So, backing up a little bit. Overall, I like having a pool. My family had an above-ground one growing up (my parents still have one) and I'm kind of used to maintaining one and even like messing with the plumbing a little (flimsy plastic vent valves aside). My house came with an in-ground pool, which I likely wouldn't have had installed had it not come with one, but which I'm glad I have nonetheless for when we get our heat waves.
Another thing that kind of annoys me about it, though, is the inlet plumbing. It's common for in-ground pools to have a main drain aka floor suction port, and in this case it's plumbed up through the skimmer. There's a plastic fitting that covers the two holes, and has a hole on its own top, so you can adjust how much flow comes in through the skimmer verses the drain. These skimmers are set up so you have the option of plumbing it this way, just using one of the holes, or to use the second hole to go to another inlet just below the water line to still allow water to flow in if the level is just below the skimmer line.
Typically, you'd run another suction line back from the drain to a valve at the pump. I would sort of prefer this, as 1) I could just adjust it from the garage, and 2) as it is there's a single pipe going to the skimmer, with the drain in series, and a parallel connection should allow for more flow.
Of course, this also brings up the issue of suction entrapment, which is kind of scary - I'll throw in another CW here and warn you that if you look this up, it can be gruesome if precautions aren't made. In newer pools, you usually have two drains some distance apart, connected by a T. So if one gets covered, in theory it doesn't build up enough pressure to hold someone there. There's also a vacuum break you can get, which opens when there's enough of a pressure differential (if something blocks the drain while the pump is on) and lets air in. I think you can also install an air vent which is basically just another T in the suction line, underground at the level of the drain, and the the pressure of the pool water keeps the whole thing flooded unless something blocks it.
In my case, I'm not sure how much of a solution that plastic fitting that goes in the skimmer is to the entrapment thing. I tend to set it up so that it doesn't restrict the flow much to the skimmer or drain, on the idea that the drain shouldn't build too much pressure that way. I guess I could just remove it, leaving the two openings unrestricted (there's a basket that goes over them), but the fitting does force a bit of flow from the drain which is helpful, as long as it's not dangerous.
#pool #drain #suction
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