Gunite Skimmer Replacement - Any lists with throat dimensions available?

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skimmerswimmer

Well-known member
Jul 30, 2013
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Long Island, NY
I've been fighting some water leaks over the past few years, all pretty much having to do with one of my old Jacuzzi WC style skimmers originally installed around 1975. From cracks at the bottom and around the skimmer mouth, to gaps at the pool wall, my repairs don't seem to be holding so well using JB Waterweld and/or Plast-Aid epoxy. I've been searching far and wide for a replacement skimmer that would come close to fitting my existing throat inside dimensions which are about 6" high and 14" wide, give or take a half inch but I don't see any out there that are made for concrete pools. Is anyone aware of a list of skimmer dimensions that might be available somewhere to see if anything might be available to replace what I have? The style of skimmer currently installed looks like this one, but doesn't have any of the gaskets since it is fused to the concrete wall.

Jacuzzi WL, WC, & WB Wide Mouth Parts - INYOPools.com

Jacuzzi WL, WC, & WB Wide Mouth - INYOpools.com has the largest selection of swimming pool and spa replacement parts with over 70,000 parts in stock. Order today and save!
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I'm losing about 2 inches of water a day, so I have to figure out something. Just ordered an ink kit for narrowing down where the remining leaks are right now since my last patch didn't hold up.
 

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Post pics of the top and bottom of your skimmer lid. Are there any words or numbers on the back of the skimmer lid?

Also post pics looking down into the skimmer.

Try contacting Inyopools with the pics and dimensions of your skimmer.
 
Here is the skimmer shot from the top and the underside of the cover with info. I tried Inyo, but the two skimmer model suggestions they sent me had dimensions which were way off.
 

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I dont rly deal with concrete skimmer setups, but this is an old skimmer. If it's the body of the skimmer that's the issue you may be able to line it with a fiberglass type repair to avoid replacement. Regardless any skimmer replacement is messy and a pain to do, very invasive and involves deck repairs and tile repairs. You need to isolate the leak amd be sure it's the skimmer itself.
I would start by pumping down pool below skimmer a few inches and do the bucket test
 
jimmythegreek said:
I dont rly deal with concrete skimmer setups, but this is an old skimmer. If it's the body of the skimmer that's the issue you may be able to line it with a fiberglass type repair to avoid replacement. Regardless any skimmer replacement is messy and a pain to do, very invasive and involves deck repairs and tile repairs. You need to isolate the leak amd be sure it's the skimmer itself.
I would start by pumping down pool below skimmer a few inches and do the bucket test
Click to expand...
I had a company come yesterday to look at the skimmers, but they want to rip everything up and make it into a big project...breaking out the two skimmers, chipping out the tiles, running new underground piping, adding two more returns, valves, etc. This would probably destroy the new Pebble Fina finish in spots and I want to try to avoid making this into a huge expensive project, especially if we're planning on retiring and moving in a few years,

If I can't pinpoint the leaks when I receive my ink kit, I'll probably call in a leak testing and repair company and see if they can find it. They will probably have better repair materials and methods as well, and hopefully we can get the issue resolved without too much expense. Might be time to use fiberglass fabric and marine epoxy to do it correctly. The two skimmers are functional, and while there are some cracks...they don't strike me as unfixable. I'm going to keep an eye on the water level for a few days and see where it stops. If water stays in the skimmer bowls, then the issue is most likely around the mouth of the skimmer where it meets the concrete and tile.
 
Well, the pool dropped to skimmer level and stopped, so the leak had to be in the skimmer bowl or suction plumbing. I plugged the bottom of both skimmers with rubber stoppers and the one that I had previously patched drained fully. The other skimmer held the water. Leaving the leaking skimmer plugged, I then removed the plug from the other skimmer and no water was lost. The two skimmers share a line back to the pump, so if there was a leak in the line the water level in the good skimmer would have dropped.

I'm going to grind out all of my old putty and redo the bottom of the skimmer with fiberglass tape saturated with Plast-Aid, then cover everything with a new layer of Plast-Aid and see if it works.
 
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So, there was a decent sized crack at the bottom of the skimmer where the equalizer connection plug threads in. I re-did this area with fresh Waterweld epoxy putty, really forcing it into the crack. After that dried, I covered the whole bottom of the skimmer bowl with a 1/8" layer of Plast-Aid and let that fully dry as well. I brought the water up so it enters and covers both skimmers, looked for any leaks with the black dye syringe, and let it sit overnight. Checked the water level this morning and there was zero water loss. I'm going to fill up the pool the rest of the way since it looks to be holding. Hopefully it's fixed for at least a few more years.
 
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