Check valve on suction side?

[aholmes5]

I live in a flood plain and the city requires all electrical devices to be about 6 feet above the ground. This means that all of my pool equipment is on a galvanized rack about 6 feet about the ground. I have three independent pumps - 1 main/filter pump, 1 spa jet pump, and 1 water feature pump. Whenever I open the hair/debris traps on the pumps to clean them, all the prime water flows back into the pool. Could I install check valves on the suction side of each pump to prevent the prime from being lost?

I've heard that check valves don't work well on the suction side, only the pressure side. If that is not true, can someone recommend a good check valve type/brand to install?

 

[Bama Rambler]

Use the Jandy style Pool check valves and they'll be fine. The weight of the water on the suction side will keep it sealed. They also have less restriction to flow so they won't affect your head as much.

 

[aholmes5]

Finally got the Jandy check valves installed. Did the work myself and this has totally solved my problem. I put two 2/2.5 valves on my main pump (one on the skimmer return line, one on the main drain return line) and two 2.5/3 valves on the suction side for my spa jet aux pump and my water feature. I don't have a ton of experience with PVC/CPVC but I found this to be straight forward to cut out a section and glue in the valves. I used purple primer and universal (PVC/CPVC/ABS) glue. I can clean my pump filter baskets and never have to worry about losing prime or refilling the pump with water.

Thanks for the great advice!