Help this untrained redneck pool boy please!

[Kratos]

Hi folks,

Here are my problems. 1. I have lost my job and have stated cleaning this lady's pool to make it through this time. 2. I know nothing about pools. 3. The drain for the skimmer doesn't draw enough suction to operate the vacuum.

When I started working for this lady She told me that a skimmer basket had broke and that she believes that a piece of said basket is restricting the water flow. She has called 3 different plumbers, all of which tried to run a snake through the pipe and have told her they will have to cut through the flag stone pool deck to make repairs. I would hate to see her pool deck destroyed. I have tried running a flat plumbers snake down the drain but it stops about 15". I don't know if I'm hitting the blockage or a 90 degree turn. Q: Is there a camera I could use to explore the drain, if so can they be rented? The pipe is 1.5" ID.

I went to her house this week and was told that the pump had stopped working. I filled the filter and pipes with water and started the pump. It pulls water from the main drain fine. It appears that the pump overheated and melted the coupling on the high pressure side causing a slight leak, but it seems to work fine. When I move the valve to the skimmer side the pump starts to oscillate between drawing air and then water. I have looked everywhere above ground and can't see anyplace where air could be entering the system. Q: Is it possible that air is entering the system below ground, If so wouldn't I see dirt in the water? Or could this oscillation be caused by cavitation?

Are there any tips or tricks of the trade that might help.

[Expert Pool & Spa]

DO NOT run a snake through the lines, they are schedule 40 plumbing with 90º elbows and you can break the plumbing. They are not designed to be snaked.

Try using a "Drain King" or other device or method to push water through the skimmer line in the OPPOSITE direction to try and flush the obstruction out from the direction it came in. May have to use a big sump pump with a hose or similar.

Check the impeller on the pump itself as it might be clogged with debris and reducing water flow.

The air you see is probably the pump cavitating or trying to suck more water that it is getting due to the obstruction. This process extracts the oxygen out of the water and appears to suck air. Pumps pump water not air so if you had a air leak the pump would not hardly suck at all.

The pump may very well have went "dry" and overheated the water in the pump pot causing the overheat of the plumbing going out of the pump. I would check/fix that and also check the plumbing comming into the pump as well because like I said, the pump pumps water, not air and an air leak would definately be a problem. Be sure to maintain the water level in the pool at halfway in the skimmer opening or higher. If this can not be done then shut off the skimmer until the water level can be raised.

Hope this helps and be sure to report back!

Thanks!

[Kratos]

Thanks Mr. Joyce, I'll try that drain king thing.

[Expert Pool & Spa]

See other post...

It is better to keep the questions in the same topic so other readers can follow along with the conversation....

[Kratos]

Problem resolved!

I know you said not to snake system but the owner and I decided it wouldn't hurt to try. The next step would have been to cut through the concrete pool deck anyway, so....

Plumbers spent a week snaking skimmer system with an electric snake. They were able to extract several pieces of vinyl, about 3/4" wide and up to 18" long. In all it amounted to be the size of a large grape fruit. I can only guess that the workers who replaced the liner carelessly left this material in the skimmer without the basket being present.

The pool was functional all summer but has developed a leak. Guess I'll have to learn how to do liner repair and replace filter media now that the pool is closed.

Thank you for your time.

[Expert Pool & Spa]

Glad you found the problem! Running a snake through a schedule 40 PVC line is risky as the bends in the pipe are true 90 degree turns and not sweep ell's, which ends up breaking the pipe with a snake but hopefully you made out OK!

It is very important to never run the pool pump without fully intact and unbroken baskets in both the pump pot and the skimmer wells to prevent something from clogging up the lines. it is also very important to make sure the main drain cover is intact and porperly secured for the same reasons.

Enjoy!