New Pool Adventures

[johnfgoodman]

So my wife and I were kinda on the fence about buying a house with a pool, but we decided to take on the adventure. The house was a foreclosure and, of course, the SWG pool has been braving the weather for about 6 months and is now full of leaves, algae, tadpoles, and the occasional dead critter. I had a pool inspector come out before buying and he said it looked like equipment was in decent condition, but that it might need some maintenance.

Well, I got excited after finding this site and thought I would tackle the problem. I read a few of the previous posts from people dealing with a similar situation, and that gave me hope. I started stocking up on some of the chemicals for shocking, ordered myself a TF100 kit, and started skimming some of the junk out of the pool. I got excited again when I got my kit, because I was ready to get started. But alas, my excitement died quickly when I realized the pump was not pumping. Now, I am pretty sure I remember water flowing when the inspector came to check it out. But I do also think that the pump was left running a day or two (my understanding is that it is bad for the pump to run if it is not pumping?). Pump turns on, but water does not seem to flow. The pump also sometimes makes a screeching noise for a second or two, but for the most part seems stable.

So after that disappointment I resigned myself to the last resort: calling the pool company for a quote. I just got the quote, and as expected, I am not happy. So my question is: being a complete noob, is there a way for me to go about troubleshooting the pump? I kind of feel it is beyond me, but at the same time I am willing to put a little time into it if it will save me from having to use the pool company, as it is not affordable. Any help?

BTW, so far I have only tested FC and CYA, which were both 0, assuming I did the tests correctly, which I think I did.

Thanks in advance for any help! Oh, and pool specs in my signature...

 

[257WbyMag]

Welcome to TFP!

You may simply have some debris that is blocking the return flow of water to the pump. Have you looked into that?

 

[supertune]

Hi johnfgoodman and welcome to TFP!
Pool pumps in general pretty simple. If you know the brand name, there is websites that have parts diagrams to see how it's assembled.
I was scared to death to rebuild my motor and pump the 1st time.
Turned out to not be that hard.
I went here for parts and some diagrams:
http://www.poolpartsonline.com/
I think I also went to Aquaman or something like that.
I found out that someone had the pump apart before and the diverter ring was missing causing low pump pressure. (I didn't even know until I put it back together)
I bought a new impeller. (for HP of my motor/some pumps are all the same/match up HP rating with the impeller)
New o-rings, some silicone grease for assembly and a new lid (small crack)
A couple of new roller bearings for the motor and quiet as new now.

Ran a year and a half until last week, bought I a 2 speed 1 HP motor to save on electric and used the rebuilt pump (still looked brand new inside)

Chuck

 

[johnfgoodman]

Thanks for the replies!

I had cleaned out the skimmer because there were a ton of leaves in there. However the water is too mucky for me to see if anything may be blocking it, and I can't see the main drain. Is there anything else I should do to make sure water is returning?

Supertune, thanks for the encouragement on the pump. I am noticing that I think there may be a gasket missing for the strainer cover... So maybe I should order a set of gaskets?

Thanks, again!

 

[duraleigh]

If I read your post correctly, the pump is spinning but no water is being brought into the pump strainer basket. If so, you have a suction side air leak. Somewhere between the pump and the skimmer(s), air is being sucked into the system. Find that leak and your issues will be solved.

 

[coffeegoddss]

This may sound silly but it was the first thing I thought of when I read about the screeching noise...are all the valves open? I've done that a few times - closed all the valves to open and clean things then forgetten to open them before turning the pump back on. The pump spins but all I get is a screeching sound and no water. And, of course, I usually remember the valves that split, half-second after flipping the switch to on!

 

[Pointyhead]

I'm a noob too, just having bought a house with a pool. I let my water level get too low while vacuuming and lost the prime on the pump. Took me a few days to figure out what to do about it. I brought the water level up, and put the hose in the pump strainer and ran it for about half an hour until all the lines got filled with water. Once I did that the pump has been running fine since. I also keep a close eye on the water table now.

 

[johnfgoodman]

Thanks all. Well I spent a little time at the house yesterday (we have not moved in yet, trying to get some work done on it), and looked at the pump. I opened the lid and stuck a hose in there to fill the basket (with the pump off) and noticed that as I did so there was trickle of water coming out of the bottom of the pump. Has anyone had a similar situation? I am thinking I need to maybe replace some seals and gaskets?

I did try to check the valves, but since I am still becoming familiar with the system and need to make sure I didn't miss any. I also noticed that the pressure gauge does not seem to be working (stuck on about 12 psi), so will replace that.

If there is a leak between the pump and skimmer -- could it be in the underground plumbing? In other words, will I likely have to do some digging?

 

[duraleigh]

If there is a leak between the pump and skimmer -- could it be in the underground plumbing?

Could be but it almost never is. You will certainly need to fix the pump motor if it is leaking and that might solve the priming issue.

 

[Smykowski]

Thanks all. Well I spent a little time at the house yesterday (we have not moved in yet, trying to get some work done on it), and looked at the pump. I opened the lid and stuck a hose in there to fill the basket (with the pump off) and noticed that as I did so there was trickle of water coming out of the bottom of the pump. Has anyone had a similar situation? I am thinking I need to maybe replace some seals and gaskets?

If the leak is coming from the bottom of the pump, it could be either a pump basket drain plug or a shaft seal that's leaking, both of which aren't very involved fixes. Exact location will help. Can you take and post pictures?

 

[johnfgoodman]

Here are some pictures that I took today... almost looks like it could be two different leaks (one directly underneath, the other on the side)?

I also ran into more trouble! I tried to turn the pump on to see if that would reveal any other leaks, but when I flipped the switch nothing happened! I am thinking something may have happened in the circuitry from the house to the pool equipment, because the booster pump didn't turn on either, and that had been working before as well... I am having an electrician come out soon to check out other wiring in the house, so maybe I can get him to take a look to see if anything is affecting the pump.

Oh! and I also noticed where it looks like there should be a valve, but there is nothing there. I imagine this could be causing some problems too! Can anyone tell me what is missing in the attached picture?

Thanks!

 

[johnfgoodman]

Oops, looks like the picture didn't post for the missing valve. Here it is.

 

[Smykowski]

I've done a shaft seal before, so I can help with that. The valve is outside my knowledge base, so I'll defer to others.

Looks to me like it's one leak, in between the wet end and the motor, which is most likely a shaft seal. They're relatively cheap and easy to replace yourself. Let's hear what the electrician has to say first, then we'll help you tear it apart.

Any tripping breakers or popped GFCIs?

 

[johnfgoodman]

Ok, I have some updates. I am not sure if I need to start a new thread based on what I have found. The electrician came by, and of course the pump started right up. We concluded that the pump is on some kind of timer (though I am not sure how to control it, I may start another thread for this).

After finding that the pump still runs (yay!), I decided to proceed with trying to change the shaft seal, as suggested, by using the instructions that I found in the online manual. I had ordered and received the parts on Friday. Today I decided to start taking the pump apart to take a look. And this is what I found: to begin with, it looks like there has been a lot of corrosion going on (or is it mineral build up?), see first picture.

Secondly, it looks like the seal plate is messed up. When I opened up the pump, the shaft seal looked like it was broken, and the impeller came right out, there was no need to use the wrench to hold the other side of the motor shaft in order to loosen the impeller. It looks like there might be pieces of the seal still attached to the seal plate, or maybe some of the plastic melted and deformed it. I am attaching pictures of both sides of the seal plate.

So I guess my question is, are these parts usable? Will the pump still work with all that corrosion? Can I still use the seal plate. Do I just need to replace the whole pump? Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!