and a few other questions..

I was told the only reason for a weir is to keep the leaves in skimmer instead of flowing back out when system if off/no suction...
 
Re: Do I need a weir door? That, and a few other questions..

marty said:
I was told the only reason for a weir is to keep the leaves in skimmer instead of flowing back out when system if off/no suction...
Click to expand...

Was there a reason to pull up a 3 year old thread? ;)

What you say is true, plus it does help to pull more water in from the surface instead of allowing water to flow in a few inches below the surface.
 

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Re: Do I need a weir door? That, and a few other questions..

I can't tell you how many times I've had to stop myself from posting in an old thread after searching. My mind seems to think that results universally equals new posts.
 
Re: Do I need a weir door? That, and a few other questions..

As jbliz said, a weir door is first and foremost a way to increase the flow rate at the surface of the water, and therefore increasing and extending the skimming action into the pool.
 
Re: Do I need a weir door? That, and a few other questions..

without a wier door, I get a vortex in my skimmer basket which is obnoxiously loud and sucks air into the system.
 
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