Problems with Pump

[Texonfire]

I'm nearing the end of my first season as a pool owner. Haven't had a single issue all summer, until today. I came home today to find all kinds of junk in the pool from the trees surrounding the area. In a matter of 24 hours my skimmer basket and pump basket was full of this junk from the trees. By the time I saw it my pump wasn't moving much water.

I cleaned out the skimmers and pump basket, but now when I turn the pump on, the pump basket never fills above about 75% capacity and the pressure back to my returns is very weak. What am I facing here?

Any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks

 

[zea3]

First question, did you clean the filter? When my DE filter is dirty flow through the returns has very little force behind it. Try opening up the filter and hosing all the old DE off the grids and out of the filter body. Recharge with fresh DE after cleaning. If that does not help, start looking for debris caught in the pipes or the pump impeller.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Sounds like the basket being clogged & full exacerbated a suction side leak.
Make sure the basket lid o-rings is clean & lubed. Then check the drain plug and any fittings.

 

[JohnT]

A couple of possibilities would be a clog in the skimmer line, or debris in the impeller.

Since the stuff got through the skimmer basket, there's a pretty good chance some got through the pump strainer. If you shut your pump off, you can often get your finger into the impeller through the hole in the pump strainer housing.

 

[Texonfire]

First question, did you clean the filter? When my DE filter is dirty flow through the returns has very little force behind it. Try opening up the filter and hosing all the old DE off the grids and out of the filter body. Recharge with fresh DE after cleaning. If that does not help, start looking for debris caught in the pipes or the pump impeller.

I back washed my filter 2 days ago, but haven't disassembled and cleaned it since May. My pressure has been great all Summer so I didn't see any need to do that yet.

I haven't yet checked the impeller, but will do that when I get home.

 

[Texonfire]

First question, did you clean the filter? When my DE filter is dirty flow through the returns has very little force behind it. Try opening up the filter and hosing all the old DE off the grids and out of the filter body. Recharge with fresh DE after cleaning. If that does not help, start looking for debris caught in the pipes or the pump impeller.

I have not cleaned the filter but the pressure was ~10psi just 24 hours ago. 10 psi is my "clean" pressure so I think my filter is fine.

 

[Texonfire]

Impeller was indeed badly clogged. Once I got it cleared and fired it back up water was flowing good again.

Thanks for the help everyone!