Pumping Station Labeling

[teamhurtado]

I'm trying to label our pumping station so that it becomes a bit easier to diagnose later in the future if needed. Here's a few photos of the station.

Overall Setup

Jandy Valve

Close up of inlets

I have 2 questions with the setup which I believe are related. I can follow flow from pump to filter to chlorinator to pool. Where I'm a bit lost is on the inlets and the Jandy Valve.

From the close up photo, I know the pipes on the right hand side (the one in the upper right and the vertical with the broken valve handle) are inlets. The broken valve handle I believe controls the dedicated suction/vacuum line when we first tested it 3 years ago. My main question is the pipe on the on the left entering the Jandy Valve and the Jandy Valve itself. In the current position, the system runs flawlessly. If I move the Jandy Valve to the left or right position, the pump seems to shut down as there's no flow. I'm thinking the pipe on the left is the main drain line but I'm not entirely sure. I'm also afraid to let the pool pump run with what appears to be no flow and have it burn out. Anytime I move that Jandy Valve to the left or right, the pump basket begins to drain as well.

 

[msumoose]

I know that in some parts that the main drain is routed to a skimmer, and not hooked directly to the pump at all (I do not agree with this at all..). I think that this may be your case. One of those inlet pipes has to go to the skimmers, and if you have a vac port, the other is for that. (EDIT) I did not see the third pipe running to the back - it is possible that you have it right, and the one with the broken valve is the vac line, one is the skimmer(s) and one is the main drain (END EDIT)

If you switch the Jandy Valve while running, it is possible that the change will allow prime to be lost. You can run the pump for 2 or 3 minutes without hurting it. With a 3/4 HP pump, the 1.5" line should allow you to run on only one inlet (depending on head pressure), but I like to run the main drain so you circulate the bottom strata of the pool.

 

[roadking00]

I have a very similar piping set up, one of my suction lines to the pump come from the skimmer, the other is coming from the main drain ...the Jandy on mine if you swing it all the way to the one side the flow goes right to the return jets, if you swing it the other way it goes directly to my dedicated pressure actuated vac port (not a suction port like yours as you describe) on the handle you will see 2 line/notches on the flat part of the valve handle itself when the 2 notches are lined up with which ever pipe that pipe is blocked off from any flow and the opposite pipe is getting all the flow from the pump (at least on my set up) and if you have it in the middle or throttle in either direction they are both getting flow.

You may wanna check if you dedicated port is infact a pressure port for a pressure vac and needs a quick connect fitting possibly hooked into the wall in order to have that piping opened on the pool wall to enable flow possibly ?? Just a thought based on what I have set up...

 

[lightingguy]

If your pump basket is draining when you move the handle to either the right or the left then something strange is happening.

What is that small hole looking thingy in the close up of the Jandy valve?

If it is an actual hole - it would explain everything. When the handle is in the current position the hole is blocked by the valve gate. When you move it to either side the hole is exposed, the pump sucks more air than water and the basket drains.

Then your set up is as you explained - 1 line is the skimmer, 1 the vacuum port and 1 the main drain.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Good catch LightingGuy. It certainly looks like a hole.

Hold your finger over it as you change the valve position and see what happens.

 

[teamhurtado]

Alright, load of replies to all:

If you switch the Jandy Valve while running, it is possible that the change will allow prime to be lost. You can run the pump for 2 or 3 minutes without hurting it. With a 3/4 HP pump, the 1.5" line should allow you to run on only one inlet (depending on head pressure), but I like to run the main drain so you circulate the bottom strata of the pool.

I'm running an MX8 through the skimmer line right now. What I've noticed is that once pressure in the cartridge housing gets about 10 PSI from baseline, the MX8 stops working. In theory, if I shut off the main drain and just pull from skimmer, this should get the MX8 to work full time?

You may wanna check if you dedicated port is infact a pressure port for a pressure vac and needs a quick connect fitting possibly hooked into the wall in order to have that piping opened on the pool wall to enable flow possibly ?? Just a thought based on what I have set up...

When we moved in, there was a piece of PVC sticking out about 2 inches from the side of the pool wall. PVC was open and when I placed my hand over it, there was definitely suction. We ended up unscrewing the PVC that was in place and replacing it with this. I would love to get my MX8 to fit in there, but for some reason the angular connection the MX8 came with just doesn't want to hold in place.

If your pump basket is draining when you move the handle to either the right or the left then something strange is happening.

What is that small hole looking thingy in the close up of the Jandy valve?

