Frustrated newbie needs advice on bursting pump

[Snowball]

Hi! We moved to this house with an inground pool that's in a very bad condition. It hasn't been taken care of for I don't know how long. Over the past few weeks I've been scooping out leaves from the bottom of the pool and putting chemicals in the pool and the water got better but the pump system broke a few days ago and I need some advice cuz I'm completely new to this.
We had the pump run for days with no problem. Then I learned that we need to backwash the sand filter so I did it and rinsed it and put it back to filter. A few minutes later the pipe near the pump burst. It's a 2 part pipe that's connected together by a black rubber connector. I put the connector back and let the pump run overnight with no problem then the next day it burst again after I backwashed the pump.
So I read somewhere that this rubber connector is to prevent back flow and that means we can't backwash the pump? I don't know if it's supposed to be there at all. Now we bought a one piece pvc pipe and can that be installed there or does it have to have a rubber connector? I'm scared that we'll break the pump and drain the pool or maybe get hurt...
I have pictures showing the entire pump system and I would really appreciate some help. Thanks so much!

 

[Snowball]

The pressure gauge reads around 30psi when the pump is off and rises up to around 50 when on "filter". Doesn't seem to drop even after backwashing. Can we replace the pipes with the rubber connector with a one piece pvc pipe?
When we were running the pump it has full water and water is going through the skimmer but one of the return jets doesn't seem to work well. Also we don't know where the main drain is...

 

[Richard320]

That rubber connector is supposed to be a temporary pipe fix. Someone tried to make it permanent. With no barb on the pipe, it ain't gonna stay put. And as it gets older and stiffer, it will only get worse.

I'd try to put a union in its place if it were mine. Looks like this:

And you need to replace your pressure gauge. They're cheap.

 

[waste]

Welcome to TFP!!

You can retighten the 'worm' screws on the clamps that hold it on the pipe.

I, personally, don't like those type connectors! You are better off with a union, glued onto the pipe!

From your pic, it looks like something shifted in the past and whoever 'fixed' it was too lazy to do the job correctly!

As I can see from your pics (thanks for the pics ) the pipe no longer lines up.

I can help you 'redesign' your set-up but I have to work most of the day tomorrow, but there are a lot of folks that will be here before 7:00 PM that can tell you the same info

 

[Snowball]

Thanks so much Richard! The problem is that the 2 pipes don't line up. The rubber connector can't really hold them together. So it's ok to just join the pipes or install a one piece pipe there? Water is supposed to be able to run both ways there right?

 

[Snowball]

Welcome to TFP!!

You can retighten the 'worm' screws on the clamps that hold it on the pipe.

I, personally, don't like those type connectors! You are better off with a union, glued onto the pipe!

From your pic, it looks like something shifted in the past and whoever 'fixed' it was too lazy to do the job correctly!

As I can see from your pics (thanks for the pics ) the pipe no longer lines up.

I can help you 'redesign' your set-up but I have to work most of the day tomorrow, but there are a lot of folks that will be here before 7:00 PM that can tell you the same info

Wow thanks so much for the info! Yeah we have a crappy landlord that wouldn't help us fix anything so we have to figure it out ourselves. Yes the pipe doesn't line up. I retightened the screws 3 times and the last 2 times it burst within minutes. When I turned on the pump the rubber connector swelled and the clamps came off. My husband bought stuff at home depot and he said he'll fix the pipe but I haven't seen it yet.

 

[cya_sux]

Thanks so much Richard! The problem is that the 2 pipes don't line up. The rubber connector can't really hold them together. So it's ok to just join the pipes or install a one piece pipe there? Water is supposed to be able to run both ways there right?

No, water only goes up that pipe. Here is what I would do:

The point of cutting the pipe there and adding the coupling is to you can more easily line up the elbow with the pipe coming from the pump. I didn't illustrate it very well (at all), but you throw out that rubber gasket and replace it with a union.

Edit: so your shopping list would be:
1 2in coupling
1 2in elbow
1 2inch union
probably 2-4 ft of 2in PVC
PVC primer
PVC cement

Should not cost more than $15. I'm assuming you have 2in piping. It might be 1.5inch though, its kinda hard to tell in that pic.

 

[Snowball]

Thanks so much Richard! The problem is that the 2 pipes don't line up. The rubber connector can't really hold them together. So it's ok to just join the pipes or install a one piece pipe there? Water is supposed to be able to run both ways there right?

No, water only goes up that pipe. Here is what I would do:

The point of cutting the pipe there and adding the coupling is to you can more easily line up the elbow with the pipe coming from the pump. I didn't illustrate it very well (at all), but you throw out that rubber gasket and replace it with a union.

