Low flow from two return jets

[mrtcereal]

New pool owner (bought the house in August), with a question regarding low low/pressure on two return jets in my pool:

The pool has four return jets, two in the deep end and two in the shallow end. The two jets in the deep end (which are also closer to the pool equip) have significantly higher output than those in the shallow end. I would estimate that the jet with the lowest flow is putting out 10-15% of the one with the highest flow.

I have cleaned out the pump skimmer basket and cleaned the filter (which was pretty dirty), but that didn't have any noticeable effect. Water level is just about dead middle of the skimmer. I also had my wife hold her hand over the strongest jet to block it off, while I checked the weakest, and that definitely bumped up the output in the shallow end returns by quite a bit. The return jets themselves don't seem to be adjustable.

Any tips on troubleshooting this further, or how to get more even flow from the jets? I've attached a few pics of the pool/equipment to help illustrate things a bit. In the pool photo, the equipment is about 10 feet behind me (skimmer is just to the left of the ladder in the foreground).

Thanks!

 

[Jimrahbe]

mrt,

This is not an equipment problem, it is a design problem.

The return eyeballs closer to the pump will always have more flow than the ones further away, unless your return plumbing is a loop. Most pool returns do not have a loop design.

The way around this is to use smaller eyeballs on the closer returns and this will increase the water going to the further eyeballs.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[mrtcereal]

mrt,

This is not an equipment problem, it is a design problem.

The return eyeballs closer to the pump will always have more flow than the ones further away, unless your return plumbing is a loop. Most pool returns do not have a loop design.

The way around this is to use smaller eyeballs on the closer returns and this will increase the water going to the further eyeballs.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Thanks for the reply, I was wondering if that was the case. Would this be fairly easy for to replace those deep end jets on my own? It seems like I would be able to unscrew them and replace, but I'm definitely still learning and don't want to create a bigger problem for myself.

 

[Jimrahbe]

mrt,

I have never seen pool returns like yours. I'd want to have new ones in my hand before I took the old ones out.

On the surface it looks easy. Take out the 4 screws remove the old eyeballs and install the new one. What could go wrong?

Sta-Rite SwimQuip Pool Inlet Fitting Parts

Sta-Rite SwimQuip Pool Inlet Fitting Parts

www.getpoolparts.com

Wrong color, but it gives you an idea of how they work..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[mrtcereal]

Thanks for the help, much appreciated.