If it is an actual hole - it would explain everything. When the handle is in the current position the hole is blocked by the valve gate. When you move it to either side the hole is exposed, the pump sucks more air than water and the basket drains.

Then your set up is as you explained - 1 line is the skimmer, 1 the vacuum port and 1 the main drain.

Didn't notice that hole since I really haven't played with the system. I'll give that a shot later on tonight and report back. Nice catch! Thanks!

 

[roadking00]

You may wanna check if you dedicated port is infact a pressure port for a pressure vac

Oops,sorry man, should have looked a bit closer at your pics before replying....didn't notice til looking again at your set up and seeing the hole as mentioned on the Jandy valve that yours in actually plumbed in on the suction side compared to the discharge like mine...

 

[teamhurtado]

I've confirmed that it is indeed a hole in the Jandy Valve resulting in lost prime when the valve is not in its current position. Is there a way to repair the hole without replacing the valve? I would think some sort of waterproof caulking or other material.

Once I get the valve fixed, what sort of effects would I see in turning the main drain off and leaving only the skimmer as the active line? The MX8 is attached via the skimmer line so I would assume it would increase the pressure resulting in more efficient operation of the cleaner. I'm going to work on having the MX8 attached to the dedicated suction line to have both ports actively working but for now I'm just attempting to get by. Thanks!

 

[lightingguy]

The hole looks like something is screwed into it and broken off. Maybe some kind of nipple for a chlorine or acid injection system. Why anyone would drill a hole in a $50 valve instead of 10c worth of pipe..... anyways... If you can carefully unscrew the broken nipple you can screw a plug into the hole. This will be by far the best way to seal it.

I think you'll find caulk to be a frustrating experience..... Maybe JB weld? I'm sure someone with more plastics experience will be along shortly.

 

[Bama Rambler]

The first thing to do is try and screw that piece out and see if you can just screw a plug in it.

 

[Bama Rambler]

I thought that looked familiar. Take a look at this parts breakdown. That part that's broken off is a grease cup assembly (#8). you can screw it out and plug it or you cna get a new assembly and replace it. I'd replace it and lube it while I was at it.

 

[teamhurtado]

I thought that looked familiar. Take a look at this parts breakdown. That part that's broken off is a grease cup assembly (#8). you can screw it out and plug it or you cna get a new assembly and replace it. I'd replace it and lube it while I was at it.

Awesome. Thanks sir!

 

[SteveK]

I thought that looked familiar. Take a look at this parts breakdown. That part that's broken off is a grease cup assembly (#8). you can screw it out and plug it or you cna get a new assembly and replace it. I'd replace it and lube it while I was at it.

Why would a 'never lube' valve need a grease cap? Just curious.

 

[Bama Rambler]

That's not actually a Neverlube valve. It's a gray valve. They need lubing from time to time.

 

[SteveK]

Got it! The label on the left inlet looked like it said 'never lube' and that's what raised my curiosity.
Thanks Dave!

 

[Bama Rambler]

The label actually does say neverlube but that's not a never lube valve. Not sure how that label got on there. The neverlube valves don't have the boss for the grease fitting.

 

[teamhurtado]

Our local Pinch a Penny has the assembly in stock for $16. Thanks again!

 

[Bama Rambler]

Looks like you're in business then!

 

[teamhurtado]

So the hole found in the grease fitting? Someone stuck a plastic screw in there covered in plumber's tape. The screw just fell apart any time I touched it. The replacement part is in and working perfectly.

Is there a downside to running just the skimmer line in a 3 inlet pool forcing my MX8 to work more efficiently? What I've noticed is when all 3 inlets are open, my base pressure is about 13-15 PSI. When it's just the skimmer line, the baseline pressure drops to about 5 PSI. I would think that makes some sense but I don't have enough experience with that 3 way valve yet.

I'm keeping this in the same thread just for continuity. After fixing the grease fitting, I noticed a small pool of water sitting behind the pump. I took a careful look at it and it appears that there's a dribble of water coming from the pump/motor interface. I'm assuming that's where the impeller sits. I'm also going to assume that the o-ring perhaps is shot and needs to be replaced? We replaced the pump motor itself when we first moved in 3 years so the o-ring and the impeller seal were replaced along with it. I'm not terribly great at disassembling objects so my question is if it is the o-ring, could I live with that for a week or so until I get help in removing the pool motor and have a chance at replacing the seal(s)?

 

[Bama Rambler]

It's fine to run the pump only pulling from one side.

As long as the leak doesn't get any worse it should be fine for a couple weeks.