Main Drain Problems (mid 80's pool)

[agent86]

So I'm helping a friend of mine bring his pool back from the dead... It's a rent house and the tenants didn't take care of the pool for close to a year and it was the nastiest swamp pit I've ever seen. Fast forward to draining the pool (also because the pump wasn't sucking anything from main drain)

It was no wonder...there was SO MUCH Crud once we drained it that it was impossible for it to function properly...

Well got to cleaning all the Crud out and noticed the pump was really struggling with sucking any water from the main pool drain....

This pool appears to be built in the mid 80's....

When I stick my hand/fingers into the main drain I could literally only get one finger inside....so I decided to put my phone down and take a picture.....WHOA....what the heck is that????

There's no way that 1.5HP pump will work properly from what I'm seeing....it's a 2" pipe but checkout what's inside of it....anyone got a clue?

Thanks

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Maybe the pipe was relined due to a leak? I've heard of "no-dig" pipe repair but haven't seen it. Being an "agent", you should be able to investigate further...

 

[agent86]

Starting digging a little further and it appears to be that they used flexible plumbing...ugh....

 

[Jimrahbe]

86,

I suggest that you cap off the main drain and just abandon it... I have two rent house pools without operating main drains and they work just as well as pools that have working main drains.

Thanks,

Jim R.