Strange issue with pressure / pump priming

[mitch08]

Hey all,

My pool was running great up until tonight. I turned on the spa which basically means I switched the suction and return from the pool to the spa.

Something didnt seem right so I went and checked the gasket. There was a ton of air in there. So I went back and switched it back to pool mode, but the air was still there and the pressure was bad.

From there I decided to backwash... The backwash was very weak. Normally it flys out the hose. But it was basically just dribbling out. No pressure even on the backwash and rinse which Ive never seen before. I basically went back and forth trying to backwash, rinse, filter to try increasing pressure or getting whatever might be in there out. But all it did was put more air in the gasket, and give me less pressure.

At this point I just turned the pool off for the night cause its pitch black out

Can anyone tell me what might be going on here? Does it sound like something is gunked up in there? Do I need to open the filter?
Or can something be stuck in a line somewhere? Is there a way to force more pressure through a backwash to make it eject whatevers holding it up, if there is something?

Thanks a million in advance. I really dont want to call my pool guy for this one. Especially with a hurricane coming this weekend

 

[Richard320]

You lost prime and sucked air somewhere when you switched modes is my guess. My second guess is something is jammed in the impeller.

Here's what I would do: Open the strainer, clean it out, reach up in and see if I feel anything in the impeller and clear it if I do. Then fill the strainer with water, close it up good (lube the O-ring while I can) and restart the pump. Give it a minute or so to prime, then bleed out any trapped air.

 

[mitch08]

Thanks for the tips... No go though.

Adding water did help a bit. But still tons of air in there and very little pressure.
Any other ideas?

Thanks again!!!

 

[mitch08]

Quick update: Forgot to mention one point thats probably very important...

There was a decent amount of water on the cement underneath the pump. None of the fittings or pipes looked to be leaking.
I just spoke to my pool guy. He said its very possible that the seal assembly on the pump went bad.

He can't figure out the coincidence between changing the suction from pool to spa, but said everything I am describing tells him thats what the problem is.

 

[jimvr4]

I had a problem kind of similar where my pump wouldn't hold prime. It ended up being a small crack in the threaded cover of the strainer.

 

[mitch08]

It actually turned out to be a pair of goggles that got sucked into the suction line when I turned the spa on...

My pool guy blew out the lines and got the goggles closer to the gasket where he was able to grab them.

Unbelievable Thanks for all the help though!!!