So after returning home from a 13 day trip my pool had a ton of leaves in it. I got the pump primed and working and cleaned the skimmers a day or two later only to find that the pump now can not fully achieve the pressure it needs to properly function. This leads me to believe some leaves and other stuff is stuck in the pipes somewhere. How can I fix this?
Leaves clogging up pipes
- Thread starter subzero32
- Start date
Try opening the pump and putting a hose in the pump inlet and stuff a wet rag around it to try to flush the leaves back out. Or try a drain king too. You want to push the leaves back to where they came from not towards the pump. Your last step would be to snake the lines. Good luck!
I should add that since you have some flow the Drain King probably won't help - you need high volume to flush that stuff out. But I'd still try it before snaking the line.
Or, you could use my approach...
problem-with-cleaner-vacuum-line-t40108.html
Setting up this reverse flow circuit was somewhat of a pain (but not too bad), but given that we get plenty of leaves in the pool, this permanent approach will ensure that any clogs in the skimmer or cleaner line are a trivial fix.
problem-with-cleaner-vacuum-line-t40108.html
Setting up this reverse flow circuit was somewhat of a pain (but not too bad), but given that we get plenty of leaves in the pool, this permanent approach will ensure that any clogs in the skimmer or cleaner line are a trivial fix.
I had the same problem a month ago. I could not generate enough pressure with my water hose to push it back out, so I called the pool company. They used a homemade rig with compressed air and water attached at the same time. It looked pretty simple to build, going to think about it and do something like it next time I have an issue. It made a lot more pressure than my hose alone could. They also had some sort of fitting at the end of the hose that was similar to a drain king but was specifically built to seal off the area rather than to suddenly send strong jets of water into the system. I need to find out what that was, too.
Got to interject at this point. PVC should not be used with compressed air. Charging/discharging stresses the PVC, which fractures when it fails, and under compressed air, can fail explosively. Seriously - REALLY explosively.
So after using the drain king on both skimmer lines I was stumped and ready to take apart the pump itself and rebuild. Right before shuting down the pump last night I stuck my hand inside to feel for any debris in the impeller and found a little bit so pulled it out. Turns out that little bit was causing all my problems, now it works great. Next I have to figure out how to get the gurgeling sound to stop comming from my sand filter, bleeding the air does not seem to work. Thanks for all the sugestions guys.