Skimmer plumbing help

[thechuckster]

Split by moderator from HERE. Please start a new thread for your own questions and not hijack another member's thread, especially one that is over 2 years old. Thanks, jblizzle

I realize that this post is several yrs old. My cousin has a setup similar to this. View attachment 33116 This is the bottom of skimmer, and after reading some of the hints, I tried to plug the hole that had the only suction and the pump was starved. I used a rag that almost got sucked into the pipe, almost!!! Anyway, not sure what this means exactly. I would of thought that if the two holes were tied or plumbed together someplace that the other hole would of taken over or it would of began sucking from the bottom. There is no space ship or twinkie whatsoever. Wondering what I need to do now. Would love some feedback on this. Thanks.

This is a built in pool if that helps.

 

[prs]

Re: 2 Suction Lines between Skimmer, Pool drain & Spa Drain?

I couldn't view your attachment.

One of the holes in your skimmer box goes to the pump suction and when you plugged this hole the pump starved. This tells us the line from the skimmer box to the pump is not connected to the main drain underground. If it was the pump would have just pulled more water from the main drain.

The second hole in the skimmer should go to the main drain, water from main drain and the skimmer inlet are both pulled into the skimmer box and then are pulled to the pump thru the first hole. If this second hole doesn't connect to the main drain you have a problem!

If the water level in your pool gets too low or something blocks the skimmer inlet then the water level in the skimmer box will drop and the pump will begin to suck air thru the suction line (the first hole). This is not good for the pump.

The space ship sits a few inches above the holes and acts as a check valve. If air gets pulled into the valve it closes, and then the pump can pull more water from the main drain and doesn't starve. You need a space ship to prevent cavitation and wear on the pump! I've never seen a twinkie but would assume it does the same thing.