This morning, I went to do my regular backwash. The worst mistake of my life. The pool has been working fine all season, except at the beggining where I also couldnt prime it and the company who built my pool came to prime it for me with a secondary pump that hooked up to the skimmer. After i did my backwash, when i went to put the sand filter head on rinse, water started gushing out of the clamp of the filter head like crazy. I have to include that despite water gushing out everytime I turned the pump on, the pump was still priming at that point. In the end, I unscrewed the pipe connections to the head of the filter, opened the filter and cleaned around the main gasket there, and took it to the closest pool supplies store to try to get a replacement ( my filter remained full of water when it was open ) i could not find a replacement, but i got some gasket lubricant. Went back homed, lubed up the gasket. Put it back in place real well ( gasket still looked pretty new anyways no cracks and still springy ). Now the nightmare began. No more water gushing, but no pump priming. When I try to fill up the pump through the pool drain intake ( inground vynil pool), the water just flows backwards into the pool and i end up filling my pool and finding myself with a pipe thats just as empty, even tried to let it fill up for 30 minutes. No change. When i try to only open the skimmer valve instead, and fill that up, well the water goes nowhere. It just stays in the pump basket and fills it up instantly, if i turn off the hose, the water drains out of the pump basket kinda slowly. If i close the pump now, bubble will appear from the suction side, and when i turn it on, it just instantly empties the pump basket down to around 3 inches of water, with absolutely not a drop of water coming in ffom suction side. Ive tried to let it run, this pump is usually sensitive to running dry and turns of, but it just keeps going with those 3 inches of water going no where. Ive tried everything i can think off so far. Bought a rubber strap wrench to tighten all connections, tried insense trick to look for leaks on all connections, tried dumping loads of water with a bucket to try to full up the pipes, everytime i open the pump and try again you can hear the soujd of empty pipes from the intake ( suction ) side. Please someone come up with something for me.
3 year old pool. Cannot prime the pump for the life of me now.
- Thread starter Alucard
- Start date
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,672
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Welcome to TFP.
What model pump and filter are we discussing?
Post pics of your equipment pad.
Maybe @1poolman1 has sone pro tips.
What model pump and filter are we discussing?
Post pics of your equipment pad.
Maybe @1poolman1 has sone pro tips.
BodeFamily
Gold Supporter
- Jun 12, 2021
- 33
- Pool Size
- 30000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool Core-55
I had an entire summer of a pump losing prime and not being able to self-prime for some reason. It sounds a lot like what you’re seeing. The thing that I found worked was to put a hose into the skimmer opening (under the basket) and turn it on full blast. Sometimes I had to fill the pump basket/inlet for a minute or twice with a hose as well. With the hose running, turn the pump on and see if the pressure of the water helps it to prime. It worked pretty reliably for me.
If you have more than one skimmer (like I do) a hose in each helps.
If you have more than one skimmer (like I do) a hose in each helps.
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,840
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
We really need to see pics of everything. Pics of the pool, the equipment pad so we can see all items and any valves, how your plumbing is connected to the filter, etc.
This is my sand filter.
The paper at the front before it faded.
DAB e-swim e-pro pump
Pipes system with valves indicated: thermo in, thermo out, thermo bypass valve, pool return, waterfalls return.
Will post the rest in a second. Driving.
Note: in the pump picture, it was taken from above so the angle is weird, but my intake valves are closes there, they close at about 30 degrees from 6 oclock, and i cannot turn them any further down ever.
My trusty thermo. the only piece of equipment thats never given me problems so far. I forgot to include her
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,672
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
My guess is someplace in your suction pipes the flex PVC has kinked or internally collapsed.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,672
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Because we have seen this problem before in pools with flex PVC.
PVC Repair - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
Make sure lid oring is good.
-close intake valves
-fill pot
-close lid
-open intake valves and prime/repeat
A clothe pool bladder is invaluable in these circumstances. Or you can take a rag and wrap it tightly around a garden hose with some electrical/duct tape and stick it in the skimmer with pump off and skimmer valve open, let it fill and remove and start the pump quickly. Don’t lose the rag.
-close intake valves
-fill pot
-close lid
-open intake valves and prime/repeat
A clothe pool bladder is invaluable in these circumstances. Or you can take a rag and wrap it tightly around a garden hose with some electrical/duct tape and stick it in the skimmer with pump off and skimmer valve open, let it fill and remove and start the pump quickly. Don’t lose the rag.
I dont really have areas where y flex pvc could bend without me seeing it since its either above ground, or under moist dirt. Unless it could be only a kink or dent ?Because we have seen this problem before in pools with flex PVC.
PVC Repair - Further Reading
you mean cloth on the outside? I only found rubber bladders so far. Like this one.
Can you link me a better one if you dont think this one is good?Edit: I just goy this one. Just finished school. About to go home ans have a crack at it again
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Hahahaha mine JUST broke
I have been looking for one like that since yesterday. No where in canada sells this. Walmart.ca, canadiantire.ca, homedepot, any other local hardware (reno-depot, Rona, etc.) or pool supplies store ( club piscines, trevi ) i could think of. The only canadian site I found that does sell these is amazon.ca. And it arrives after the pool is schedule for closing which ; Regardless, this priming issue has been something that persisted all season for me, this is the first time however that i cant prime at all for multiple days. I called the pool company that built this pool and does openings and closings. I explained to them that despite the multiple solutions theyve found for me throughout this season ( they came for this 2 times already, and on the second they had to use an external pump to pump water into the skimmer intake ), there has to be an underlying issue that is causing this. They know me ( i used to work for one of their partners) and i dont think they are dumb enough to blame me or user error for this. Eitherway, i told them to just close up the pool as early as possible ( this friday ) and deal with the priming problem when they open next season... I have midterm rush at school and ive been slaving over this pool since 4:30 pm yesterday.
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