My IG Swimming pool has low pressure return into pool?

Question

I have a 2 yr old IG pool. It has always had great pressure and circulation and I have never had to skim it. Since I opened it, the pressure is extremely low. I have really noticed it because I now skim several times daily and the center of the pool seems stagnant no matter how I direct the flows. The DE filter reads 10psi which is normal. I have taken apart the filter and cleaned it twice and had the pool company come to look at it. They claim that it is running at normal pressure but it is definately only about 1/3 of what it was previous years. The suction going into the 2 skimmer baskets seems to be strong, its just the return that seems to be the problem. Could it be that something happened to the motor and it is not pushing the water out as fast as it previously was? Or something else? The pool is definately not losing water so I have ruled out leaks in the return lines.

Answer 1

The only thing that pressures in a pool will tell you is when it's time to backwash the filter. Unfortunately people get too caught up in what the pressures actually mean and fail to realize they really mean nothing.

If you have good flow on the return then the pressure doesn't matter. You can increase the pressure by restricting the size of the return line or decrease pressure by increasing the size of the return line, but neither will change the rate of flow which is determined by the GPM (gallons per minute) of the pump itself.

Pressure can change in a pool from year to year, sometimes day to day even. Many factors can contribute to this, from small organic obstructions in the lines to frost heave.

If you are really concerned about how much water you have returning to the pool then you might want to consider installing two flow meters. These are simple solutions and are extremely easy to install yourself with nothing more than a drill and a screw driver. Install one between the filter and the pump and another on the return line between the pool and the filter. This will show you the flow of water through the filter itself and is a much better determination of when to clean your filter. All filters work more effectively as they get dirty and many are backwashed too soon to filter out the really small particles. You have a DE filter so this isn't really an issue but if you backwash after you lose 20% of the flow from the filter then you will have less recharging to do on your filter medium. It will also tell you if there's a problem with your pump as the flow meters should always be within 75% of the rated pump GPM.

Answer 2

While it was Rob and Liz responder who is a Pool Technician like myself, everything he said is absolutely correct, there are also some other factors.

You claim that you have to skim the pool and you never had to do this before. It could be as simple as your Return line jets or "eyeballs" are not positioned correctly. Remember that even if you are trying to adjust these to get them to work properly, it is a time basis thing. You cant just put the eyeballs in a position you think works without giving the Water enough time to get into the flow for that setting. In other words... you have 30000 gallons and the change in water flow will take more than just 5 minutes to occur, But more likely you need to give it 3-4 hours to completely give it time to "rearrange" its flow inside the pool. Not only direction left and Right, but also up and down, which leads me to your skimming problem. IT could be that your eyeballs are positioned down or in a downward angle and not towards the surface as in years past. You dont want the water to jump out of the water, as too much ripple or surface action will cause leaves and other small debris items to fall to the bottom rather than move them along the surface. You want the eyeballs to move the water about 2 feet from the edge of the pool at an angle to work with the other returns jets to create a circular action. Also. Check your skimmer. You should have what is called a WEIR Gate The Wear gate has a piece of foam in it that makes it float on the surface and keep any floating debris in your skimmer, but when the pool filter is running, with this floating action by the weir gate, it also causes a much greater pull of the surface water to your skimmer. This could also be a leading reason why your pool is not skimming itself.

If the original weir gate was one that snapped into place in the skimmer, and has broken or is not there, you can purchase a replacement at just about any pool store, and they make ones that are spring loaded and just get put into place in the bottom of the skimmer. Ask the pool store clerk how it gets installed. To have a visualization with the item in hand will probably serve you better on how to install this. Also, just remember that weir gates come in 2 sizes, 6 inches and 8 inches. Measure your skimmer opening. Easiest way would be to measure from inside the pool. Look in your skimmer, and measure the length across the skimmer , but not at the edge of the pool, but from where the plastic skimmer starts.

This should help, especially if your missing a weir gate. Its a simple piece of equipment that most people leave out because they dont see a need for its use, but it is singlehandedly the most effective piece of your skimmer as it makes the skimmer more effiecient.

By the Way.. the pressure guage on your filter means absolutely NOTHING. one year it may start at 12 pounds of pressure, the next year 18, and the year after that 14. All that matters is you know what the pressure is when the filter is completely clean, and remember that at 10 pounds of pressure above the starting point is when you want to backwash. Of course, if you get 12 pounds of pressure, and then after or while vaccuuming the pool, the pressure guage reads ZERO, check your pump basket as it might be packed.

Hope that helps you.

Answer 3

Pool Return

Answer 4

Check the suction line is not leaking and check there is not a partial blockage in the lines both in and out .An Electric motor does not go slow and last very long so I dont think that is the problem. ~~

Answer 5

Ive Been Swimming With Shoes And Socks [=

Answer 6

CONTACT THE INSTALLER AND GET A 2ND OPINION

Answer 7

if you have kids, it may be their fault for getting their jollies from it...