air bubbles under clear pump lid

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shiyang100

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Jun 11, 2016
153
Boston, MA
Recently the PB came to do the follow up cleaning after opening. There were lots of dirts, pine needles, leaves on the bottom of pool. Now I can see air bubbles under pump lid. It is like a stream of tiny air bubbles circulating in the basket. Pump is priming fine. I can also see bubbles coming out from the return jet, but they are mostly individuals instead of a stream of lots of bubbles. I checked the lid seal, drain valve. All look good. The pump is 5 years old. Not new, but not very old either. I suspect the bubbles might be related with the cleaning work PB did last week since I didn't see the bubbles in the basket 2 weeks ago When pool was opened. But don't know the next step :(

Any suggestion where to start now? Thanks.
 
That is odd. Generally whenever we experience a change in something after maintenance, it's best to go right back to what was done. I suspect the maintenance guy remove the pump strainer basket, you may want you look at that area first really closely. Check to make sure the O-ring is still in good shape and was lubed well. Also make sure your water level is still adequate so you're not sucking-in air at the skimmer (s). You may also refer to the TF Pool School - Suction Side Air Leaks page for more details that may help you. Let us know if you have any more questions.
 
Thanks Pat. It is Sta-Rite Dyna Pro pump. Yes, I checked O-ring under the lid and the drain plug. All seem to be fine. I poured the water over the lid while the pump was running, didn't see significant decrease of the air bubbles.

Any possibility around the suction line? There were lots of dirt in the pool and the PB used suction side cleaner to vacuum the pool.
 
Air bubbles under the clear lid point towards something in/around that suction line from the poolside skimmer back to the pump. Something is allowing air to sneak in there. Maybe a worn 3-way valve O-ring perhaps? In the case of very small bubbles (like champagne bubbles) sometimes we can look into the possibility of out-gassing as water churns rapidly, but something would have to be responsible for that since it wasn't an issue before the maintenance. If something was lodged in the line and impacting flow enough to cause that churning without slowing-down water flow like a blockage, that may be something to look into.


Also, in your description above you didn't say anything about your filter. What kind do you have (please add to sig). Did your maintenance guy open and clean that filter as well?
 
First, make sure water level is good and look in the skimmer while pump is running - make sure no air getting in at the skimmer via vortex or otherwise. Next, go over to the pump while it's on and you see air bubbles. Then, take a water hose and run water over your pump lid. If it's sucking air, the water will temporarily seal the air leak and the bubbles in your basket will disappear... when this happens, you'll know where air is leaking and you can seal it. *after you run water over the pump lid, move to the where the PVC goes into the intake side of the pump... then to valves (until you find the air leak). I made a video on this recently here: How to Fix Air Bubbles In Swimming Pool - YouTube
 
I tried water hose method today. There are three pipes getting into the pump. I guess one is the main drain, and the other two are for each skimmer. Once the water hits the first one on the left, bubble disappeared. Spent a little bit time to locate the leak is at the connector right in front of the shutoff valve. Now just get the time to fix it.

Thanks.
 
put vasoline on the O ring under the lid if it is what I think it is... worked for me... also i get a bubble in there if the pump is running slowly... but goes away when it goes up in speed.

or tighten the top in general...
 

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More information after diagnosis. I noticed the air leak is from the connector from the rubber pipe to the PVC after doing hose test. Tried using PVC tape by myself, it doesn't work. Do I have to remake the connector? Is this a job for a plumber or a PB?

Thanks. The pic is here.
 
Tight the connection and put on new tape. The air leak seems to be fine now. No more air in the pump basket. I know it is a temp fix, but at least I know where the problem is. But I still can see air bubbles from my return jets. Not a stream of air bubbles, but one by one. Sometimes more, sometime less. Called PB today. He said it is due to SWG. But I set it at 40%, so I shouldn't see air bubble all the time. Am I missing sth? Thanks.
 
So, what problem are you trying to solve? A few bubbles from a return are not a problem. I would guess that some bubbles remain built up in the plumbing and continue to trickle out. I tend to notice the bubbles when swg is on and when I turn it off for the winter it seems like it goes away and the pool is still open and pump is still running. But, I don't pay that much attention because many or most people experience the same thing. If you really want to eliminate the SWG as the source of the bubbles I would go buy a few gallons of bleach and turn the SWG off for 4 or 5 days, chlorinate with bleach and see if there are any bubbles after a few days.
 
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