Wrong Valve? ...bubbles in basket and losing prime

[ship of fools]

I had trouble all last year with my vacuum .... and a small amount of bubbles in the basket as well.

If i close the main drain and switched to just the skimmer / vacuum the pump would lose prime (i assume that is the correct phrase - it would stop pumping water until i reopen the main drain).

Last year i had a leak and installed a new valve as part of my repair ..... it is different than the previous valve and different than the valve for the main drain .... i believe i have read on here that the incorrect valve type could cause my issues.

this is the new one
[attachment=1:h6xpzaa4]S30A0067.jpg[/attachment:h6xpzaa4]

here is the main drain valve
[attachment=0:h6xpzaa4]S30A0065.jpg[/attachment:h6xpzaa4]

any ideas??

 

[mas985]

The blue valve is currently in the off position. Is there a reason you turned it off for the picture? If you turn both valves to the on position, are there still bubbles in the pump basket?

 

[ship of fools]

The blue valve is currently in the off position. Is there a reason you turned it off for the picture? If you turn both valves to the on position, are there still bubbles in the pump basket?

it's winter in NY ........ my problem goes back to last season

if i have them both open i get a small amount of bubbles ..... if i shut down the main drain i lose prime almost immediately

as i mentioned i read the wrong valve can cause trouble .... or maybe something in the line to the skimmer??

 

[mas985]

The valve is not ideal but shouldn't cause that problem unless it is in the off position.

However, skimmer lines can sometimes clog with debris so that would be more likely. When you do open the pool, you could try to back flush the line from the pump backwards. Turn on the skimmer with the main drain off, remove the skimmer basket, remove the pump basket, put a hose in the pump basket inlet line, seal with a wet rag and turn on the hose. This will flush any debris backwards out of the skimmer.

But since you have bubbles with both lines open, it is possible there is a leak in the skimmer line and since you did the work on the valve, that could be the location.

 

[ship of fools]

When i closed the pool i blew out the line to the skimmer with a compressor.

I would assume a partial blockage in the line would not stop the water from all blowing out?? .... when i blew the line out all of the water was definitely out.

Would a plumbing snake be a bad idea?

 

[mas985]

Then I would focus on an air leak on the skimmer side of the plumbing.

 

[Isaac-1]

Shaving cream around the fitting can help isolate suction leaks when the pump is running

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