Sheer Decent Trouble?

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markfwelsch

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Apr 28, 2020
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Baytown, TX
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Hello ALL,

I just purchased a new home with a pool (Sorry I'll update my sig later, I don't know all the specifics yet) and discovered that the pool has 3 sheer decent waterfalls in it. The problem is that they have a shared common line ( I think?) and 2 are flowing great and 1 is not. The discharge of the pump only goes to the waterfall feature or the pool. The waterfalls do not have their own valves to operate.

  • I checked the pump strainers, all good.
  • Checked the pump impeller, good.
  • pump discharge psi good.
  • Ran a hacksaw blade and tried to unclog, no debris in all 3
I'm thinking its a restriction in the plumbing to that single waterfall. Any tips on unplugging that line? Pic of the problem. Thanks in advance!! Pool2.jpg
 
Welcome to TFP.

Are you sure the sheers ever worked properly?

Usually there are valves for each water feature to balance the flow. Whichever one is at the end of the pipe will get less flow then the first one.
 
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I just discovered them a couple days ago. I asked the previous owner, and he said they worked properly, just sometimes small pebbles would get clogged in the outlet of the waterfall. The one that's not working is the closest to the pump discharge. The two that are working properly are the farthest away from the pump. I'll take a pic of the pump setup when I get off tonight and post it. Thank you!!
 
What is under the cover I circled in yellow?

6D127BE3-1635-489C-ACB5-6649985871DC.jpeg
 
pool2.jpg
Here is what I uncovered. Its just a hole. I "blocked" the other 2 waterfalls with duct tape to see if I could pressure the blockage out of the weak waterfall. I then. with the pump off, blew compressed air into the weak waterfall. It helped a little, but its still not performing like the others. I contacted the pool builder and they confirmed that its just a straight flow from the pump to the waterfalls. The pool was built in 2000, and they didn't segregate the falls. I'm gonna clean the Jandys filter, and see if that helps????
 
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Do you have filter pressures from when the filters were cleaned in the past? Is the current filter pressure equal to that?
How old are the filters? Have you ever soaked them in TSP to remove the oils, etc?
 
Thank you for the replies....

The waterfalls are inline. The weakest one seems to be the first in line from the pump. The stronger ones are the farthest from the pump. It got better for a day or two after I "cleaned" the filters and partially blocked the other two waterfalls, but now its very weak. The other two waterfalls are flowing great, the first one is barely trickling off the edge.

The pressure gauge is working correctly. Was at 22 psi when I cleaned the filters. Went to 10 psi after. They were dirty, but all I did was spray them with a water hose. I did not soak them in TSP. I do not know how old the are???

The gauge does return to "0" when off.
 
markfwelsch said:
It got better for a day or two after I "cleaned" the filters and partially blocked the other two waterfalls, but now its very weak. The other two waterfalls are flowing great, the first one is barely trickling off the edge.
Click to expand...
To me that's a sign that the blockage is moving through the pipe.
Maybe try creating some shock waves in the pipes by running the pump full speed and switching between pool returns and sheers with the valve.
 
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