First things first, I am a new homeowner and our house came with a nice pool built in the 1980s sometime. I'm glad I found this forum...I've already answered many of my questions.
When opening the pool last weekend, when I tried to put on the diverter valve (aka twinkie), I noticed that one of the screws had corroded and sheared off in the skimmer screw hole. The twinkie is held in place by two screws so, without the ability to screw in the one screw, I'm not able to get a good seal. Since the skimmer is old plastic, I don't want to drill out the broken screw and risk a crack (plus the screw hole is approximately a foot under the pool deck, so it'd require drilling precision with an extender bit--no easy feat).
My question is, how necessary is the diverter valve in the skimmer? Can I do without it? If I want to circulate more water from the bottom of the pool, can't I simply attach the vacuum hose and have it sit at the bottom? I've gotten conflicting information about whether this is good for the pool. Are there alternatives to the diverter that would allow me to regulate where the water is being pulled from?
Let me know if I can supply any additional information.
When opening the pool last weekend, when I tried to put on the diverter valve (aka twinkie), I noticed that one of the screws had corroded and sheared off in the skimmer screw hole. The twinkie is held in place by two screws so, without the ability to screw in the one screw, I'm not able to get a good seal. Since the skimmer is old plastic, I don't want to drill out the broken screw and risk a crack (plus the screw hole is approximately a foot under the pool deck, so it'd require drilling precision with an extender bit--no easy feat).
My question is, how necessary is the diverter valve in the skimmer? Can I do without it? If I want to circulate more water from the bottom of the pool, can't I simply attach the vacuum hose and have it sit at the bottom? I've gotten conflicting information about whether this is good for the pool. Are there alternatives to the diverter that would allow me to regulate where the water is being pulled from?
Let me know if I can supply any additional information.