2nd broken skimmer basket in 2 weeks

[Jacob99]

Not quite sure what's going on, but I've broken 2 skimmer baskets in the last 2 weeks. The first one I chalked up with my being a newbie. I was removing the basket while the pump was running. My thinking was that I weakened it by all the pressure I was putting on it. Since I got the new one, I have only removed it with the pump off. Today I go change the skimmer sock and the new basket is destroyed far worse than the first one. I'm going to have to try and pick up another one tomorrow because the only thing holding this one together is the skimmer sock.

Any ideas as to why this is happening? The rubber gasket below the basket is kind of warped and I could probably use a new one of those so I'll grab one when I get a new basket. I keep a rock in the basket so it doesn't float up when the pump kicks on. Maybe that's causing it? I generally run my pump on low except when I vacuum. Even if I was running on high, that still shouldn't break the basket I don't think.

Super weird. Any thoughts?

[aylad]

If it's the bottom of the basket that keeps detaching, it sounds to me like there's not enough open space for the water to be drawn through the basket, so the pump is actually sucking the bottom off the basket. If the rock takes up a lot of surface area, then I'd try for a smaller rock. Also, make sure you're cleaning the skimmer sock regularly--they catch an awful lot of stuff, and it won't take long for it to clog up so that water can't get through it.

[waldreps]

I had something similar happen to me last fall. We had a lot of leaves drop in just a few days, and I wasn't as diligent as I should have been at checking the skimmer basket. It had filled with leaves and been sucked down to the bottom of the skimmer. In doing that, it ripped the part of the flange off the basket and punctured the bottom with a couple of fittings that are in the bottom of the skimmer. Could the skimmer sock be getting clogged and causing the pump to pull really hard on the basket?