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View Full Version : Pump Problem - No suction from Skimmer



felic
04-29-2014, 01:23 PM
I'm a newbie so I can only post here. Hope to get some help from the experienced pool owners.

I don't have any suction at all from the skimmer but the sweeper works fine when I turn everything on, the pump still makes noise so I assume it's still working. There's air from the inlet into the pool on and off (not all the time).The water is turning green right now :-(

I searched through the internet and opened the pump cover but there's barely any debris. When I closed the cover and restarted the bump, there was about ten seconds I saw suction from the skimmer but that was it! Didn't work afterwards for a second even when I repeated the same process. I also have a drain king on the way..

I was away due to emergency matters and didn't have anyone check the pool for a few weeks. When I got back the water level was low (below the skimmer line) while the pump was set up to run automatically every day, I'm not sure if that may cause the issue.

Please any help is appreciated!

PoolDoc
04-30-2014, 10:37 AM
. . . membership updated.

OK.

1. Begin adding 1 gallon, for each 10,000 gallons of pool water, of PLAIN 8% household bleach to the pool each EVENING. Pour it around the pool. You can do this even though the pump is not circulating.

2. Tell us what kind of pool you have: AG/IG, sand/de/cartridge filter, pump make/model.

3. Also, is there any other return to the pump, except the skimmer? Is the pump above, or below, the pool water level?

4. Purchase a cheapo OTO/phenol red DROPS test kit (yellow / red drops) and test both pH and chlorine. Report your results.

Good luck!

Phillbo
04-30-2014, 11:55 AM
Since you are getting suction from the sweeper then it sounds like your pump is OK.

Is there a valve that allows you to adjust the suction between the skimmer and the sweeper? If so, try pulling it apart, there may be something partially plugging the port to the skimmer side.

PoolDoc
04-30-2014, 12:33 PM
Thx, Philbo

felic
05-03-2014, 09:40 PM
The pool is UG, I have DE filter.

The sweeper was working but not anymore and I see that there's no water coming from it's 'tail' which pushes the sweeper in the water. Still no suction from both of the skimmers. I checked the impeller and that's fine. I used a drain king to push water through the skimmer and I can see water coming out of the inlet in the SPA, but no suction at all from the skimmers.

What am I missing here...

BigDave
05-04-2014, 06:16 PM
Do you have a way to bypass the filter?