Do I need the twinkie?

[qbot]

First things first, I am a new homeowner and our house came with a nice pool built in the 1980s sometime. I'm glad I found this forum...I've already answered many of my questions.

When opening the pool last weekend, when I tried to put on the diverter valve (aka twinkie), I noticed that one of the screws had corroded and sheared off in the skimmer screw hole. The twinkie is held in place by two screws so, without the ability to screw in the one screw, I'm not able to get a good seal. Since the skimmer is old plastic, I don't want to drill out the broken screw and risk a crack (plus the screw hole is approximately a foot under the pool deck, so it'd require drilling precision with an extender bit--no easy feat).

My question is, how necessary is the diverter valve in the skimmer? Can I do without it? If I want to circulate more water from the bottom of the pool, can't I simply attach the vacuum hose and have it sit at the bottom? I've gotten conflicting information about whether this is good for the pool. Are there alternatives to the diverter that would allow me to regulate where the water is being pulled from?

Let me know if I can supply any additional information.

 

[zea3]

I don't know about the twinkie, but a little more information may help the experts give you some answers.

Is your pool plaster or does it have a vinyl liner? Is it an inground or above ground pool?

The only danger I see with your solution is if you do have a vinyl liner the hose may attach to the liner and either starve the pump, or pull the liner away from the floor or wall of the pool.

 

[qbot]

The pool is inground gunite.

I've been running it without the twinkie for about a week and can see no problems but I want to have the optimal flow and, right now, I think I'm only circulating water from the top of the pool.

 

[zea3]

You could put a manual vacuum head on the end of the hose and position it into the pool like you were suggesting earlier. That should work for now.

 

[qbot]

The other option is to attach the twinkie using silicone and one screw. Do you think this would hold for the summer? If so, what type of silicon bond would you suggest?

 

[zea3]

I'll have to let someone else answer that one. I don't know if it would hold or not. Hopefully one of the pool industry guys will be able to answer that for you.