Weir gate questions

[Hairyet]

I have one skimmer and the weir gate moves only part way. You can push it flat down (fully open) and it will come up maybe 1/2". You can grab it and pull it up so the edge of the gate is just at or 1/4" above the water and the water falls over the weir. But it is stuck there. I think the skimmer has had some warping or intrusion from outside the box and it appears to be broken in one spot.

1) Should we keep the gate just at or a little above the water line, even if it doesn't move? When the water runs low, my concern is that air seems to get into the system, since it can't get enough water around the weir gate. So far we have made sure to push it down to avoid that.

2) Should the weir gate float up on it's own to the water level? Ours doesn't really do that, not even when it is in the free part of it's swing.

3) Can we live with this skimmer (see picture at 11:00 o'clock)? Replacing a skimmer sounds both scary and expensive. Can I patch the hole and any cracks? Can I sand off some of the side so the weir gate will move freely, or sand off the weir gate itself to fit? Like I say, you can move the gate into the position at the top of the water, but you have to apply a little pressure.

 

[Jimrahbe]

H,

The Weir door is what makes a skimmer.... skim. The Weir door must float up and down with the water level. If it does not do that, then something is wrong with the door, the installation or the skimmer itself.

The floating weir door's purpose is to only allow the surface water to enter the skimmer. The surface water is were all the debris are floating, so the door is what "skims" the debris from the surface of the pool.

It does look like your skimmer has seen some better days... I would first try and see if you can get the door to operate like it should. You might have to replace the foam that make it float, or shave the plastic so that it does not get stuck on the sides of the skimmer mouth.

The world will not end if you remove the weir door, but the effectiveness of the skimming action will be reduced by about 50 percent.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Hairyet]

Thank you for confirming what I suspected from reading other posts. I might see if I can remove the weir gate and see if it can be replaced with another that is cut down to fit the bulge in the skimmer. I don't think the old one really is floating anymore. Because it can be pushed into the right position, I wouldn't think I would have to remove much from a new weir gate. Though I tend to think things are easy and they don't turn out to be as easy as I would like.

 

[Pool_Medic]

Insure the weir flap does indeed have foam in it, it’s the foam that makes it float.

 

[Hairyet]

Insure the weir flap does indeed have foam in it, it’s the foam that makes it float.

Would the foam be on the underside of the weir? Can you feel for it, or should I take a picture of it as far up as it will go from the skimmer side?

 

[Pool_Medic]

It’s on the underside. Weirs come out three ways, either there is a extruded plastic that the weirs “arms” slip into, or it’s plastic tabs that bend inward or it’s an actual plastic plunger that fits in a hole on either side.