Main Drain Box in Deep End of pool - but no drain pipe to pump input

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I can screw a 1 1/2" pipe into either of the pipes at the bottom of the skimmer.

At the moment, I'm considering the following options:

1. construct an adapter from 1 1/2" to 3/4", attach my garden hose adapter, and see if the water exits the drain at the bottom the pool.

2. something similar to the above, but using air pressure -- the bubbles would be easier to see, but I don't have a way of making a leak-proof connection at the moment.

3. screw 1 1/2" pipes into the two pipes inside the skimmer, then connect clear plastic hose to both pipes, run the skimmer and see if any water is pulled through.

Any caveats?

Tom
 
1. It will be hard to see the water coming out unless you have dye in it.

2. You will need at least 5 PSI pressure to push the water out of the way.

3. Should work as long you can seal the pipes.

But if you can push a hose or stick down the MD pipe (closest to pool) more than a couple of inches, it should be connected. If that was not used, it would capped off and you would not be able to put anything down that hole more than a few inches.
 
Thanks Mark,

mas985 said:
But if you can push a hose or stick down the MD pipe (closest to pool) more than a couple of inches, it should be connected. If that was not used, it would capped off and you would not be able to put anything down that hole more than a few inches.
Click to expand...
A thin steel rod goes down exactly 6 1/2" into the pipe itself and stops solidly. Could that be an elbow in the pipe?

Tom
 
Yes it could be but it could also be just a stub. Just wrap a hose with a wet rag and see if you can force water down the pipe or it all comes back out.
 
mas985 said:
Yes it could be but it could also be just a stub. Just wrap a hose with a wet rag and see if you can force water down the pipe or it all comes back out.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Mark!

I attached a threaded connector to a 1 1/2" pipe, and screwed it into the bottom of the skimmer. I attached a piece of cut garden hose onto the end of my auto tire pump, and pushed the hose through the installed 1 1/2" pipe all the way to the bottom of the pool drain pipe, and then backed it off about an inch so it wouldn't bottom out. I then wrapped a wet rag around the hose and pushed it down into the 1 1/2" pipe as far as it would go.

After switching on the air pump, I applied hand pressure to the rag and waited...

FIVE minutes later, an enormous cascade of bubbles broke the surface. I allowed the flow to continue for about 10 minutes to be certain the probable blockage was removed.

Okay. So thanks to you guys I now know for sure what that second pipe at the bottom of the Skimmer does. It's hard to believe that there's much water flowing through the drain and up through the Skimmer, but I suppose it must accomplish something...

I came back in to report my progress and found your use a "wet rag" post, so I actually came up with the right way to seal it on my own.

Now if I could only find out or figure out what the second pipe spliced into the pipe from my Spa Drain to the Suction side of the pump does, or is supposed to do...

Tom
 
pooldv said:
Ok, now that that is figured out! Do you have one of these around somewhere and always wondered what it was for?
Sta-Rite U-3 Skimmer Float Valve 08650-0079 | Pentair 08650-0079

This valve allows you to control the amount of suction between the skimmer and the drain. There might be a manufacturer listed on the underside of the skimmer lid.
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There's no manufacturer's name anywhere that I can find on the entire assembly.

I've looked on line and the diagrams show this float assembly inside the skimmer on top of the pipe from the pool drain and the pipe to the pump. When I remove my basket, you can see the two pipes coming in through the flat bottom. There's nothing else in there.

I'll have to take a photo of the Skimmer tomorrow...

Tom
 
Oh, lovely...

My Pentair Superflo VS pump now shuts itself down when I try to start it. When I press start, it shows the program start time, then it says PRIME, then it fails with a flashing code "0002." The manual states that this is "Absolute Phase Current Limit Exceeded." I pressed stop, opened the CB and waited an hour. Restored power, pressed start, and got the same error code.

Tomorrow, I'll check the wiring...

Tom
 
No checking on the power supplied to my pump was possible, because it rained hard all day, so it is still not working.

The "Mystery Pipe" has been identified. After cutting the splice connecting the "Mystery Pipe" to the pipe that connects the spa drain to the suction side of the pump, I attached the garden hose to the "Mystery Pipe." On the bottom of my spa are TWO drain boxes. The water from the garden hose exited from the drain on the LEFT side of the spa. Switching the hose to the pipe that I knew drained the spa, the water now exited from the drain on the RIGHT side of the spa.

This means that there is a separate pipe from EACH spa drain. They each travel 35' and then are connected together. A single pipe then continues an additional 10' to the pump. I don't know WHY there are two drains on the bottom of the spa, but they COULD have connected them together at the spa and run a single pipe 45' to the pump. Anyone have an idea why they did it this way?

Thanks for any thoughts...

Tom
 
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