Hayward Skimmer Faceplate Leak Questions?

[zooba72]

Hello Everyone – I just opened my inground pool this week and have been contending with a leak issue which I believe is coming from one of the skimmer faceplates. I noticed that one of the faceplates has some damage to the plastic exposing the gasket underneath and it seems that the water level settles around this point. I attached some pictures – I haven’t tested with dye yet as the water is right below the point of damage, and I’m waiting to see if the water level falls further.

My plan is to replace this faceplate and gasket and was hoping to get some detailed information on best practices. My thoughts would be:

• Bring water level below skimmer
• Unscrew all 16 screws
• Remove faceplate & gasket
• Replace both gasket and faceplate and tighten screws.

Some of the questions, or problems I’m anticipating are the screws not being tight since I’m going into existing holes. Is there anything I can use ensure a tight seal ? Also, should I put any silicone or anything on the gasket ? Any advice would be appreciated.

The skimmers are Hayward, but it’s not clear what the model it is. The only model number I see is on the bottom side of the skimmer cover, and that indicates SP1082, SP1084 – but after some reseach it looks like my skimmers are wide mouth (16 screws) which would be model: SP-1085-1 . If anyone is familiar with this, I would definitley like confirmation – I plan on calling Hayward when they re-open on Monday if I’m unable to figure it out.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you

 

[zooba72]

With pump running on full main drain water level continues to drop below the skimmer - so I'm not sure the cracks are the source of the leak. Water loss is fast with the pump running and since I'm on full main drain, I'm somwhat concerned there could be a leak from the main drain line. There is no obvious source at the exposed plumbing, a couple of drips here and there, but nothing consistent. I do hear what sounds like air escaping through the filter pressure relief valve, but I don't see any steady water. Spider gasket was replaced and I don't see anything coming out of the backwash hose either.

Any thoughts on how to approach this ?

 

[tstex]

You can try the dye test around the main drain and see if anything is being pulled out in that area...

Are the screws in the skimmer cover supposed to be exposed or is there some trim that goes there?

 

[zooba72]

Thanks for reply - They do sell a cover plate that will cover the screws, but the screws appear to be tight and I've never had any issue with the screws being exposed as long as they're not loose. I always thought those cover plates were cosmetic.

I did try a dye test around the main drain last year and I didn't see anything obvious. Dye just seemed to float around in the area, nothnig got drawn into the pipe. I've been running on Main Drain for two days waiting to see where the water level settles. Yesterday the water level was at the 1st skimmer screw as indicated in the pictures. The pump basket did not have a single air bubble in it, it was running perfect. Today the water level has dropped to the bottom of the skimmer opening, skimmer basket was dry. The pump continues to run but I have a ton of air getting into the system now and I have no idea why. I ended up plugging up my skimmer intakes with the gizmos and filled the skimmer with water, but still lots of air getting in from somewhere. Frustrating trying to figure this out. Given the amount of water loss, I don't think it's the liner - also the water level remained relatively stable over the winter. Thanks again

 

[tstex]

Does the water level go down any when the pump is off, which to me was your winter condition when no pump was running and your water level was stable.

If you have air in the pump basked, you are either short on water supply to the pump or you have a air breach in your return lines somewhere.

Work backwards and think back to your winter mode when the water level was constant. Then try one thing at a time to determine when you lose the most water to none or little. Something seems to be causing the loss when the pump is running....

 

[zooba72]

Yes, that's the plan. Water loss is still a mystery at this point, I'm waiting for the water level to hopefully stabalize to help me narrow it down. I did manage to improve the pump air bubble situation, the union between main drain in-take pipe and the Jandy valve must have been allowing air to enter. As a temporary fix I wrapped it tightly with some duct tape and the air situation improved. Yesterday the pump basket had no bubbles, so no idea what happend. If I ever figure this out I'll update the thread. Thanks