Suction Side Leak -- Black Bottom Skimmer?

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A

adrian300

Well-known member
Sep 27, 2021
50
California
Pool Size
25000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hi all,
I believe I have a suction side leak, I am getting air in the pump and have tried most methods of diagnosis, unsuccessfully. A contractor I reached out to mentioned that I have a "black bottom" skimmer, which is prone to leaking. Does anyone have familiarity on whether this is true? Sounds like they might just be looking for a job by saying that it needs to be replaced.
Thanks,
Adrian
 
When was the pool installed? Diverter valves have been my source of suction side leaks.. in two of my valves that shut off/control the skimmers and main drain, there were failing o-rings that disintegrated in my hand when I took them apart. Might be something worth checking if yours are old. These are Jandy valves, but I assume most are similar.
 
I have tried that and had several people investigate the pump, but do not believe it is above ground. I also tried using shaving cream, and have replaced all storm drains and o-rings. I don't have a diverter valve on the suction side. I also replaced the pump filter with the thought it was creating a blockage on the pressure side.
 
dfwnoob said:
When was the pool installed? Diverter valves have been my source of suction side leaks.. in two of my valves that shut off/control the skimmers and main drain, there were failing o-rings that disintegrated in my hand when I took them apart. Might be something worth checking if yours are old. These are Jandy valves, but I assume most are similar.
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Pool was installed in the 80's, but all of the equipment is new. I had one pool guy say the cause was that the poop plumbing was old pipes, and that the pipes were unable to keep up with the newer, more powerful pump but I'm not sure if that is the cause.
 
I would check the intake nipple, the temp sensor you have on the suction side, it also looks like you may have a copper to pvc coming out of the ground. Relubricate lid oring and last check the impeller for any blockage.
 
Poolbreh said:
I would check the intake nipple, the temp sensor you have on the suction side, it also looks like you may have a copper to pvc coming out of the ground. Relubricate lid oring and last check the impeller for any blockage.
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Yeah, I changed the temp sensor to the pressure side since the picture. I have tried relubricating a few times and checked impeller -- no blockage. Would copper to pvc be an issue? Or just a potential leak area?
 
I'll check it out. I think I already did but couldn't hurt to try again.

No experience with Black Bottom skimmers though huh? I haven't been able to get anyone to verify they are prone to leak since the contractors originally told me.
 
I don’t know about the black bottom skimmers. If it was me, I would exhaust all options before doing something costly like replacing a skimmer unless I was absolutely certain this was the problem. I like to use a plumbers bladder to diagnose any intake leaks. I just stick it in the skimmer with the pump off and look for any drips. You can also have the intake pressure tested.
 

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Poolbreh said:
I don’t know about the black bottom skimmers. If it was me, I would exhaust all options before doing something costly like replacing a skimmer unless I was absolutely certain this was the problem. I like to use a plumbers bladder to diagnose any intake leaks. I just stick it in the skimmer with the pump off and look for any drips. You can also have the intake pressure tested.
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That is a good idea. I've tried a plumbers bladder on the pump side to remove a blockage if there was one, but I didn't think to try it from the skimmer side. I did look into pressure testing or leak detection but it was pretty expensive.
 
Black-bottom skimmers are notorious leakers. The "black bottom" is ABS that is held to the skimmer body by several screws with a gasket to seal. There are so few of them left that even the company that made the Black Bottom Repair kit has stopped making them. The only true repair is a new skimmer, unfortunately. The repair kit was only good for a few years anyway.
 
1poolman1 said:
Black-bottom skimmers are notorious leakers. The "black bottom" is ABS that is held to the skimmer body by several screws with a gasket to seal. There are so few of them left that even the company that made the Black Bottom Repair kit has stopped making them. The only true repair is a new skimmer, unfortunately. The repair kit was only good for a few years anyway.
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That's great to know. It has to be the skimmer at this point.
 
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