Cyclone blower not making main drain bubble.

[TyMack]

Hello all.
This is my first year closing a pool and I’m having an issue with the main drain. My pool is 8’ deep in the deep end and I couldn’t get bubbles from the main drain with a shop vac so I spent $350 on a Cyclone blower to get the job done. Still can’t get any bubbles. I closed the valves to the skimmers and made sure the main drain valve was open. I used the Cyclone to blow air from the pump towards the returns (with only the main open) and I got nothing. The Cyclone sounded stressed and I’m surprised I didn’t destroy it. So I just used the cyclone the best I could, closed the valve before stopping the cyclone, then plugged the pump. So, I’m wondering if I did something wrong, does anyine else have issues getting bubbles with Cyclone, and is what I did adequate? The main was drawing water before closing so I don’t think it was clogged. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

 

[Texas Splash]

Good morning and welcome to TFP! A Cyclone is usually quite reliable, but your set up could impact what's happening. Can you share some pics of your equipment pad? How far from the pool is the equipment pad?

 

[TyMack]

Hello. My equipment pad is about 8’ from the pool on the shallow end of the pool. The pool is 36’ long so it would be a fairly long run to the main drain but nothing I would think out of the ordinary.

 

[Texas Splash]

I used the Cyclone to blow air from the pump towards the returns

I'm wondering if there's a restriction issue trying to push air from the pump which would also explain the odd sounds from the Cyclone. Let me invite @Newdude to the discussion as he might have another recommendation of where to connect the Cyclone for better results.

 

[Newdude]

Assuming there's no main drain leg blockage and your knowlege of the valves is correct, you probably aren't getting a good enough seal at the pump.

Plug the returns and valve off one of the skimmers and try blowing the drain line from the other skimmer.

Or the main drain valve is defective and you could open it up and try blowing there. Use a screwdriver if you go that route, the screws strip the housing easily with a drill. If that works, you'll need to replace the valve guts and blow it again after. Or you find a frog or such that effectively closed the drain leg at the valve.

Legend has it the cyclone is thermally protected and will shut itself off before you overheat it. I don't recall anyone hitting that threshold so you probably have some serious time blowing a sealed leg as you fiddle with it.

 

[TyMack]

Thank you Texas Splash and Newdude! I’ll try these suggestions tonight.

 

[PoolGate]

I can ROCK the main drain with the Cyclone and I am 9 feet deep.