New pool owner 2 weak jets

[mike81]

Hi all I have a 20+40 inground pool I have 2 skimmers with great suction and I have 4 return jet two work great and the other 2 are extremely weak flow. Any help would be great thanks

[PoolDoc]

Have they ever worked well?

[Sean OBrien]

Also, can you determine how they are plumbed? Are the two weak ones on their own branch leading from the pump, or does it look like they might be at the end of a return line?

Water tends to take the path of least resistance, so if you have two branches of three jets each - it wouldn't be surprising to see the jets on the end of each line to have lower outputs than the ones which are closer to the pump side of things.

I know in our pool I have three return jets. Two of them are on a Y shaped return line (each at their own end of the Y) and one is on its own return. The single return jet has noticeably higher output than the two on the Y.

[mike81]

I don't know I just bought the house and first time with a pool the other two jets are very strong but the other two barely have any flow. If I plug one the flow is a little better but not what it should be. I'm going to snake the line tomorrow and I hope that fixes the problem

[PoolDoc]

Do NOT snake the line!

Your pool can run just fine with 4 jets, but if you break a line -- VERY possible -- you've potentially got a difficult and expensive fix that will shut down your pool. Pool lines are NOT usually run with DWV fittings that can be 'snaked': you can break them, or get your snake totally stuck. Also, both flex PVC and black poly have been used for pool piping: some snakes will go right through that piping -- NOT down the hole, but THROUGH the sidewall of the pipe!

BALANCING THE FLOW IS NOT A CRITICAL ISSUE! YOU ARE TRYING TO FIX SOMETHING THAT ALMOST CERTAINLY DOES NOT HAVE TO BE FIXED!

If you want to tackle this, do it this fall . . . unless you are ready to shut the pool down for the summer.