How to create more surface cleaning?

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ramsfan

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Mar 24, 2015
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MO
Hello All, we have two skimmer drains, and two floor drains. We seem to get an awful lot of surface junk, like pollen, bugs, etc.... I would like to improve the cleaning power/action of the skimmers. I honestly feel that we only have two skimmers, and could use a third, as there are sections of the pool that don't seem to really have water movement at the surface.

Does anyone have any good suggestions? Do they make improved skimmer baskets that increase surface circulation (for lack of a better term)?

Can I decrease flow to the skimmers or floor that would improve skimmer performance?

Attached is a picture of the two drains coming into my pump. I am not sure which one is the floor and which the skimmers.

View attachment 64536
 
I run my main drain just enough that I can detect a change in the turbulence in the skimmers. I suggest you try closing off your main to do the same.

Next step is to ensure the skimmer weirs aren't missing or waterlogged. You only want maybe 1/2" or less of water coming over the top. The pool water will seek its own level, so the shallower the inlet, the faster it moves and the more debris it will pull in.

Third, play with the return eyeballs. People have used styrofoam peanuts to plot the currents
 
As the others mentioned, those three items:

Main drains off

Weir doors working

aiming return jets

Are vitally important to proper skimming action. A lot of us do
well only having one skimmer and 2 returns.

If you have more than that, no reason it shouldn't work well.

On mine, I have both returns pointing in such a way that it
swirls the surface of the water in a counter clock wise motion.
And aimed up just slightly so that it breaks the surface.

When debris gets near this it goes on a wild ride all the way
around and right in to the skimmer.
 
Gosh, I LOVE this site!!! I am missing a weir flap, and was told by pool company that it was not that important.

Even more cool, is that I never considered the return contributing to the flow of debris on the surface!!! I can't wait to try this. Thank you!
 
jblizzle said:
The pool companies strike again with their superior maintenance knowledge ... :roll:
Click to expand...

baja!!!

My first house with a pool was missing the weir door.

I was stunned at how much more effective it was once it was replaced.
Additionally, it draw the debris DOWN into the basket instead of
just swirling it around near the top.

If you have any difficulty locating the proper door, you can get
generic spring loaded ones on amazon for a good price.

Just measure the inner width and height of the skimmer inlet
to get the right size.

Let us know the results!
 
Hi All, update and a total newbie question.... And I want to start by saying THANK YOU to all who helped!

First, I adjusted all the return jets to point as far to the left as practical, and slightly up. I did use a rubberized jar opener to loosen the ring. Prior to the adjustment, they were competing with each other in some cases. This alone appears to have possibly completely solved the issue, as there is little to no debris on the surface this morning. Plus, it is fun to watch the jets all working together, creating what I imagine to be some super cool vortex that debri has no chance against!

I am going to add the weir flap once I receive it.

Question about the drains (floor and skimmer). I tried to close the red valve (photo is original post), and it appeared this resulted in zero suction in the skimmer, so then I reversed it, and had same effect. It was only when I had both valves open that I got good suction in the skimmer.

There are a couple possibilities.

1) user error is most likely. For example, maybe I am not fully closing the valve (I have closed valves in the house that then are stuck and cannot re-open, so maybe I lack confidence)

2) my skimmer baskets do have two holes in the bottom. From what I read on this forum, that means the skimmers are plumbed to both the skimmer drain and the floor drain, this prevents damage to pump if water level drops below skimmer.

3) user error - maybe my un scientific assessment of suction power was invalid. I basically lifted the skimmer basket up and let it go. When there is good suction, it sucks down into the bottom. When the pump is off it kind of just floats there. I felt it just floated in my two tests.
 
You have two skimmers and each valve goes to a separate skimmer?

Sounds like you need a diverter in one or both skimmers to direct some suction to the main drain. Unless you have a compensating port in the wall below each skimmer. You'd still need a diverter then.

attachment.php
 

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ramsfan said:
Interesting. I won't be able to mess with further testing for a while, due to work, but this is cool information. I also can review the original pool documentation which I found.
Click to expand...

I finally had some time this weekend to continue improving my pool. I was able to add a weir flap to the skimmer that was missing one, and also do testing of the valves near the pump to see which one was associated with the floor drain, versus skimmer drains.

I noticed right away how the "action" of the weir flap pulls water into the skimmer basket - very cool. I was also able to increase skimmer suction by closing the floor drain at about 85%. Pool looks even better after one day.

Thank you all!!!
 
ramsfan said:
I finally had some time this weekend to continue improving my pool. I was able to add a weir flap to the skimmer that was missing one, and also do testing of the valves near the pump to see which one was associated with the floor drain, versus skimmer drains.

I noticed right away how the "action" of the weir flap pulls water into the skimmer basket - very cool. I was also able to increase skimmer suction by closing the floor drain at about 85%. Pool looks even better after one day.

Thank you all!!!
Click to expand...

The weir flap actually works the opposite of what you'd think it would do. My neighbor's pool (which I am helping maintain) does not have one and it does not skim well.
 
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