Problem With Weir Door Getting Stuck Vertically

[mmcwhorter]

I have two Pentair Admiral S-20 Skimmers (deep and shallow ends of the pool). My deep-end Weir door recently was found floating in the pool and as usual, one of the sleeves on the bottom of the door that clip into the two skimmer side wall "hinge pins" was busted...Very common problem every two years or so. I have replaced this door multiple times. This new door looks to be a perfect replacement, easily installed correctly.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWDM2TN4?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

BUT!!!! it hangs up vertically in the skimmer opening. It does this ONLY when the pump is turned on after a while of being off. Of course, this blocks 90% of the water flow and the pump will not prime. It won't break free on its own...Standing in front of the skimmer opening in the pool....If you lightly push the door toward the skimmer basket with your hand, it breaks free and works perfectly ONLY until the next time the pump is cycled off...then on again. Then it hangs again. I am certain the door is installed correctly. The door is NOT binding on the tab at the top of the skimmer, there is a gap for sure (in fact this problem happened 5-6 years ago)..... Now, If it is binding anywhere, it looks like it is on one or the other side wall. But maybe I need to look again tonight when I can go back into the pool for further investigation.

The door problem has occurred at a water level a bit lower than normal and also a bit higher than normal (+/- 1 inch)........at first I thought it might be related to water level, but appears not. And if it were, what a pain that would be to worry about.

For now, I have that skimmer valve closed.

I searched old threads and saw one idea: grind down the sides of the door. I hope I can get it out and not bust it....as I think this door design is weak with the hinge pins/sleeve interface. Grind to fit: NICE

Has anyone seen this before? Any other ideas? Pentair should really try to "beef up" this design for sure. It's weak, in more ways than one.

 

[mmcwhorter]

My other Weir door on the shallow end is a spring-loaded Universal type...WHY: because one of the two pins broke off inside the skimmer inlet wall....so the Weir door I have on the deep-end skimmer won't work there. And I must say...the spring-loaded door works great. And I have a spare too.

And who is this Weir guy anyway? LOL.

 

[mmcwhorter]

well, it seems to be working correctly...Why??? Well, I changed TWO things simultaneously...maybe it's not the best troubleshooting method but...

1) I added more water, about 1 inch higher level.
2) I removed the door, inspected the hinge pins and door, and everything looked in order...decided there was no way to file the door down to narrow it. Replaced the door.

So far so good. I only let the suspect skimmer run open valve during the day for the first few days, so I could monitor it (I work from home).

Last night, I ran it all night with the skimmer valve open, and at 0700, the skimmer was working perfectly.

My guess, it needs the extra water height to provide enough force to pull the down into the skimmer area.
For all of you physics folks, that would be "F * dL" LOL.

Or the original insertion was a bit skewed or cock-eyes (I think this is less probable than the water level)...