Haven't found any threads that might help me so thought of posting a new one here. My pool is about 20 years old and was built new with the house. It has an integrated fountain and hot tub both of which waterfall back into the main pool. There are 2 pumps - the smaller one appears to be dedicated to the fountain. The larger pump has a valve leading into it with 2 pipes as inputs - when I turn the valve all the way to the side it normally is not on the hot tub drains fairly quickly. Each skimmer has 2 holes in it and I can't seem to find a way to isolate the skimmers. The one at the shallow end and closest to the pump has excellent flow and is doing a good job of keeping the pool clean but I'm concerned that the other skimmer has absolutely no flow at all. Any advice on how I might troubleshoot that skimmer? Thanks!
Advice on Skimmer not Working
- Thread starter LinParkFL
- Start date
- Jun 24, 2021
- 17,121
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Post a few pictures of your equipment pad, so we can see everything. Post pictures of the hot tub and fountains. Any drains in the HT or pool?
Ok, here is a view of the pool - fountain in the back and not currently on - hot tub on the right - working skimmer is on the far left - skimmer that is not working is just to the left of the hot tub along the curved wall:
Here is a closeup of the hot tub:
Here is a closeup of the small fountains at the entry to the stairs for the pool (showing because one of the valves controls the height of these):
Here is a closeup of the skimmer that is not working:
Here is a closeup of the working skimmer:
Here is all of the equipment:
The smaller pump is on the left and seems to be dedicated to the fountain
The larger pump is to the right of the smaller one and seems to drive the pool and hot tub
Valve 1 seems to control pulling from the pool or the hot tub - it is turned 100% to one side right now and if I move it slightly the hot tub begins to drain
Valve 2 is simply for letting water out of the pool (like when Debby recently came through)
Valve 3 seems to control the size of the fountain
Valve 4 seems to control the size of those small fountains at the top of the steps in picture 3 above
Valve 5 seems to control how much water is pushed back into the hot tub
Valve 1 and 5 together can be used to completely isolate the hot tub
Finally here is a closeup of the pump area:
There is a round white object at the bottom of the deepest part of the pool just like the one at the bottom of the hot tub - I'm assuming those are the drains you asked about.
Hope this helps and let me know what you think I should try. Thanks!
Here is a closeup of the hot tub:
Here is a closeup of the small fountains at the entry to the stairs for the pool (showing because one of the valves controls the height of these):
Here is a closeup of the skimmer that is not working:
Here is a closeup of the working skimmer:
Here is all of the equipment:
The smaller pump is on the left and seems to be dedicated to the fountain
The larger pump is to the right of the smaller one and seems to drive the pool and hot tub
Valve 1 seems to control pulling from the pool or the hot tub - it is turned 100% to one side right now and if I move it slightly the hot tub begins to drain
Valve 2 is simply for letting water out of the pool (like when Debby recently came through)
Valve 3 seems to control the size of the fountain
Valve 4 seems to control the size of those small fountains at the top of the steps in picture 3 above
Valve 5 seems to control how much water is pushed back into the hot tub
Valve 1 and 5 together can be used to completely isolate the hot tub
Finally here is a closeup of the pump area:
There is a round white object at the bottom of the deepest part of the pool just like the one at the bottom of the hot tub - I'm assuming those are the drains you asked about.
Hope this helps and let me know what you think I should try. Thanks!
Last edited:
Lin,
Your main pump only have two pipes going into it.. This mean that one pipe is for your spa drains and the other pipe is for all your pool flow.. This would include both skimmers and your main drains.. A really bad way to have it plumbed...
But it is what it is...
First.. Your main drains are tied into the skimmers and are not working at all right now.. This is not a bad thing, as main drains are almost useless anyway..
Your two skimmer are plumbed together under ground.. The bad part here is that the skimmer that is near the equipment will get almost all the suction, making the far skimmer appear off... There is not much you can do about it. Since you have a cage, I'd just plug the far skimmer...
It appears to me that neither of your skimmers has a weir door.. Weir doors are what makes a skimmer... (wait for it..) SKIM!!! Adding weir doors to both skimmers might make the far skimmer work a little better...
Thanks,
Jim R.
Your main pump only have two pipes going into it.. This mean that one pipe is for your spa drains and the other pipe is for all your pool flow.. This would include both skimmers and your main drains.. A really bad way to have it plumbed...
But it is what it is...First.. Your main drains are tied into the skimmers and are not working at all right now.. This is not a bad thing, as main drains are almost useless anyway..
Your two skimmer are plumbed together under ground.. The bad part here is that the skimmer that is near the equipment will get almost all the suction, making the far skimmer appear off... There is not much you can do about it. Since you have a cage, I'd just plug the far skimmer...
It appears to me that neither of your skimmers has a weir door.. Weir doors are what makes a skimmer... (wait for it..) SKIM!!! Adding weir doors to both skimmers might make the far skimmer work a little better...
Thanks,
Jim R.
Thanks for that! The far skimmer does have a weir door and for some reason that was removed from the near skimmer - I will look to see about getting that taken care of.
Any reason to believe the far skimmer is blocked and if so is there any way to clear the blockage? I'm pretty sure when the pool was new that skimmer worked as did the drain. Is it worth trying to block the near skimmer to see if anything gets sucked out of the plumbed items?
Thanks again!
Any reason to believe the far skimmer is blocked and if so is there any way to clear the blockage? I'm pretty sure when the pool was new that skimmer worked as did the drain. Is it worth trying to block the near skimmer to see if anything gets sucked out of the plumbed items?
Thanks again!
Lin,
Put a plug into the near skimmer, on the hole farthest away from the water.. In theory all the water should then come from the far skimmer.
It would help to have someone watch the pump as you add the plug, just to make sure the pump does not run out of water.
Not sure what could have blocked your far skimmer's line, as you have a cage..
The other thing could be a dirty filter.. A dirty filter would reduce the flow and you would notice at the far skimmer first.
For your main drain to work, you would have to have a floating diverter valve in one of the skimmers.. Actually, one of the two skimmers should have the hole next to the water plugged.. It could be plugged from the bottom of the skimmers.. Stick something in the holes and see of one of them is not connected to a pipe.
Thanks,
Jim R.
Put a plug into the near skimmer, on the hole farthest away from the water.. In theory all the water should then come from the far skimmer.
It would help to have someone watch the pump as you add the plug, just to make sure the pump does not run out of water.
Not sure what could have blocked your far skimmer's line, as you have a cage..
The other thing could be a dirty filter.. A dirty filter would reduce the flow and you would notice at the far skimmer first.
For your main drain to work, you would have to have a floating diverter valve in one of the skimmers.. Actually, one of the two skimmers should have the hole next to the water plugged.. It could be plugged from the bottom of the skimmers.. Stick something in the holes and see of one of them is not connected to a pipe.
Thanks,
Jim R.
So both skimmers have the hole closest to the water plugged up - if I plug the near skimmer's working hole I feel a very slight amount of pull from the far skimmer and the amount of water at the main pump is very low. After removing the plug from the near skimmer I now feel a very slight amount of pull from the far skimmer still. My try to pull the filter later today and clean it to see if things get any better.