Anyone know about pressure/suction for a Kreepy Krauly?

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Anyone know about pressure/suction for a Kreepy Krauly?

Postby Guest » Fri 08 Apr, 2005 14:01

Hi all,

I see this forum is relatively new so there's not much on which to search so I'll be the first to post this set of questions.

I have a pool that's from 1968 with small diameter piping in the pool (1.5-2") and larger diameter piping at the pump/filter/heater (greater than 2"). The skimmer does NOT have a regulator to switch suction between the skimmer and the drain. Both skimmer and drain are thus always on. My pump is a 3/4HP, the DE filter is 60 sq. ft. and the pool is approximately 22-25,000 gallons. The water is in range.

When I plug my Kreepy Krauly into the skimmer, the spring loaded valve supplied with the KK never opens up so there is only water circulating through the drain and the KK. The skimmer is thus ineffective with the KK running and the KK really isn't as "fast" as it should be. It does not move the recommended distance over the recommended amount of time. I believe that my system is not producing an adequate amount of suction for it to work as efficiently as it should. The filter guage reads about 11psi when clean and freshly loaded and it usually goes up to 22psi when reado for a cleaning. The suction and effectiveness of the KK goes down over this time.

The questions are - is the difference in piping causing a significant pressure drop in the system? Do I have too many corners in my external piping that causes this drop? Is my pump underpowered? If I install a more powerful pump, will this destroy the pipes that are embedded in the pool/cement? Will it rupture the filter? The lack of a regulator valve (to select skimmer or drain) is obviously a problem since I can't turn off the drain completely so how do I accomplish this? Do I need to install a new skimmer?

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Bob


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Larry
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Pump pressure problem

Postby Larry » Sun 10 Apr, 2005 17:00

I think the problem may be that when you plug in the Kreepy, the pump is pulling more water through the drain where there is less back-pressure.

On most plumbing systems, the drain line and skimmer line join up near the pump. If this is the case, you could cut into the drain line and install a valve that will enable you to close (or partially close) the line from the drain to increase pressure to the weir line.

I wouldn't advise replacing the pump just yet as it hasn't resulted in any problems to date. A 3/4 Hp pump is adequate for a 25k gallon pool.
jroth

skimmer suctionHere's my question.

Postby jroth » Sat 21 Jan, 2006 13:05

Here's my question....I'm not getting any suction in my skimmer. I cleaned the cartridge filter and emptied the debris glass catcher. Both the skimmer (3/4) and main drain (1/4) are open. The pump is self-priming. Thanks for anyone's help.
Pool Helper

Pool skimmer problem

Postby Pool Helper » Sun 22 Jan, 2006 06:57

What happens when you close the main drain nad open the skimmer valve completely?
If the suction increases without putting a strain on the pump then you should run the pool like this. It may mean the pump does not have the power to pull the water through both suction intakes.

Was the pool always like this or is it a new problem?

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