Skimmer cup plumbed direct to household drain?

tonyespinoza

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Curious if anyone tried plumbing their skimmer cup directly to the household drain so they can flush it out with fresh water (or tank water) on a regular basis (while in place).

If I did it, I was thinking I would connect it to my sink drain pipe before my P trap.

I wonder if anyone has an advice for me on this approach. Also curious if bacteria could travel up from the drain into the system somehow...
 
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tonyespinoza

tonyespinoza

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My first worry is if something happens with your skimmer (like chemistry changing, etc) and starts over skimming, the skimmer pump could drain your tank?

not thinking automated -- totally manual process with a ball valve.

something that i (or anyone) could do quickly to clean the skimmer cup without removing it or shutting down the skimmer.
 

JaykS

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I think the ball valve would be a great idea. I would have an air gap somewhere if possible so if the drain backs up or overflows is can't get into your skimmer or tank.
If you're plumbing into your house drain, there will be a vent already installed in the drain system so you wouldn't have to worry about an air gap. The big downside would be that drains do clog and backup. If your sewage backs up into your skimmer there could be some major problems. I also like the ball valve idea, I would be most worried about drain backups, however. If that problem can be solved before it happens, I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Edit: I remembered, you can get a backwater valve installed in the drain system which would significantly reduce the chance of a backup but probably like a check valve, it isn't always 100% guarantee. Plus your insurance company would love to hear you have a backwater valve.
 
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DaneGer21

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This is how I’ve ran a skimmer for YEARS. My drain goes to the same drain I use for my water changes. But, as stated above I still use a manual valve, then drain when necessary.
 

footgal

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I think this could work with bigger skimmers. My large eshopps skimmer has a small white plug that can be removed to make the cup dump its contents. If you were to remove this plug, attach airline tubing, and figure out a way to make draining manual I totally think this will work. Obviously, you will still need to give that skimmer a good scrub at least every 6 months or so to keep it in good condition
 

newfly

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I am thinking doing the same. How and how often you have to clean the skimmer drain tube? do they clog often?
If it’s once every few months, I’m fine replacing the tube versus cleaning.
 

Biff0rz

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I did this but you need an intermediate step, a skimmate locker. Why? So you can control overflow occurrences.

Skimmer cup drains to locker.
Locker has a high float that triggers a pump in the locker which sends it to the drain.
I use an apex to trigger and monitor it all. I have protective programming to limit how frequently it can drain (aka recurrent overflows) thus needing attention. Let me know if you want all the details, costs, and pics.
 

Biff0rz

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Ah, just saw you want to do it manually. This is easier imo. I tapped the cap to my main house drain and placed a 5/8" tube through it. You'll want to pump the stuff out tho, it can be chunky. Just add an inline check valve to the tube (so back flow) and a ball valve to open it when needed.
 

newfly

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I did this but you need an intermediate step, a skimmate locker. Why? So you can control overflow occurrences.

Skimmer cup drains to locker.
Locker has a high float that triggers a pump in the locker which sends it to the drain.
I use an apex to trigger and monitor it all. I have protective programming to limit how frequently it can drain (aka recurrent overflows) thus needing attention. Let me know if you want all the details, costs, and pics.
Thanks. I prefer the simple option discussed in this thread using a manual ball valve to avoid overflow. If the drain tube requires a lot of maintenance then it defeat the purpose.
 

Biff0rz

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Thanks. I prefer the simple option discussed in this thread using a manual ball valve to avoid overflow. If the drain tube requires a lot of maintenance then it defeat the purpose.
All skimmers overflow. One overflow won't hurt params. The tank has been up for 6mo and I haven't emptied a skimmer cup once. Just food for thought ;)
 

newfly

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All skimmers overflow. One overflow won't hurt params. The tank has been up for 6mo and I haven't emptied a skimmer cup once. Just food for thought ;)
Yes I understand perfectly. I meant overflow outside the tank . Overflowing in the sump is fine. Come to think about it, adding a drain tube with a ball valve will not cause overflow outside the tank.
Didn’t think this through. Got it now.

my questions remains, how often do you need to service the drain tube to prevent clogging?
 

stefdvm

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I did this but you need an intermediate step, a skimmate locker. Why? So you can control overflow occurrences.

Skimmer cup drains to locker.
Locker has a high float that triggers a pump in the locker which sends it to the drain.
I use an apex to trigger and monitor it all. I have protective programming to limit how frequently it can drain (aka recurrent overflows) thus needing attention. Let me know if you want all the details, costs, and pics.
I would love more detailed information on how you did this. I'm having a water supply and drain installed on the wall behind the new tank; I'd love to run the skimmate through a locker and directly into the drain...
 

((FORDTECH))

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This would not work for me because of one reason. Once a week I need to drain my cup and at that time I also need to completely wash cup in laundry sink cause inside where bubbles come up is 1/8 inch thick sludge. I wanna get all that stuff out weekly. Also my skimmer is tuned the way I want it to work on a clean cup not a sludge cup so more efficient clean IMO
 

trithumb

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I did this but you need an intermediate step, a skimmate locker. Why? So you can control overflow occurrences.

Skimmer cup drains to locker.
Locker has a high float that triggers a pump in the locker which sends it to the drain.
I use an apex to trigger and monitor it all. I have protective programming to limit how frequently it can drain (aka recurrent overflows) thus needing attention. Let me know if you want all the details, costs, and pics.
This is what I was thinking of doing to the t. What pump you running in the locker? Diy locker or purchased? What's your apex coding look like? Thanks
 

Biff0rz

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This is what I was thinking of doing to the t. What pump you running in the locker? Diy locker or purchased? What's your apex coding look like? Thanks

pump:
I am using an apex pmup v2 - they fail about once a year (cheap crap) so be ready to budget that cost yearly. I use this because I can connect it directly to my apex and they aren't too expensive.

Half DIY locker, I supplied the bucket ;) -

apex - I got this code from someone on this forum, but its the same as his. I have descriptions of what each does but it might be slightly off, but the code works:
the superlocker plugs into the apex and gives me a digital switch - I have an avast breakout box too, I named it:
SKMT-H
(skimmate high)

the pmup also plugs in to the apex and I gave it the name
SKMT-EMPTY
Code:
Set OFF
If SKMT-H OPEN Then ON
Min Time 007:30 Then ON
Min Time 480:00 Then OFF
this code has the pump run for 7m30s then prevents it from running again for 480 minutes (8 hours)

I created a virtual output, (i think)this code alarms if the locker is not draining, I named it
SKMT-H-DELAY
Code:
Set OFF
If SKMT-H OPEN Then ON
Defer 000:15 Then ON

I created another virtual output, this code alerts me when the SKMY-H switch goes off, I named it
Alert-SKMT-H
Code:
Set OFF
If SKMT-H OPEN Then ON
 

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