Is my skimmer suction line collapsed?

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S

shodges

0
Bronze Supporter
Mar 29, 2016
90
rougemont nc
Hey folks, we have a 26k gallon fiberglass in-ground pool. We got hammered with 10+ inches of Hurricane Florence rain and I noticed last night that my skimmer line is suddenly not pulling any water in. I back washed and then the pump would not prime and that's when I noticed the skimmer line has no suction. So I shut down my pump and used my shop vac to blow back to the pump ... nothing.

There is no way anything got into the line as my skimmer basket has been present the entire time. And my impeller is moving freely (and my filter basket has been present too).

I'm wondering if the ground has shifted and collapsed the skimmer line. The pool was built in the year 2000. Any suggestions?
 
My guess is that something has clogged your skimmer line. A shop vac does not have the air volume to clear a line, if clogged. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they do not. It is possible that your line has collapsed, but if so, you would see a pretty big change in your landscaping near and around the skimmer area and towards the pump basket. Try blowing air from the pump basket back to the skimmer. Remove the skimmer basket and cover. Go back to the pump basket and use an air compressor and an NPT fitting and blow air that way. Place the MPV on closed so air only goes towards the skimmer. Try about 20 PSI first and then work up to 30 PSI, and no more.

Do you have any noticeable shifting in the landscape, soil, pavers, concrete, or patio? Anything changed out of the ordinary? Another way of doing this is to fill up the skimmer line through the pump basket with water, while closing the skimmer port with either a Gizzmo or black plug. This way, water will eventually have to come back in the basket. This will work if you can isolate the main drain (assuming you have one). If you fill up the line with water and within a minute or so the line does not come back with water, then it is very possible you have a break in the system. Remember that if you overfill any type of container/plumbing it will over flow. Hopefully this makes sense.
 
Hmmmm -- that would be an 'obstruction' in the impeller ---------

Glad you solved your issue.
 
I screwed the bolt back into the shaft (left hand thread, yes) ... no loctite ... had already put it back together before I read this. I cranked my pump back up and everything is running smoothly now.

I'll be closing the pool within the next week, should I remove that bolt and add loctite during the off season?

- - - Updated - - -

Also, assuming my impeller was not spinning (I have no clue how long that was occurring) what would that mean for my pump and/or water quality?
 

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