vacuuming

[rockies]

I am attempting to open our pool this season. I am trying to vacuum the algae/debree from the floor of our 4 ft deep above ground pool. The suction/skim starts working fine, then clogs up and we lose pressure. I removed the filter basket which sits ahead of the pump. That seemed to initially help. I keep the skimmer filter clean. The pump works fine while filtering the pool via the drain and skimmer in normal mode. The vacuuming is not working. There is alot of sand in the bottom of the pool, due to a warped piece inside of our sand filter. This piece has now been replaced. Any tips?

[Guest]

Is it really clogged with something ?

It sound more like you have some kind of leak - suspects would be the ends of the vaccum hoses or the mechanism that is put into the skimmer to attach the hose to the skimmer. The Hose itself could have a leak.

If you watch the strainer basket - if air is getting in then suspect something near the skimmer attachment. You can buy replacement couplings for the vaccum hose.

I sure you are priming the hose -

[Guest]

On second thought - how much sand are you talking about ?

The first thing I would do is see how long you can maintain suction by suspending the vaccum head at a depth of 2 feet - so you are not really vaccuming any debris. That will tell you if you have a leak, or are trying to vaccum more the the system is capable of.

I'd be reluctant to remove the basket - you're asking for a broken impeller.