Losing power when vacuuming

[lange]

Bought a house with a pool in May.
the equipment must be 25 year-old. It's an old jacuzzi FM

when I vacuum, there must be some air going into the pump. Because all of a sudden, the vacuum stops working... almost no water comes out of the jet... and there's less water in the pump... it fills with air.

Then What I have to do is lift up the vacuum... when it's not sucking solidly on the bottom of the pool, it's less likely to happen.
Or I can disconnect the vacuum for a minute until everything starts working again and then I can continue vacuuming for sometime (May be 30 seconds or 3-4 minutes)

Can the problem be the old pump. I changed the rubber rim thing where I unscrew to take the basket out.


Also... one of my jets and the drain at the bottom of the pool are not working... is there many reasons for that or are they just clogged???
Not working means nothing at all.


By the way, I have an inground pool

[mshumack]

I think you need a new vacuum head (and hose).
Here's my experience: I have a vacuum head that rides on wheels (bought from Pool Solutions) and one that has a brush but no wheels. The one without the wheels will suck down tight against the pool bottom and is hard to move. I also noticed that at times the hose was sucking shut and starving the pump for water. I went out and bought a new "good quality" hose which stopped the problem but I also discovered that he vacuum with the wheels did just as good job as the one with the brush and it is easier to use. Now I only use the wheeled vacuum head.
My point being that you may be resrticting water flow to the pump with your current set up.
Good Luck

[lange]

thanks but I think that might not be it because, I bought a... (French is my first language so sorry...) barracuda thing that suppose to clean the bottom of the pool by itself. When I plug it, it works for 5 seconds... then air the power falls also.

whenever there is some restriction, air seems to get in the pump's basket.

[dep78737]

When there is a major restriction in suction, the pump might be cavitating, causing the water to "boil" in the basket. You might also be creating a suction leak at the pump lid when the restriction happens. Are you allowing some suction through the skimmer or drain while vacuuming/cleaning so it's not all concentrated on the one device?

[lange]

When there is a major restriction in suction, the pump might be cavitating, causing the water to "boil" in the basket. You might also be creating a suction leak at the pump lid when the restriction happens. Are you allowing some suction through the skimmer or drain while vacuuming/cleaning so it's not all concentrated on the one device?


I feel we are getting somewhere here...
I have only one skimmer and the drain at the bottom of pool is not working. So when I plug the vacuum in the hole at the bottom of the skimmer... the only water going in is from the vacuum. Any suggestion on how to let some suction through the skimmer?

[jagwire22]

It sounds as though I have the exact same problem with my G4 barracuda. When I first bought the device, it worked great. As time went on, it quit climbing the walls. Now it will run for a few seconds and then lose power.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Jag