Edit: so your shopping list would be:
1 2in coupling
1 2in elbow
1 2inch union
probably 2-4 ft of 2in PVC
PVC primer
PVC cement

Should not cost more than $15. I'm assuming you have 2in piping. It might be 1.5inch though, its kinda hard to tell in that pic.

Sorry I'm a little confused. When I backwash the filter the water still goes up in that pipe? I just don't understand why it ran several days without problems but broke after I backwashed the filter...
The pipe is 1 1/2 inch. Thanks for the suggestion and the illustration!

 

[Snowball]

Also, do I need to replace the pressure gauge? What should it read when the pump is off? Mine reads 30psi when it's off and 50psi when its on. What should I do when the pressure is so high? Thanks!

 

[Richard320]

Also, do I need to replace the pressure gauge? What should it read when the pump is off? Mine reads 30psi when it's off and 50psi when its on. What should I do when the pressure is so high? Thanks!

Yes. If the pump is off there should be no pressure in the system, so it should read zero. And if it reads 30 when off, it doesn't follow that you're just off by +30. I doubt your pressure is that high. I'd even say it's only 50/50 that you're over 20 psi. And 20 psi is plenty to blow a hose off. Most car radiator caps are only 16 psi, and they can blow things pretty good. Even mounting tires doesn't usually take that many PSI to seat the beads with a bang.

 

[Bama Rambler]

I know I'm late to the party but I agree with all that's been said about replacing the pipe. The only thing I'd change to cya's diagram is to put the union in the horizontal section of pipe where he shows the coupling.

The fact that the rubber coupling held as long as it did was luck. When oyu put the system on backwash it probably raised the back pressure a little and that was the straw that broke the camels back.

 

[cya_sux]

Sorry I'm a little confused. When I backwash the filter the water still goes up in that pipe? I just don't understand why it ran several days without problems but broke after I backwashed the filter...
The pipe is 1 1/2 inch. Thanks for the suggestion and the illustration!

All the action involved in backwashing is from the multi-port valve. When its running normally, the water goes through the pump, into the multiport valve, DOWN through the filter (through the sand) and comes out of the bottom, clean. When backwashing, the multiport valve does some magic that causes the water to come UP the filter, through the sand, and out of the waste pipe, as dirty water.

Backwashing usually causes some extra pressure on the pipes (called back pressure) and this is probably what blew out that rubber gasket that you had there.

 

[Snowball]

Thanks everyone for the suggestion! We'll replace the pipe and hopefully have a clear pool soon!

 

[waste]

Snowball, I told you that others here could and would help in my absence


cya_sux - Young Grasshopper :bowdown: In the pic of the pump it is easily seen that the 2" pump is reduced down to 1.5" - therefore I'd advise to replace the whole line, from pump to filter with 2" plumbing (as long as we're fixin' things, why not make it better? :-D ) Also, I'd redo the entire piping from pump to filter (there is NO reason for the up and down 90*s) It looks like the multi has 1.5" inlets, but reduce down to that at the multi (BTW- you did a great job of describing the list of materials and explaining that it's an easy fix )

 

[cya_sux]

Snowball, I told you that others here could and would help in my absence


cya_sux - Young Grasshopper :bowdown: In the pic of the pump it is easily seen that the 2" pump is reduced down to 1.5" - therefore I'd advise to replace the whole line, from pump to filter with 2" plumbing (as long as we're fixin' things, why not make it better? :-D ) Also, I'd redo the entire piping from pump to filter (there is NO reason for the up and down 90*s) It looks like the multi has 1.5" inlets, but reduce down to that at the multi (BTW- you did a great job of describing the list of materials and explaining that it's an easy fix )

Hmm I guess it is 1.5 inch pipe. The horizontal bit looked like 2 inch. I must have been hitting the too much that night :lol: .

 

[Snowball]

Snowball, I told you that others here could and would help in my absence


cya_sux - Young Grasshopper :bowdown: In the pic of the pump it is easily seen that the 2" pump is reduced down to 1.5" - therefore I'd advise to replace the whole line, from pump to filter with 2" plumbing (as long as we're fixin' things, why not make it better? :-D ) Also, I'd redo the entire piping from pump to filter (there is NO reason for the up and down 90*s) It looks like the multi has 1.5" inlets, but reduce down to that at the multi (BTW- you did a great job of describing the list of materials and explaining that it's an easy fix )

People here are so nice! Going to home depot tomorrow to get the stuff to fix it!