How much water should I lose in the pump basket?

[doncaruana]

During the course of the day (about 10 hours of pumping at 2200rpm), I ended up losing an inch maybe 2 of water in the pump basket.

Right before I turned the pump off for the night, I ramped up the RPMs and made sure the basket was full. Over night I think I lost about the same amount (I looked quickly, so not completely sure, but it definitely wasn't at the top).

No problem pulling prime or anything, the pump is now only a couple of feet higher than the water. But what should my expectations be? Should I have a full basket 24x7? Or is some regular loss to be expected? Or does this sound like I may have a little air leak somewhere on the suction side?

 

[JVTrain]

VS pumps are notorious for not having full pump baskets when running. Nothing to worry about there.

If the basket is full when you shut off the pump, it should still be full after not running all night. Losing only and inch or two in the basket really isn't a big deal though. It could be a very small leak in most anywhere above ground causing you to lose that little bit. You could try lightly lubricating the pump lid o-ring as a first step.

 

[doncaruana]

VS pumps are notorious for not having full pump baskets when running. Nothing to worry about there.

If the basket is full when you shut off the pump, it should still be full after not running all night. Losing only and inch or two in the basket really isn't a big deal though. It could be a very small leak in most anywhere above ground causing you to lose that little bit. You could try lightly lubricating the pump lid o-ring as a first step.

Thanks for the info. I recently replaced the drain plug and lid o-rings and lubed them with magic lube. So I'm kinda thinking that's not it. Need to look around a bit I suppose. One thing I was wondering is if there is a leak on the pressure side, would that make it not keep vacuum and the water drain back down the suction side overnight?

 

[mas985]

One thing I was wondering is if there is a leak on the pressure side, would that make it not keep vacuum and the water drain back down the suction side overnight?

It is usually filters with backwash valves that have that problem. Cartridge filters generally don't leak air. Plus it is the filter that will fill with air rather than the pump. The entire filter would need to drain before the pump basket would start to drain so I really don't think that is the issue.

I would check the housing for any cracks. If there is air in the pump basket when the pump is off, it will usually be caused by something very close to the pump basket.

 

[doncaruana]

Here's the new location (just moved it). Haven't covered everything back up yet until I'm sure everything is good. Ignore the water in the hole in front of the pump - that's actually from my sump pump (don't ask! LOL) I never actually lose water.

That's a pentair 3 way valve in front and a check valve coming off the pressure side which runs uphill about 20 feet and an extra 7-8 feet of elevation to the filter, heater, and SWG.

Any "uh ohs" in there? Or likely culprits?

 

[mas985]

The threaded connection into the pump is a possibility.

 

[doncaruana]

The threaded connection into the pump is a possibility.

Other than just tightening the crud out of it, is there anything I could/should put on that? Any kind of exterior caulk-type thing or something?

 

[mas985]

Tightening too much can make it leak. Do you use Teflon tape?

You could try to caulk it but run the pump so it gets sucked into any cracks. You might see it too to confirm.

Also, given the pump is uphill from the valve, it could also be a valve o-ring leak.

 

[doncaruana]

That's actually a quick shot I took. The pump is almost completely level so it's not really uphill from the valve. Although I imagine the same principle applies. It wouldn't be the first new valve I've had with a bad oring

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[doncaruana]

Well...got home about an hour after the pump shut off and was disappointed to see this (and there was almost no resistance to breaking the "seal" on the lid):



So I fired the pump up and it filled the basket pretty quickly (at least *that* part is good). Then I shut it off. And I could hear this gurgling sound coming from the collar on the right on the discharge. I reached down and turned it pretty easy and as soon as I did, the gurgling stopped. I kept going to hand tighten for good measure and started the pump up again and let it fill the basket. Here's where it sits tonight after shutting the pump off - hopefully it's close to there come the morning.

 

[doncaruana]

I think I *finally* have a good system!! Not sure if you can tell really well - still before sunrise here, but my daughter has an early soccer game so we have to leave. Basically, the bubble and the water level are unmoved since last night! That's about 11 hours - I'd say I may actually have a sealed system now!

After 4 years of dealing with this, I am ECSTATIC!!