Do I need to repair or replace my skimmer?

[evanw]

Hi folks!

I'm new to TFP forums and to pool ownership -- I bought a house (built in the early 1980s) with an existing pool last year (~10,000 gallon outdoor pool in Southern California). I'm not sure when the pool was originally built, but I believe most of it is the original aside from being resurfaced about 18 months ago by the previous owner.

I had a pool professional taking care of all of the pool maintenance until recently. I've now taken over pool care, and as I've been auditing all of the components, I wanted to get some input on the skimmer.

As you can see in the photo below, it looks like some of the ridges to control the position of the diverter are broken/damaged -- how big of a deal is this, and is it possible for me to repair or replace it?


Thanks to another TFP thread, I believe this is an Admiral skimmer. Also it appears that our pool guy was using an incorrect diverter valve - you can see it in the photo as the translucent white thing in the center. I believe he was using a Pentair diverter valve and used a bunch of duct tape to get it to fit better, so I've since ordered a replacement for the correct threaded version.

Thanks for any help as I'm getting started for the first time, and please let me know if I can provide additional information!

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum.
Maybe @wireform or @1poolman1 have seen one of these.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Evan,

I suspect that your main drain is plumbed into the bottom of your filter.. the "adjustment' notches allows for you to adjust how much main drain suction you get..

Show us a pic of all the pipes coming into your main pool pump...

I also suspect that your main drain is not working, and has not been for a long time...

The good news is that you do not a need a main drain... at all...

My guess is that at least half of all older pools no longer have an operating main drain, and that most pool owners never know.

I would not spend a penny on trying to repair it.. You will never be able to tell if it is working or not..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[evanw]

Thank you for the reply!

The main drain does appear to be working (or at least somewhat working).

I should clarify: My question is about what looks to be some damage to those "adjustment" notches, I'll highlight the areas of interest in the image below. I'm sure it'll still work good enough to control the diverter, but I'm wondering if I can (and/or should) repair those adjustment notches.


Thanks again for the help!

 

[Jimrahbe]

Evan,

Well, I don't think a repair is possible and it would be costly, and not make much sense, to replace the whole skimmer for a main drain issue.

What do you think a main drain does to make the operation of your pool better??

I have no problem if you want to make your main drain operational, and I hope your new diverter valve works for you..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[evanw]

Our previous pool maintenance guy would temporarily flip the diverter over to the main drain while brushing the floor as part of his cleaning routine, otherwise he kept it on 100% skimmer.

Thoughts on that?

I've read some advice that said running something like 80% skimmer / 20% main drain can help better circulate water through the deep end, but we haven't done that thus far.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Evan,

Well it sounds like your pool guy thought the main drain was working.. That said is it just about impossible to tell if the main drain is working.. Even if you sweep something over it, you will never see it get sucked in.. But, let's assume it is working..

Your pool guy left it in 100% skimmer for a reason... Skimmers are really the heart of what makes your pool work.. They keep the surface of your pool free of debris.. The more stuff that makes it into your skimmers the better... Stuff that sinks needs to be cleaned up by a cleaner of some kind.. I use a robot, but many here use suction side, or pressure side, cleaners.

Until recently, I had two rent house pools.. neither pool had an operational main drain.. Both pools had two hole skimmer with the main drain plumbed into the bottom of the skimmer. I bought and tried to use the diverter device (different than yours) and never could get it to consistently work.. I just gave up.. Later I found out what a waste of time it was for me to be worrying about a non-working main drain.. That was years ago... I ran those pools with no main drain for well over 13 years and found that my water quality was just as good as everyone else, even without a main drain..

Since you already ordered the new diverter, you should try it out and tell us what happens.

If you had a newer pool, that had the main drain run back to the equipment pad, out advice would be to use 95% skimmer and 5% main drain..

Thanks,

Jim R.