Reducing Skimmer Suction

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Holydoc

Holydoc

Gold Supporter
Jul 17, 2016
515
Navarre/FL
Pool Size
17500
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Pool Suction Valve 1.jpgThis is my valve I need to adjust. On the far right is the suction coming from the bottom pool drains. It currently is CLOSED for this illustration. The bottom line is the skimmer and where my question arises (has red circles on it). From the current valve position, I can turn the valve counterclockwise until the CLOSED area reaches the main intake to the pump (far left pipe showing water flow going away from valve). The yellow arrows mark where the valve stops turning. Currently the valve is turned as far as it will go clockwise. How do I get the CLOSED position over the skimmer rather than just over the main drains or the pump itself? Once it stops turning I am scared to force it any more since I do not want to break it.
 
Doc,

The red circle is the "normal" inlet to a 3 way valve, so the diverter is designed to never shut it off.

You need to take out the screws and remount the top so that the "inlet" is the pipe to the left..

That said, why would you ever want to shut off the skimmer?

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jim,
I currently have a Skimmer robot that gets stuck on the pool skimmer inlets because the suction is too high. If I can use the valve to reduce the amount of suction from the skimmer, the robot will have enough powwer to not get stuck. I have some trees that tend to drop a large amount of debris in the pool at certain times of the year. My pool skimmer will quickly clog up. The skimming robot will prevent this problem by doing the skimming for me. This is particularly important when I travel for long times. By having the robot do the majority of the skimming, I do not have to worry about the pool skimmer getting clogged and causing strain on the pump.

Thank you for the advice about remounting the top. That makes perfect sense. So it appears my pool installer actually placed the top of the valve at the wrong configuration.

Update: I unscrewed and swiveled the top. Now I can control the amount of suction from the skimmer.
 
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You can lower you VS pump speed to alter the suction as well - and same some money on electricity as well.

Most all 3-way valves come from the manufacturer with the INLET set to the lower portion of the "tee" (red circle in your pic). INLET needs to be changed to always be on the port closest to the pump. On the suction side it's where the water is going to (the pump). On the return side it's where the water is coming from (the pump).
 
Pump is currently at lowest speed to still adequately produce chlorine through the SWCG, so that was not an option. Gene, you were right about the INLET being at the bottom of the tee. However the pool builder did not put the INLET at the pump inlet. He put the INLET portion on the skimmer thus preventing any skimmer adjustments by me. This is fixed now.

What I am seeing now is that since I made that adjustment, I am getting small bubbles of air in the pump while it is running. This is with 80% of the skimmer now turned off. It is not apparent that there are any leaks since there is no water leakage anywhere around the valve that I just adjusted and all screws are tight. Also when I turn the pump off, there is no loss of water level in the pump housing so I do not think there is any air leakage around the valve. Hmm... another mystery.
 
Holydoc said:
Pump is currently at lowest speed to still adequately produce chlorine through the SWCG, so that was not an option. Gene, you were right about the INLET being at the bottom of the tee. However the pool builder did not put the INLET at the pump inlet. He put the INLET portion on the skimmer thus preventing any skimmer adjustments by me. This is fixed now.

What I am seeing now is that since I made that adjustment, I am getting small bubbles of air in the pump while it is running. This is with 80% of the skimmer now turned off. It is not apparent that there are any leaks since there is no water leakage anywhere around the valve that I just adjusted and all screws are tight. Also when I turn the pump off, there is no loss of water level in the pump housing so I do not think there is any air leakage around the valve. Hmm... another mystery.
Click to expand...

As you are finding out, most pool builders and/or there subs have zero clue about how some stuff actually works - or they just don't care. Setting INLET to always be closest to the pump prevents dead-heading the pump

With the pump running, you won't see any water leaks on the suction side.
Did you lube the O-ring under the valve cover before reassembly?
You may wish to recheck the integrity of that O-ring, along with the two smaller O-rings on the shaft. Make sure they and their matting surfaces are clean and lube the O-rings before reassembly.

With the pump running, there can be more of a chance of air being sucked in than with the pump off.
 
I did not lube the o-ring or clean it. I just removed it and rotated it. Grrr... back into the heat I go.

UPDATE: I cleaned and lubricated everything. No more bubbles.
 
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