No Suction In Skimmers

[t_liz92]

Hi everyone. I searched the forums and have an idea of some things to try but wanted to see if it was able to be troubleshooted further with some help. I just had my inground pool opened yesterday by an outside company. It's my 2nd year with it so still learning. I went to hook up my manual vacuum in the skimmer as I normally would but I'm not getting any suction. I placed my hand in both skimmers and can't feel any suction. It was a pretty straightforward opening but here's some of the highlights:

-The top manifold of my filter grid assembly was cracked and all the filter grids were damaged after inspection at closing last year. Everything was replaced as part of this opening. They added DE to the filter, opened all the valves, etc.
-PSI was sitting at 17 yesterday, it's at 20 this morning
-There were a number of leaves that fell off the cover and into the pool. I skimmed all of them a few hours after opening.
-I have a dolphin s300i so I've ran that a few times to help with any debris on the pool floor since I couldn't get the manual vacuum going.
-Water is clear, fine debris is sitting at the top of the water since it seems like nothing is being sucked into the skimmers
-Jets around the pool seem to have good flow
-Pump seems to be working as normal. Basket in pump was pretty clogged up with leaves/debris. I cleaned that good and put it back in. I did not attempt anything with the impeller.

I've attached a couple pictures showing my set up. Is it possible the skimmer line is just clogged? Looking down in the deep end at the drains there are still some leaves wedged in there but it doesn't seem completely blocked. My next step was to grab a drain king/bladder to try and blow anything stuck in the skimmer line out but anything it particular I should look at first?

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

It looks to me like your skimmer lines are closed and you are only pulling from the main drain.

Look at the first Jandy valve going into your pump. The skimmers are on the left and that side is closed. Rotate the handle 90 degrees counter clockwise so that it aligns with the pipe going into your pump.

It would be good for you to label your pipes with labels or a Sharpie. It helps remember how stuff flows.

Btw, if you are going to hang around here please put details of your pool in your signature. See What we need to know to answer your questions

 

[Razorhog]

If the jet returns are getting good flow, all of the water must be coming from the drains. Double check your valves to make sure something isn't closed. I'm not familiar with those valves and can't tell by looking. Someone else might be able to just look.

 

[t_liz92]

I hope that's all it is. I'll check the valves when I stop home. So if the pipes to the skimmer are left of the first jandy valve going to the pump, is it safe to assume the other pipes are for the drains? If that's the case, should the valve all the way to the left in the picture be completely opened as well?

 

[ajw22]

You have a strange setup. That valve all the way to the left looks like your return. And you have a crossover pipe that lets you feed water into the pool through your main drain. I don’t know why. Don’t move that valve.

The way it looks to me is the first Jandy valve on the right selects between your main drain or skimmers or both. The middle valve has the pipes from your two skimmers and lets you select either skimmer or both.

That is my guess but you need to confirm.

 

[ajw22]

Here is what I think you have: