loss of suction at skimmer

[vinouspleasure]

Hi,

We have an in ground pool. For the last year I've noticed that that there's nothing in the skimmer baskets...and I used to see the water swirl when looking down at the skimmer basket. If I lift the skimmer basket and put my hand over the ingress hole I can feel suction but I'm guessing it's not as string as it once was. Also, there is a lever at the pump for main drain versus skimmer and I've moved that towards skimmer.

tia,
jd

[Poconos]

You need to tell us what the pressure gauge is reading and do you see any air bubbles in the pump basket chamber or coming out the return jets? You could also have a gunked up impeller which would reduce the flow, suction, and pressure.

Before doing the next step MAKE SURE THE PUMP CANNOT START by unplugging or dumping the circuit breaker. Don't rely on a timer to keep it off. Fingers are at stake. Open the pump basket and reach into the hole at the bottom of the chamber and right behind it is the impeller. See if there is anything tangled in there and if so clean it out with a hooked wire or something.

Get back to us and we'll pursue further.
Al

[vinouspleasure]

turned out we had lost those doors that sit in front of the skimmer (weirs?). this fixed the problem...why do they help so much?

[Poconos]

For one thing they break up the water flow and help prevent a vortex from forming and sucking air. Their real purpose is to prevent stuff in the skimmer from going back in the pool when the pump shuts off.
Glad you found the problem.
Al