suction at floor pool drains

[georgestewart88]

hello, i was doing a partial drain to reduce calcium, i attached a hose to my backwash and turned on the pump. i was able to drain to the cleaner valve and filter basket, but it stopped there. i tried adjusting the suction valve to no avail, i could not build suction.

i know that there is some connection between one of the floor drains and the filter basket as i once put in a bunch of DE in the basket with the filter off and it came out of the floor drain.

can someone explain the expectations for these drains?

 

[ajw22]

Floor drains often do not have the flow capacity of skimmers due to their depth, they can get clogged, and they can have underground pipe problems. Many people don't know if their main drains are working or not. It really does not matter as pools do not need main drains.

A submersible pump should be used for draining a pool so that you do not risk running your expensive pool pump dry and damaging it.

You can buy an inexpensive submersible pump or rent one. They are handy to have around the house.

Submersible Pumps - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[georgestewart88]

photo below

 

[Jimrahbe]

George,

In your pic, you do not have the ability to select the Main Drain..

I suspect that your main drain is connected into the bottom of your skimmer.

This means to use the main drain there has to be a floating diverter under your skimmer basket, or some kind of mechanical tab that shuts off the skimmer and turns on the main drain.

My guess is that your main drain has not worked in years. This is the case in thousands and thousands of older pools. Pools do not need main drains to run perfectly fine, so no one even notices.

Use a sump pump, if you want to drain below the skimmer level.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[HermanTX]

photo below

Please show a wider shot of the equipment pad. What you show is only the valve that balances suction from the cleaner line and the skimmer. The picture shows it is open to both lines.

 

[georgestewart88]

George,

In your pic, you do not have the ability to select the Main Drain..

I suspect that your main drain is connected into the bottom of your skimmer.

This means to use the main drain there has to be a floating diverter under your skimmer basket, or some kind of mechanical tab that shuts off the skimmer and turns on the main drain.

My guess is that your main drain has not worked in years. This is the case in thousands and thousands of older pools. Pools do not need main drains to run perfectly fine, so no one even notices.

Use a sump pump, if you want to drain below the skimmer level.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Jim, i think you are right. i closed this valve and still have water in the pump, then verified suction at the floor! can you tell me the purpose of this? should i leave this half open or closed or what?

 

[Jimrahbe]

George,

I have two rent house pools that have no working main drains... They both work just fine.. You really do not need a main drain at all.

In my opinion, it is much more important to have a well work skimmer, so my advice is to either shut off the main drain altogether, or only open it about 10%.

The purpose of the floating diverter is so that if you let the water get below the skimmer level, (in theory) the pump would not run out of water because it would suck water from the main drain. I say in theory, as the floating diverter is not 100% reliable.. It just depends on how well it seals to the bottom of the skimmer.. When set to all main drain, it has a lot of suction holding it down.. When set to anything else, not so much...

My rent house pools no longer have the floating diverters, as I found them to be almost useless..

Thanks,

Jim R.