A-Ron Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 Hello all, new to the forum and new to pools so please try to bare with me. I just bought a home two months ago with an in ground pool. I know nothing about pools so I am sorry if I do not use the correct terms. The pool was inspected and worked fine when I bought it. I should mention that it is a smaller pool, only about 5 feet deep and has a Purex Tritan Whipserflow 2.0 hp self priming pump. It also has solar heating. The house was built in 2000 and was a bank owned home so I have no idea what the history of the pool and pump system are. So I have been running the pump with no problems and even used the solar to heat up the pool. Everything worked fine until 2 days ago. I woke up to what sounded like rolling thunder outside my bedroom. The pool pump was acting very strange. I noticed that the water in the pump would briefly rise to the top of the lid where I could see it flowing (what it normally did) but for only a few seconds and then it would empty. It would stay empty and the motor would be very loud for a minute or two then it would fill up again briefly. When I look at the skimmer, it would all of a sudden empty completely then water would rush into the skimmer (the water rushed in so fast it was like a waterfall) then eventually the skimmer would fill up. This caused the water to fill in the pump normally but only until the skimmer was full of water. When the skimmer is full, the water in the pump would disappear. The gauge on my filter tank would go up to about 15-20psi when the water in the pump is full, but when it empties the gauge drops to zero. I have cleaned all filters, I have tried bleeding the air from the filter valve and letting water rush through it It would only flow water while the pump had water filled in it and continue for a few seconds after the water emptied from the pump. Then it would then stop flowing water and I can only hear air coming from the valve. I have filled the pump tank with water using a hose multiple times as well as tried running a hose into my skimmer to see if that does it. I have no idea how the skimmer works, but it appears the skimmer opens and allows water to rush through to the pump briefly then closes some kind of trap door cutting off water flow. Does anyone have ANY idea what might be causing this?? I have thought about what I may have done to cause it and the only thing I can think of is I took the filter out of the canister that leads to the Pool vacuum and cleaned that. I have re-checked the canister and seal on that and they seem fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Clown Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 Could be the door in the skimmer throat (weir) is stuck or sticks. Or you may just be low on water in the pool. Normal water level is half way up the tile. Or midway in the skimmer throat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Ron Posted April 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 Could be the door in the skimmer throat (weir) is stuck or sticks. Or you may just be low on water in the pool. Normal water level is half way up the tile. Or midway in the skimmer throat. thanks for the reply! Should the door in the skimmer throat be closed or open when the pump is running? I noticed when I have it running, there is a door blocking one of the holes at the bottom of the skimmer. Should this be open all the time when the pump is running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Clown Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 The door should be not fully open nor fully closed. The purpose of the weir lets the skimmer draw from the top couple inches of pool water, this creates the skimming action. Make sure the door (between the skimmer and the pool) can move back and forth freely from vertical to laid down completely. And confirm that the water level is right. It still sounds like the water level is low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Ron Posted April 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 OH i thought u meant there is a door in the vacuum hole at the bottom of the skimmer. the door between the pool and skimmer moves back and forth fine. The water level seems about right also. halfway up the skimmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Clown Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 When the skimmer empties out, it is because it can't get enough water through the throat. If the weir is fully laid down when this occurs, the water level is too low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocks911 Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 Every time I've had this problem it has been the skimmer door. Either a twig jammed the door from dropping down as it should to allow water into the skimmer or as happened this spring the door hinge was broken and the door got stuck upright and would not pivot down to allow water in. It's happened a few times and every time I seem to forget that's waht it is so I end up checking that everything is as it should be before I end up through process of elimination at the skimmer door. Do yourself a favor and make sure that it is operating correctly before checking anything else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool-newb Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 I just had exactly this problem - right after I backwashed the filter. The water level was too low. To my untrained eye I thought it was fine. My eye is now better trained. Make sure the water level is correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.