skimmer suction too strong

[poolintoronto]

Hello,
I've run into a problem with my pool skimmer suction. All of a sudden the suction is way too strong. I noticed this when trying to vacuum. The vacuum head (which is new) just sticks to the floor because of the strong suction. My skimmer port does not have a weir. I have a single speed pump and no valves on it. I noticed that the pump starts to work harder when I put the vacuum hose in the skimmer port and then the water in the pump drops. This happened overnight. I had no problem vacuuming yesterday. There was a big storm last night and the skimmer basket was full of leaves and I noticed that it was askew, so maybe wasn't put in properly. Could there be a blockage with leaves or something?

When the vacuum is not attached, there is no air in the pump at all, but I have noticed that the pump sometimes struggles to fully prime.

Any ideas here what could be causing this strong suction and loss of prime when vacuuming? I spoke with one pool company who said I probably have a suction side leak, but like I said I don't see air once the pump fully primes.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Welcome to TFP!

It sounds like there is simply too much suction from the pump side and not enough flow from the vacuum side. First, make sure there are no obstructions in the vacuum head or hose.

I use the fitting below for my sidewall suction port. It has a built-in regulator to relieve some of the vacuum pressure from the hose. Not sure if it will work in a skimmer since the regulator needs to be submerged so it doesn't suck in air.



Also research "skimmer plate". Maybe @1poolman1 has a recommendation.

 

[JohnT]

Does your pool have a main drain?

 

[1poolman1]

Hello,
I've run into a problem with my pool skimmer suction. All of a sudden the suction is way too strong. I noticed this when trying to vacuum. The vacuum head (which is new) just sticks to the floor because of the strong suction. My skimmer port does not have a weir. I have a single speed pump and no valves on it. I noticed that the pump starts to work harder when I put the vacuum hose in the skimmer port and then the water in the pump drops. This happened overnight. I had no problem vacuuming yesterday. There was a big storm last night and the skimmer basket was full of leaves and I noticed that it was askew, so maybe wasn't put in properly. Could there be a blockage with leaves or something?

When the vacuum is not attached, there is no air in the pump at all, but I have noticed that the pump sometimes struggles to fully prime.

Any ideas here what could be causing this strong suction and loss of prime when vacuuming? I spoke with one pool company who said I probably have a suction side leak, but like I said I don't see air once the pump fully primes.

Sounds like a clogged, or partially clogged, suction line and a large pump. Doesn't sound like a suction leak as that would result in air being pulled in. Some pool companies just give a quick answer without seeing or even knowing what could be wrong with a pool.
When the vacuum hose is attached, the water now has to be pulled from the bottom of he pool. A system with a clogged suction line will starve the pump, water will pushed out faster than it can come in, the level in the pump will drop, and it is usually accompanied by the noise of cavitation (true cavitation) due to the low pressure in the pot and at the eye of the impeller.