Pool overflow drains too much water.

[Philn77]

My pool’s overflow lets out more water than I would like.

The water level ends up being only about a couple of inches up from the skimmer.

I would prefer the level to be at least 2” higher to give me more water retention in the Florida winter so I do not have to add water so often.

The summer can have dry spells and also torrential rain where I need the overflow to work, so just shutting off the overflow valve is not an option.

My thought would be to add a couple of inches of PVC to the outlet to make it higher would require more pressure from the pool water to cause it to overflow.

Or does the other capped pipe control the level?

Am I on the right track?

In the image, the outlet has the perforated top.



Any advice appreciated.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Show us pics of the overflow inlet in the pool. I think the inlet controls the water level, not the outlet.

 

[InyoRich]

I know this seems like a dumb question - but do you actually see water coming out of that pipe with the holes drilled in the cap? That *might* be an early version of a safety system in case there is entrapment on the main drain (it will start to suck air into the pump if the drain gets blocked).

It may do double-duty as a safety release and fill-level control. If so, feel free to raise it, but don't add a valve or anything to close it up.

 

[Philn77]

Any inlet I have in the pool is through the skimmer.
At the bottom of the skimmer are two outlets, one has suction when the pump is running, one does not.
Nothing adjustable here.

 

[Philn77]

I know this seems like a dumb question - but do you actually see water coming out of that pipe with the holes drilled in the cap? That *might* be an early version of a safety system in case there is entrapment on the main drain (it will start to suck air into the pump if the drain gets blocked).

It may do double-duty as a safety release and fill-level control. If so, feel free to raise it, but don't add a valve or anything to close it up.

Yes, water flows out of the pipe with the holes in it when the pool reaches overflow threshold.

 

[InyoRich]

Easy-peasy. Just lengthen the overflow pipe and you should be good to go. You may want to rig a valve or a tee in it to allow your pool to fill up a bit more in the "dry" season and drain off a bit more in the rainy season. Try to avoid closing it off completely to allow the safety vacuum release function to keep working.

I have a little piece of screen on mine to keep the stupid geckos out of mine.

 

[Bperry]

Any inlet I have in the pool is through the skimmer.
At the bottom of the skimmer are two outlets, one has suction when the pump is running, one does not.
Nothing adjustable here.

View attachment 552561
View attachment 552558

It doesn’t appear you have an overflow pipe in that skimmer? The holes on the bottom aren’t for overflow.

 

[InyoRich]

Try to pull the cap off (give it a gentle twist and try to lift it) to see if it is glued on or not. If you are like me and have a fear of commitment, go to your local home center and get something like this so you can adjust the level up and down, and add a screen or something on the top (or the old cap) to keep critters and debris out.

 

[JJ_Tex]

I don't think you have shown us the pool side of the overflow, only what is in the flower bed. It should be somewhere along the tile line.

Regardless, assuming you have a standard overflow somewhere in your pool, you can add this adjuster for $20 to adjust the height of your overflow.

Pool Overflow Drain Stopper, Snap On Overflow Drain Adjustable Plate

Pool Overflow Drain Stopper, Snap On Overflow Drain Adjustable Plate, Pool Product, Pool Overflow, Whatagate, Wholesale, Pool Equipment, Pool Supplies, Swimming Pools

www.whatagate.com

 

[HermanTX]

Here is what a pool overflow drain looks like.

 

[InyoRich]

My bet is that there is no overflow drain in the pool. Once upon a time, it was common in some areas to add the semi-safety "vent" tube to the main drain to lessen the chance of drain entrapment, and lots of folks cut it and use it as an overflow/leveler to help control pool volume since some parts of FL get a LOT of rain on a regular basis. Depending upon the local codes, it may not be kosher (my city wants pool water discharged into a drain). I'll bet that it was cut at some point in time since (generally) the tube has a couple of elbows in it so the opening faces down rather than up.

 

[Philn77]

As some others have mentioned, the overflow drain height determines the pool water level.

To change the pool water level that the overflow allows, either shorten or add to the PVC outside drain outlet.

Adding more height to the drain will increase the pool water level. As water is added to the pool, you will see the water level rise in the pipe.

In my case, I cut off the perforated drain cap that was glued on and replaced it with a PVC union with about 4” of PVC inserted into it. There is no need to glue the pvc, a friction fit is adequate to have a leak free fitting.

I then filled the pool to the level I want to be the max, cut the pvc where the water came up to and put on another cap.