piece of vacuum hose in skimmer line

[kj]

I was vacuuming my pool today, and when i was finished i was unable to remove the hose from the hole in the skimmer,(pump off of course) when i finally got it out, the circled red part had come off in the line!

Water flow from the skimmer doesn't appear to be affected much, but I am noticing some bubbles in the return line i didn't have before..
How can i get it out or have i just ruined my pool until i get it removed?

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, kj

Is the circled part still visible or is it down the suction line where you can't see it?

 

[kj]

I don't see it, I tried fishing around in the pipe with no luck..

and thanx for the welcome.. (new BBB convert)

 

[Richard320]

Let us hope it doesn't decide to turn sideways in the pipe and block the flow. I'd probably keep trying to fish it out somehow, maybe a big saltwater fish hook or something. I built myself an adaptor out of a threaded pipe bushing and the tailpiece fora bathroom sink drain. It just slips in the hole in the skimmer but has a lip to keep it from going down. Browse the plumbing aisle at the hardware store for ideas.

In the meantime, the cuffs are available separately http://www.lesliespool.com/Home/Cleanin ... 22546.html

 

[kj]

If it does block is it jackhammer time?
I'm going to try digging it out some more but i haven't found it yet, so it may be in pretty deep,
can i use like a auger or something?


k

 

[Richard320]

If it does block is it jackhammer time?
I'm going to try digging it out some more.. but i haven't found it yet, so it may be in pretty deep..

That or a rotorooter with a cutter blade.

Generally things get stuck at elbows or valves.

 

[kj]

so i'm thinking there may be a little blockage, i re primed the pump I'm still getting more bubbles in pump basket, than i remember. I'm going to try again with the snake in the am.. Elsewhere in the forums i saw posts about using a drain king on the pump side, i assume i can just go in through the pump basket, or should i unscrew the valve and go from there ??

 

[jblizzle]

Going through the pump basket should be fine.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short

 

[kj]

I am assuming I need to drain the pool down past the skimmer, to do the drain king thing - is that correct?

I think the root causes of my problems were i was using a 1.25" in vacuum line (wrong thing #1)..Before the cuff got stuck in the line, i noticed the the hose had collapsed/kinked entering the skimmer basket. I shut off the pump and started pulling (wrong thing #2) until it tore out of the cuffing.

While shopping for a drain king and some replacement hose, i found 1.5" vacuum hose (i had not seen these before), that was the perfect length, and fit the vacuum head with out adapters. I'm thinking the other sixe vacuum hose was for the robot. I also picked up a skimmer plate ;P

I was able to vacuum today, chemistry seems normal..If i keep proper turnover (overall flow only seemed marginally affected) and the bubbles down in the pump basket to a minimum, I'm wondering if i can wait until after the swim season to do any draining..

 

[Bama Rambler]

A drain King won't work well on a partial blockage. It creates a good bit of pressure but not a lot of flow so on a partial pluggage the flow will just go right by the pluggage. A snake might work best. I would take a flashlight and look down the skimmer port and see if I could see the cuff. You don't need to drain any water.

 

[36racin]

I wouldn't think the fitting has even went past the first elbow. Kinda hard to believe it going around a corner. If you did remove the water from the pool until the water is below the skimmer, then rig up some kind of fitting the blow the water from the suction line to the pump using a air compressor, you may be better able to see down the skimmer line to the first elbow. If it's past the first elbow the job gets alot harder.

Good luck
Todd

 

[LKB]

Hmm, try a long wire fishtape, bend a barb on the end, it's probably at the first 90 elbo

LB

 

[kj]

NO luck trying to dig it out yet, but i think the snake hit something about 2 feet in and wouldn't budge. I think it is caught between the curved piece leaving the basket and the next elbow, but i can't see. I'm going to try the fish tape next or some type of hook like Richard mentioned..I'll keep you guys posted..

Updaterain snake never built up pressure

Update: About a month in..still in there.. I'm running the pump about an hour extra but the pool seems clear as it has ever been. Later on in the season I'll get to digging, first i need to clear out some brush i think is where i should dig..But I did find a usb snake cam on ebay for like 25 bucks, so hopefully i'll know soon how far in it is..