Skimmer Water Level

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RodRamos

RodRamos

In The Industry
Jul 24, 2019
144
Trinity, Florida
With the old smaller pump I felt I needed to keep the skimmer water level low to provide enough flow to the skimmer. Now with the new pump I'm wondering if the level is too low. Where should the water line be? This is where it is currently. Also the skimmer came with a little flappy door, should I have that in or will that restrict the flow?

20190825_121610.jpg
 
The door is critical to correct skimmer operation. Most skimmers want the water level 1/2 way up the skimmer. If it is too low air will be sucked down the skimmer.
 
Rod,

The "flappy door" is called a weir and is what makes the skimmer... skim... Having it out will cut your skimming action by at least 50%

The higher the water level, the less effective it will be at skimming.. The lower the water level, the better it will skim.. We always recommend keeping the water at the middle of the skimmer, just to make sure the level never goes below the skimming mouth, causing your pump to run dry.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
What Maddie says is true , but only one reason that a weir door makes the skimmer work..

The Weir basically allows the water inside the skimmer to be slightly lower that than the water in the pool.. Water being water, it will flow down hill.. This is why the surface water flows into the skimmer... When there is no weir, the water inside the skimmer, and in the pool, are at the same level and the water tends to flow from the bottom.. The skimmer is there to capature what is floating on the top of the water, so the more surface flow there is, the better the skimmer will work.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
YippeeSkippy said:
I'd suggest raising it a little more... maybe another inch or so nearer to the 1/2 way mark just under the next screw. It really will work better that way.

Maddie :flower:
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I think it's the water giving the illusion its below the halfway point. On the picture above the water is exactly between two sets of screws, which is the halfway line. And you guys are right, I can see it collecting more surface debris then before. You guys are amazing.
 
Aren't you glad you cut a big hole in the side of your pool? Love the through wall skimmer! I haven't used the skimming net but once when my sister in law wanted a bug to be removed when she was in the water.

Also, I find the skimmer works just as well with the water level up higher than half way. If you wanted to get a little more depth, you could see how yours works with an inch or so more.
 

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RodRamos said:
Yes I may have to up it an inch or so, the reason for that is the outlet port is halfway above the water line so it splashes, not too bad but some. Would be nice to avoid that aeration.
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I'm not sure I understand the above. Outlet port? It should be at the bottom of the skimmer. I think I'm missing something.

Regardless, if you've got kids... you're going to have more aeration than a pool (regardless of size) than with adults. They just like to splash and play extra hard. Now that my kids are all 16+ there's way less play when they're in the pool. Mostly they just lounge or swim rather than splash at each other and run around.:cool:
 
RodRamos said:
I think it's the water giving the illusion its below the halfway point. On the picture above the water is exactly between two sets of screws, which is the halfway line.
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I always see the same refraction effect in my skimmers. When I'm in the pool, it looks like the water is too low in the skimmer mouth. But if I measure the water height with my fingers (as in "2 fingers of scotch, please"), the level is where it should be.
 
frogabog said:
I'm not sure I understand the above. Outlet port? It should be at the bottom of the skimmer. I think I'm missing something.

Regardless, if you've got kids... you're going to have more aeration than a pool (regardless of size) than with adults. They just like to splash and play extra hard. Now that my kids are all 16+ there's way less play when they're in the pool. Mostly they just lounge or swim rather than splash at each other and run around.:cool:
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I'm new to this whole pool thing so my terminology isn't up to par lol. The outlet port is how I describe the hole where the water comes out of the pump and into the pool. Currently its half under water and half above so the water splashes as it comes out of the pump. Yes I have 2 kids and they probably aerate more then the pump does rofl.
 
Rocket J Squirrel said:
I always see the same refraction effect in my skimmers. When I'm in the pool, it looks like the water is too low in the skimmer mouth. But if I measure the water height with my fingers (as in "2 fingers of scotch, please"), the level is where it should be.
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Yes I know what you're talking about. As I was filling the pool to get at least to the halfway mark on the skimmer I kept looking from our patio and I kept thinking "it should be halfway now but it looks so low". Thank goodness I checked otherwise I would have overfilled it. Not that it would matter on a pool this size but still.
 
OK, gatcha on the terms. The outlet you're speaking of in a pool is commonly referred to as the "return" (as the water is returning to the pool). The supply/suction is the other side, as it's supplying the pump/filter and that's why I thought "outlet" (water going out of the pool).

I think you could safely fill the water to above the return so as not to aerate as much. The skimmer shouldn't be affected negatively, especially with that monster pump. When I fill after evaporation I usually fill up close (about 1") to the top of my skimmer since it's installed below the seam. I have not noticed any ill effects.

FWIW, I have the 1200gph pump and baby sand filter on my 18x9x52 working with the decent skimming as noted above.
 
frogabog said:
OK, gatcha on the terms. The outlet you're speaking of in a pool is commonly referred to as the "return" (as the water is returning to the pool). The supply/suction is the other side, as it's supplying the pump/filter and that's why I thought "outlet" (water going out of the pool).

I think you could safely fill the water to above the return so as not to aerate as much. The skimmer shouldn't be affected negatively, especially with that monster pump. When I fill after evaporation I usually fill up close (about 1") to the top of my skimmer since it's installed below the seam. I have not noticed any ill effects.

FWIW, I have the 1200gph pump and baby sand filter on my 18x9x52 working with the decent skimming as noted above.
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I see you went from a 15x48 to an 18x9x52. You like the bigger pool so far?
 
RodRamos said:
I see you went from a 15x48 to an 18x9x52. You like the bigger pool so far?
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Yes, indeed. It's deeper (kids aren't munchkins anymore) and it's also rectangle. You can actually get a small lap out of it (about 4-5 freestyle strokes, unless you've got long arms like my nephew). It also takes up less room in the yard because it's only 9' on one side (round pools must be the full diameter all the way around).

If I had a bigger yard I'd probably go with a much longer and wider rectangle pool.

One thing I liked about the round pool was that I could have the kids run in a circle and swirl it so that any debris would collect in the center. We also had a small incline toward the center to facilitate that.

The thing I don't like about this pool... the top rail is only about 4" shorter than I am and I need a stool to do my tasks comfortably from the outside.

Interestingly enough, the volume of water isn't much more (if any) than the 15'x48" round was so my chlorine additions daily are about the same.
 
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