underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

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Drain King Worked Perfectly

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby Drain King Worked Perfectly » Tue 13 Jul, 2010 20:48

Went to local hardware store and bought the 1 o 2 inch drain King. I stuck it in the piping to the pool inside my pump basket area and turned it on. In about 10 minutes it knocked out all sorts of debris back to the skimmer pool-side including some dirt and pine cone. Scooped up the debris and then shut it down.

Primmed everything up and turned on full power suck on the pump and the skimmer was sucking at 100 percent. Vacuumed the pool and now have clean pool. Brilliant!

Thanks everyone for your posts.

HoosierDaddy


saeura

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby saeura » Fri 23 Jul, 2010 15:19

I've read through the majority of this thread. I have a lot of the same problems as most of you except I know exactly what is stuck in my skimmer line. It is the round cap that goes on top of the HTH pool temp thermometer. It got sucked in about three years ago, and I pulled the thermometer out and the cap stayed lodged in (along with some of the string). I've tried all of the following with NO luck:
1) Drain King
2) plunger
3) air compressor
4) shop vac
5)Plumber's snake

I am running out of options. I have barely any suction anymore from the skimmer line and cannot vacuum my pool at all. I do it all by the pool net and brush to the main drain. I still have good suction from the main drain. I do not want to break concrete and I need to vacuum!!! Does anybody have any other options to try that I haven't been listed above? Thank you!
eric2288
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Joined: Mon 20 Sep, 2010 16:29

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby eric2288 » Mon 20 Sep, 2010 16:38

Drain King Worked Perfectly wrote:Went to local hardware store and bought the 1 o 2 inch drain King. I stuck it in the piping to the pool inside my pump basket area and turned it on. In about 10 minutes it knocked out all sorts of debris back to the skimmer pool-side including some dirt and pine cone. Scooped up the debris and then shut it down.

Primmed everything up and turned on full power suck on the pump and the skimmer was sucking at 100 percent. Vacuumed the pool and now have clean pool. Brilliant!

Thanks everyone for your posts.

HoosierDaddy


I also have a slow vaccum line. I have a Jandy 3-way valve (one side is main, the other side is skimmer). Can you describe how you used the Drain King "stucked" it inside the pump basket area and turned it on? I am wondering if I need to take the Jandy 3-way valve cap off in order to use the Drain King. Thanks.
Guest

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby Guest » Sun 26 Sep, 2010 22:34

Reverse flushing, pumping the return water back from the pump to skimmer, is the only thing that has ever worked for me. It is unlikely that you can get enough push from a garden hose, you need the power of the pool pump. Mine reverse pushed for an hour or so before the blockage came up through the skimmer.
kelwil
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Posts: 2
Joined: Wed 27 Oct, 2010 20:15
My Pool: fibre glass kidney shapd in ground pool 9m * 3.5M
concrete around the pool,zodiac LM3-20 self cleaning salt chlorinator,Hurlcon Eseries sand filter,Hurlcon CX series pump,barracuda pacer automatic pool cleaner
Location: byron bay

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby kelwil » Wed 27 Oct, 2010 20:36

I was told I had a blocked pipe.So we fixed that and the same thing.Then I had leak detectors come and they said it still blocked but definately not leaking.
So we got the plumbers back dug up the pipe near the skimmer box and had it replaced as it was leaking
Then we turned it all on,and the same problem was there.
So we were advised to replace all the pipes,which we have.Except the 20cm from the skimmer box to joining of the new pipes.In doing this we had to dig up the concrete around the pool.
We hooked it all up and the same problem.
I have had the swimming pool specialists here 4times,a plumber a concreter and the so called leak detection
people here.
And know one has fixed the problem.
Please can anyone help?
Give Ideas? that don't cost much as we have spent way to much for nothing
catzz4dogs

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby catzz4dogs » Mon 28 Feb, 2011 13:11

I have a skimmer line blocked. No suction from the skimmer at all. I have tried all of the mentioned suggestions. Drain King thingy, hose with city water pressure, the big Sears shop vac, Toro Leaf blower set on high and seal all lines except the drain outlet to the filter. I did get water flowing through the bad line also air moved through it as well. BUT still not enough to help. The pool Creepy Crawler works, maybe moves about 1 inch per hour. I have had to very reliable pool service repair contractors look at my problem. They both recommended I call Roto Rooter as they have the proper equipment to do the job. The pros know their stuff so to speak and I did everything that could be done via their suggestions. None worked. Both service techs said Roto Rooter is the only way to go for their type of problem. I will soon find out and let everyone know the outcome.
OVO

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby OVO » Tue 15 Mar, 2011 18:12

Hi there,
We have a 42 foot pool, kidney shaped with Spa. The Spa is above the pool by 2.5 feet. We live on a hillside and the pool equipment is about 6 feet below grade level of the pool. There are many trees around the pool which dump copious amounts of leaves into the pool over the winter time frame. DRAIN KING SAVED THE DAY! A younger member was given the task to clean the pool. Instead of using the leaf bag, the vacuum was used. You guessed it. The pool skimmer plumbing became plugged. We tried several techniques to remove the leaves from the pool-skimmer but nothing worked. The only thing to do is plug in your HANDY DANDY DRAIN KING at the pump and reverse flush the plumbing. a $17 DRAIN KING saved a huge expensive plumbing bill! Thank you Drain King!!
greeny

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby greeny » Fri 08 Apr, 2011 14:51

