Pump is getting water but no visible suction at skimmer?

[K9Chris]

Hey everyone,

I'm in the process of partial draining my pool to reduce CYA levels. This is my first time trying to get the pool up for use since buying a new home. After turning my valve to only be on the skimmer (my main drain is clogged), I can see water entering the pump and exiting the returns. Looking at the skimmer though there is no visible or felt suction. I am getting 10psi of pressure though. Am I looking at a partial plug or something else entirely?

I'm new to pools so any help is appreciated.

Kindly,
K9Chris

 

[mknauss]

What pump do you have Chris? Can you add that to your signature?

You should be able to see the water coming over the skimmer weir door. Can you?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Chris,

There is no reason to see swirling water in your skimmer to make it work.. But, if you can't feel any suction, and your pump is working and water is flowing, then I suspect you are getting water from some place other then the skimmer..

To feel the suction you have to feel right at the pipe under the skimmer basket.

Show us some pics of your equipment pad...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[K9Chris]

Everyone,

I just added my pump to my signature. After taking a look, my skimmer doesn't have a weir door. I guess I have to go out and buy one!

As for the skimmer suction, I think the skimmer and main drain labels might have been reversed and that the water is coming from the main drain. I'm currently in the process of draining and with the water below skimmer level, I tried turning running the pump from the skimmer to drain the left over water that was in there. It didnt go down even though I had water coming through. I'm going to try forcing water out towards the pool using a drain king after I buy one. I'll keep you updated. Pictures to come soon for your expert opinion.

 

[DeRooZoo]

Does your pool have a two-outlet system? We just ran into this ourselves. We have a skimmer filter on one outlet, and a regular filter basket on the other... could not see any skimmer action or suction at the skimmer. Then my wife found a post here about this. With the filter basket, there was an odd-looking dome shaped thing with a small hole in it. Turns out, that's a flow reductor to put in the filter basket, so that the pump sucks more water through the skimmer.