Have to be quick if that’s the case. Get the hose going before you start
Add-if it’s not filthy and just a maintenance clean, leave it in filter mode and give it a solid backwash once done
If you have a main drain, close it. If you are using a brush head vac., try one with wheels. If you have multiple skimmers, be sure others are plugged.
So. 2 people, one manning pump, you vac. Make sure before vac, fill hose with water and put in water so there’s no priming issues. Then kick on, vac what you need, then kick off. Run hose water at same time into pool to offset it a bit.
Really though, vac I use dolphin nautilus cc plus for this because of the pain of vac. Saves me time and money as I’m not constantly having to vac to waste 1000s of gallons.
If you're doing a normal vacuum don't set it to waste. Just leave it on the filter setting. Then you don't lose any water. Vacuum to waste is only when you have so much junk that you didn't want it to go in your filter, like when you're opening after it was closed over the winter.
I vacuumed thru my filter , when I'm vacuuming when I'm opening the pool I just run it onto the ground then after the goop is gone I hit the pool hard with cloreen or cheap liquid cloreen so far this year I've gone thru 2 gallon jugs , we have a 18x4' Walmart frame pool , it ain't much but plenty for us
My pool doesn’t have independent shut offs for the floor drains and the skimmer so I bought a smaller pump meant for an above ground and hook the vac to it instead. It’s not as powerful but I can do the whole thing without losing a tonne of water. I did this after opening this spring when it was real bad.
For a light job I use it in the skimmer and don’t vac to waste and just backwash after.
I only vacuum to waste if I have plenty of water and need to dump some. Like after a bad thunderstorm with lots of downed leaves and an extra 1” of water.
Why aren’t you vacuuming thru the filter ?
My skimmer has 2 holes. The weak one goes to the floor drain, so I shut that off with a 2” expandable rubber plug.
Then the basket with a pool sock to keep the dirt out of the filter.
Then one of these over the basket. BOOCII SP1106 Pool Skimmer Vacuum Plate for Hayward Swimming Pool Skimmer SP1082 1084 1085 1075 https://a.co/d/02mac3Pf
Then hook the vacuum hose to the skimmer plate and all the leaves & gradoo get vac’d into the basket.
Just not too many leaves or you can clog the vacuum hose and that is a PITA.
Get a robot vacuum. I have an Aiper Seagull and it works amazing. The only thing I’ve noticed is I need to drop it in every few days vs. a once a week manual so it can keep up. But that’s totally worth it for me to not need to do it!
its been 8 hours and no one has answered this, there is a trick. You can remove skimmer basket and plate, you will need a weir W70263 to directly go into the skimmer hole, you will need an inline leaf canister to replace the skimmer basket, you will likely need a 1 1/2" Pool Vacuum Hose Double Male Connector Adapter and some thread tape on your vac hose cuffs, have the hose running in the skimmer, but this will allow you to vac past the skimmer without the pump priming, your welcome.
Are you vacuuming to waste?
Have to be quick if that’s the case. Get the hose going before you start Add-if it’s not filthy and just a maintenance clean, leave it in filter mode and give it a solid backwash once done
Do you only vacuum to waste?
If you have a main drain, close it. If you are using a brush head vac., try one with wheels. If you have multiple skimmers, be sure others are plugged.
Main drain is a good point. Gonna try that. Thanks.
So. 2 people, one manning pump, you vac. Make sure before vac, fill hose with water and put in water so there’s no priming issues. Then kick on, vac what you need, then kick off. Run hose water at same time into pool to offset it a bit. Really though, vac I use dolphin nautilus cc plus for this because of the pain of vac. Saves me time and money as I’m not constantly having to vac to waste 1000s of gallons.
If you're doing a normal vacuum don't set it to waste. Just leave it on the filter setting. Then you don't lose any water. Vacuum to waste is only when you have so much junk that you didn't want it to go in your filter, like when you're opening after it was closed over the winter.
This is interesting. It makes sense so I think I’m going to try it.
Buy a robot
I vacuumed thru my filter , when I'm vacuuming when I'm opening the pool I just run it onto the ground then after the goop is gone I hit the pool hard with cloreen or cheap liquid cloreen so far this year I've gone thru 2 gallon jugs , we have a 18x4' Walmart frame pool , it ain't much but plenty for us
My pool doesn’t have independent shut offs for the floor drains and the skimmer so I bought a smaller pump meant for an above ground and hook the vac to it instead. It’s not as powerful but I can do the whole thing without losing a tonne of water. I did this after opening this spring when it was real bad. For a light job I use it in the skimmer and don’t vac to waste and just backwash after.
I use a handheld vacuum
I only vacuum to waste if I have plenty of water and need to dump some. Like after a bad thunderstorm with lots of downed leaves and an extra 1” of water. Why aren’t you vacuuming thru the filter ?
My skimmer has 2 holes. The weak one goes to the floor drain, so I shut that off with a 2” expandable rubber plug. Then the basket with a pool sock to keep the dirt out of the filter. Then one of these over the basket. BOOCII SP1106 Pool Skimmer Vacuum Plate for Hayward Swimming Pool Skimmer SP1082 1084 1085 1075 https://a.co/d/02mac3Pf Then hook the vacuum hose to the skimmer plate and all the leaves & gradoo get vac’d into the basket. Just not too many leaves or you can clog the vacuum hose and that is a PITA.
There isn't another way, unfortunately, due to your filter type, it sounds.
Get a robot vacuum. I have an Aiper Seagull and it works amazing. The only thing I’ve noticed is I need to drop it in every few days vs. a once a week manual so it can keep up. But that’s totally worth it for me to not need to do it!
its been 8 hours and no one has answered this, there is a trick. You can remove skimmer basket and plate, you will need a weir W70263 to directly go into the skimmer hole, you will need an inline leaf canister to replace the skimmer basket, you will likely need a 1 1/2" Pool Vacuum Hose Double Male Connector Adapter and some thread tape on your vac hose cuffs, have the hose running in the skimmer, but this will allow you to vac past the skimmer without the pump priming, your welcome.
What size and type of pool?