I was already was having some problems with air getting through the suction side somewheres. My pump basket appears a few years old and when I take it off the original falls right off. Is this normal? Also, the lid only turns about halfway and then tightens up instead of turning all the way and locking in. Could this be the problem? My pump basket is only catching about a half prime now all of a sudden, but it did have some air bubbles in the top before this, but was catching pretty much a full prime. I was going to check and clean out impeller, maybe that's the issues. Only other thing I did different since, was I added some Biogard Backup to kill the water bugs. How many days can you go without running pool pump? Is one day OK? It's Mother's Day and I don't want to take time away from the wife and kids for this. Will one day not running it mess up the chemistries or allow the pool to dirty up? Thanks!
Pump basket not catching full prime?
- Thread starter CajunGuy
- Start date
No I sure haven't...only thing I've tried was pressing down on the top if the lid and holding it down for a little while to see if that would help and it didn't.
- - - Updated - - -
You think it could be that the impeller is clogged? We have a lot of landscaping and debris falling in the pool early this spring.
The Oring should stick in the pump strainer lid with pool lube. If it's falling out, it's too dry. It also runs the risk of getting dirt and grit stuck to what lube is left, which messes with the seal. The rubber also gets hard and stiff and doesn't compress and seal well. Buy a new one and a tube of pool lube this week and be done with it. Also give the pump drain plugs a twist to ensure they're still tight.
Hey thanks man! I'll get a new lid and Oring setup tomorrow. Where exactly are the drain plugs on the pump? It's a Pantair Whisper Flo pump. Is it OK if I don't run the pump today? Don't want to mess anything up?
- - - Updated - - -
Wait should I buy a whole new lid setup since it isn't locking in all the way when I turn it? Or only a new oring and some pool lube?
The drain plug is down low. Part 24
And if the pool is otherwise clean and balanced, a day without filtering is hardly going to be noticed. Just like a healthy person can fast for a day without much problem but a sick person might get worse without eating.
I'm thinking the air getting into the system must have something to do with my main pump, bc my spa pump basket primes up perfectly when I had them both on last night. My main pump basket was only priming about halfway. Hopefully it's something simple like a clogged impeller or the main bump basket lid/oring. How hard is it to clean impeller using the coat hanger method? Is there a better way to clean or clear an impeller?
Update:
I noticed today that when I turned the suction valve to skimmer turned off (only suctioning from main drains) the pump caught a full prime immediately! When I switched it back and tuned the main drains off (only suctioning from skimmer) the pump basket immediately lost almost the entire prime and barely any water was coming into the pump basket. Does this mean there is most likely an issue with the skimmer?
I noticed today that when I turned the suction valve to skimmer turned off (only suctioning from main drains) the pump caught a full prime immediately! When I switched it back and tuned the main drains off (only suctioning from skimmer) the pump basket immediately lost almost the entire prime and barely any water was coming into the pump basket. Does this mean there is most likely an issue with the skimmer?
Yes. Check for a stuck weir or low water level first. Then worry about leaks. Pool School - Suction Side Air Leaks
I don't have a weir door. Was in the process of getting one once I realized it SHOULD have a door. Water level is about an 1.5-2" from bottom of skimmer. I have a few pictures I'm going to attach.
A very small one at best when I have it suctioning from skimmer, but I'm assuming that's bc the pump is only priming a fraction of what it should be.
Water level looks a little low, it should be about halfway up the waterline tile/skimmer opening.
I did waste a good bit of water last week (pulling only from the main drain) in anticipation of a HUGE downpour that we had for several days. Just a thought/theory but could a large amount of air gotten in the suction skimmer pipe and now is kinda just stuck in there and not enough water flow to blow it through? Maybe I should try adding some water and open up the skimmer suction? Not sure what else to do now? Pump kept a strong prime and ran good all day today suctioning only from main drains. I even tried it in "spa mode" suctioning only from spa and returning back only to spa and it kept a great prime without any problems. So it's making me believe that it's something strictly with the skimmer/skimmer suction line.
Ok so my water level was a bit lower than I thought. It still was about an inch above the bottom of the skimmer, I just figured as long as the water level was above the bottom of the skimmer it would work as it should, could it be pulling air through even if the water level is over the skimmer bottom only by about an inch? I've raised it to midline of skimmer yesterday evening, but it was too dark out to test the flow.
Similar threads
