I have been opening/closing my inground pool for 15 years. First time I hit this problem at opening. My water seems to be circulating just fine but when I switch off Main Drain to skimmers only I cannot get a good enough prime for the vacuum to work. It does not even fully prime when vacuum hose is not connected. From what I have read it seems I have air in the lines but I do not see any obvious leaks. Any ideas?
Skimmers not pulling enough
- Thread starter Poolrunsme
- Start date
It sounds like you may possibly have a blockage in your pipes somewhere between the skimmer and pump. Or possibly your valve may not be fully moving from main drain to skimmer. Just a couple of thoughts.
Both ideas sound plausible to me, although I did blow out both skimmer lines before closing the pool. I guess something could have clog line after I removed the gizmo. My valves have not been touched since installation though.
- May 7, 2014
- 429
- Pool Size
- 29980
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
You say "skimmers" plural. Do you always vac with more than one skimmer going. I have 3 skimmers and I did not have much luck with my manual vac working well unless I shut off the other 2 skimmers.
Can you control your skimmers individually?
Can you control your skimmers individually?
Does each skimmer have a valve, if not the pull being restricted by using your vacuum hose might just pull more water from the unrestricted skimmer. If no valves you can always temporarily block one skimmer with a winter plug.
I have 2 skimmers and I do always close 1 when I vacuum. I have 2 valves before the pump. One is for the MD the other controls both skimmer ports. My problem is noticable even with just both skimmers ports drawing water, pump is not fully priming.
Problem solved! I noticed a VERY slow drip under the connection from pump to valves (about 1 drop a minute). I took it all apart and reconnected each piece using fresh teflon tape on the leaking connector. I now have complete prime and am able to vacuum. Good lesson. Thanks for all of the suggestions. Sometimes you just need to talk through these things with folks that understand. This site is the best.
