Flow Restrictors Below Skimmer Basket?

[kayak-n-doug]

There's, what appears to be, two adjustable flow restrictors residing below the skimmer basket.

One is mounted on the under side of a removable plate and sits on the bottom of the skimmer box. It also appears to have a float valve in it presumably to block off the skimmer if the water level drops below the inlet. The other one is "built-in" to the skimmer itself.

My questions are simply; what are they for and, how do I know if they are adjusted properly?

Thanks,
-Doug

 

[Richard320]

That liftout thing that looks like a flying saucer is called a diverter. One pipe (probably the one with a dedicated flap) goes to your main drain at the bottom of the pool. The other goes to the pump. By putting the diverter in place, you divert some suction to the main drain. How much you cover up with the diverter flap determines how much. Fully closed, all main drain, fully open, probably none, since it's easier to suck water from above. If the skimmer level drops too low, that float blocks the skimmer suction and it all comes from the drain.

Adjusting the diverter balance is just trial and error. I watched the turbulence in my skimmer and then adjusted the main drain so it's just barely different. You don't need a whole lot of suction at the main drain.

The flapper valve that is in the skimmer basket is to block the main drain so you can vacuum with a skimmer plate. The plate is just a flat funnel-like thing you stick over the skimmer basket and attach the hose to. Obviously, given the choice between sucking water through a relatively short pipe to the main drain or through thirty feet of corrugated vacuum hose, the main drain wins and the vacuum doesn't work well. So you close off the main drain, put the basket back in to catch leaves, and stick the skimmer plate on top and away you go. But if the suction is too high and the vacuum head sticks to the floor, you can open that flap a little to reduce the suction to the vacuum.

There are pictures of all the stuff in the Encyclopedia.

PS: if that flap that is mounted inside is over the suction pipe, it's probably to balance flow to a second skimmer.

 

[kayak-n-doug]

Thank you Richard, excellent explanation and a BIG help. I'd always wondered why, when I brushed small debris down to the M.D., it was very reluctant (to say the least) to be sucked in. As shown in the picture, the diverter had been set to the full open, "probably none", position. I moved it to ~50% closed and voila, now stuff gets pulled in. However, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by adjusting the "main drain so it's [turbulence in the skimmer] just barely different". Different compared to what?

-Doug

 

[jblizzle]

He was just saying to make sure the skimmer is still flowing well and that you do not pull too much from the floor. Usually better to have most of the flow through the skimmer.

 

[kayak-n-doug]

Thanks jblizzle.