Is this skimmer plumbed correctly?

[Frome]

Hi there,

We had a new build done last year, but the work was delayed so we only ran the pool a couple months before we had to close. This year we opened the pool a couple weeks ago, and I quickly noticed that the deep end skimmer was not doing anything. I originally suspected a clog from debris from some deck work, but the company that did that (a pool company, but not the pool builder) has been unable to clear the clog. That company suggested that perhaps the line was never hooked up in the first place. I doubted this at first because I didn't notice an issue last year, but it still led me to pull out photos I took during the build. In the photos, you can see the shallow end skimmer has a thick pipe coming from the bottom in addition to the thinner pipe. The deep end skimmer doesn't have the thicker line; this is the skimmer that is not working. Can anyone tell me whether this is likely the source of the issue?

 

[Pool_Medic]

Where is your prevailing wind? Ideally you want skimmers placed so the prevailing wind will aid in blowing stuff toward it.

I would prefer to see two skimmers in a pool that big.

 

[Frome]

Well I thought I had two skimmers. Now I'm thinking I might have one working skimmer along with a decorative one.

 

[Pool_Medic]

Oh, so one in either ends?

Which way does prevailing wind blow?

 

[Frome]

Yes, there is one in the shallow end and one in the deep end. It blows from the right side of the pool, but that's not really my question. I'm trying to figure out if the skimmer in the deep end is missing a pipe connection.

 

[AQUA~HOLICS]

Two questions

 

[duckcmmndr]

Yes, there is one in the shallow end and one in the deep end. It blows from the right side of the pool, but that's not really my question. I'm trying to figure out if the skimmer in the deep end is missing a pipe connection.

Based only on that first picture...it does not have appear to have been hooked up.

When you look in the skimmer through the lid...what do you see in the hole? is there a plug in there or maybe it's plugged with gunite? There is no way of knowing if this was the state of the skimmer on gunite day...but at the time this picture was taken, it was not hooked up.

 

[Toxophilite]

Hard to tell from the pic, but looks like the suction port on the deep end one was capped. If nothing was later plumbed, it looks like you might have 1 and 1/2 skimmers (more like 1 and 1/4). They appear to be venturi skimmers, which uses return feed to assist the suction side. That's the feeds dumping out to pool. On mine, they put a valve on the skimmer return so I could adjust the amount of pool return I want dedicated to skimmer action. I just leave closed, as the suction port is enough.

 

[proavia]

Post a few pics of your equipment pad from a few different angles.
Hopefully all the pipes at the pad are marked.

I believe the shallow end skimmer has the pipe closest to the water plumbed to the main drain and the pipe closest to the deck plumbed back to the pad.
Looks like the deep end skimmer only has the pipe plumbed back to the pad.
Both skimmers appear to have equalizer lines (short pipe that points toward pool) or both skimmers may be venturi type skimmers.
But we need to see pics of the pad to see what's there and how it may function.

 

[Frome]

Yes, they are both Venturi skimmers. I think I may figured this out. From what I've read, Venturi skimmers can be plumbed with or without a suction line. Mine wasn't getting any suction action because I had the quikskim valve shut off most of the way and the nozzle that goes inside wasn't installed. Once I fixed those things, I started getting suction action. I guess all that skimmer does is pull in surface debris that is big enough to get caught in the basket. Not sure why this is an installation option, but appears to be acceptable.

 

[Toxophilite]

Yes, they are both Venturi skimmers. I think I may figured this out. From what I've read, Venturi skimmers can be plumbed with or without a suction line. Mine wasn't getting any suction action because I had the quikskim valve shut off most of the way and the nozzle that goes inside wasn't installed. Once I fixed those things, I started getting suction action. I guess all that skimmer does is pull in surface debris that is big enough to get caught in the basket. Not sure why this is an installation option, but appears to be acceptable.

The nozzle to mine got chucked somewhere as well! I guess one of them "extra fittings" someone didn't know what good for.