I have an object stuck between the skimmer and the pump. I am almost certain it is an old skimmer plug that lost it's outer rubber ring seal and got sucked down the skimmer line one day. When trying to flush the skimmer line both ways, it will sometimes open for a few minutes while vacuuming only to get stopped up again. My guess is it is either moving and or turning at some point to create the clog. Is there any solution besides a roto-rooter?
Nanday

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby Nanday » Sat 16 Apr, 2011 21:39

Just wanted to add to check everything twice and make sure it's not something more simple. Last week my pressure dropped off. The last time that happened I did have a blockage (subsequent to a cracked pipe that had allowed debris to get in). I had to hire leak detector guys to come and clear it and it was expensive. Anyway, I thought the worst, but worked though to eliminate all possibilities. Found the culprit today - one medium size palm seed got caught in the skimmer basket plate which has a screw-pressure controlled handle to allow alternating between the pool cleaner device and the skimmer plate. It had lodged and pried the plate open so the pressure to the bottom cleaner had dropped off, but I couldn't see it until I took it all apart. Works great now.

I did work out a good test to see if it's a blockage. I cleaned the skimmer basket at the pump end, reassembled and removed the skimmer basket at the pool end, then put a couple of medium sized leaves through to see if they came out quickly at the other end. They did so I knew there was nothing blocking the pipe.
Warren3148

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby Warren3148 » Sun 24 Apr, 2011 19:07

I had a small toy in my line.There is about 14 feet of underground PVC between the skimmer and the filter basket. I opened the filter basket and simply pushed a garden hose back through the PVC pipe. I encountered some pressure but the hose held up and pushed the toy back into the pool skimmer so I could retrieve it. Until I got it out, I could not prime the pool or get the heater to turn on due to lack of water flow.
Josh

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby Josh » Tue 17 May, 2011 19:32

Hello everyone. I am a first time pool owner. I have a gunite pool with a built in spa. Recently, I had the rotary valve and pool return valve both "go bad" within a couple of days of each other. The rotary valve would not flow into the filter, and was blowing through the backwash pipe. When I tried to shut the water valves off from the pool, I noticed that the spa valve would not close. I am 100% sure it closed the day before. I had my "pool guy" come out right away and he told me that all my valves and rotary valve had to be replaced - fair enough.

After he left, I noticed that there was a pool thermometer and two of those kids diving torpedos on the side of the house with the broken stuff he left. The plastic thermometer was cut in half. He did not leave the "broken" valves. When I slid the thermometer into the pipe he left, the cut grooves were identical - meaning that the reason the valve was broken was because of the thermometer.

There is no way that these items could have gotten through the bottom return in the spa, meaning someone would have had to lift it out and drop them through the return pipes. Has anyone ever heard of a pool person doing something like this? It all seems overly coincidental.

Id really appreciate it if anyone could give me their thoughts or experience on this.
Thanks!
feelingstupid

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby feelingstupid » Sat 28 May, 2011 06:34

Help...When I installed freeze plugs at end of season, I must have used one that was too small, as it went down into line under concrete deck. I then installed a correct one and decided I'd worry about it come summer. Well, summer is here and I'm screwed, as there is no pressure/water coming out of jets on that side of the pool. My only thought is a plumber's snake? Will that work?
babs

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby babs » Sat 18 Jun, 2011 12:34

My pool chemical supplier gave me Chlor-Sta to try to get my pool to hold chlorine. Its now June 15th and I've been battleing with it since April. I poured it slowly down the skimmer as suggested, but it still blocked up my skimmer pipes. How do I get this mess out? HELP, please. We want to have a 4th of July party by the pool before my son goes off to Afganistan.
Thanks :crazy:
taverasyg

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby taverasyg » Sun 03 Jul, 2011 08:03

Pool suction grows very weak after a couple of minutes and it won't suction when vaccuum is attached, I put my fingers in the skimmer and the suction does not hurt me at all I think there maybe a clog somewhere but don't know how to clear it. Help thanks
Marcus

underground pool-skimmer pipe is blocked-how to unblock it?

Postby Marcus » Wed 13 Jul, 2011 13:33

Hi there,
I think when he refers to blow-out bag, he means the plumbers test plug. I believe there are 2 kinds of test plugs: one that connects to a garden hose and just inflates and blocks the pipe, and one that inflates to block the pipe while spraying a blast of water into the pipe on the other side of the plug. Hopefully you have the second type. It may have a steel ring on a lanyard... if so, connect twine or fishing line. Something strong but not large diameter. This will help you pull the thing out with something stronger than your hose.

Follow the pipe from your skimmer to the pump. You may have a valve in front of the pump. If not, you'll have to insert the hose into the pipe via the pump basket cover. Either way, unscrew the big plastic cover on the pump or remove the 6 or so screws from the valve cover. Stick in the plumber test plug/blow-out bag (attached to the garden hose) as far as it will go. Turn on the hose valve and try to blow the blockage back out the skimmer.

If nothing happens, turn off the hose valve, and jam the hose in a bit further. Repeat turning on the hose valve to try to blow out the blockage. Hopefully your pool contractor used 2 inch pipe instead of 1.5 inch and 45 degree fittings instead of 90 degree elbows. This makes servicing easier and you can really get the hose in there deep. Even so, there will be a limit to how far you can go.
Good luck.

By the way, this process should work to unblock pool jets that don't have as much flow as they used to, although you might not get the test plug in very far because of threads or the fittings.

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