I have many more plumbing issues to deal with, as you will see from the pics, but the most immediate issue is the serious suction leak that is making the pump very difficult to prime. I can hear the water returning to the pool when I shut the system down. I started out by cleaning the filter cartridges and replacing(w/lube) the clamp gasket, ensuring a good seat for the clamp with a rubber mallet, taking care to close the springs on the barrel bolt. Then I made sure(from the outside) that the impeller didn't have any (visible) blockage and replaced(w/lube) the pump lid gasket and basket, which was cracked. This did change things, but not a whole lot. So, I moved on to the see through true union check valve before the pump, when I removed the valve the first thing I noticed was the fact that no tape had been used to ensure the seal. When I inspected the flap, the first thing I saw was the large hole in the gasket, along with a small pebble that was keeping the flap from closing completely, I also noticed the fact that the gasket was squishy and left black slime on my hands(not good). When I went online to search for the part through pool supply sites, I couldn't find the same valve ANYWHERE(???). So I Googled it!! Guess where I found it, at a pet store!! It turns out that the same bonehead who screwed up my pump station(prior to our purchase)put it in about a week before we moved in last year, the last one failed(who knows?)and the pool turned green because the system got shut down, and the owner called his "pool guy" to fix it. So the guy charged the owner $1200.00 to replace the filter cartridges($160.00) Chlorine ($30.00-50.00?)and check valve($19.95-39.95 online). He did not bother cleaning the giant pile of dirt and leaves from the bottom of the pool or the padlock or clear plastic bowl either. I found the old filters behind the fence, and saved them since they were hardly used and definitely not green since the pool hadn't been running(he probably should have taken the evidence). This man had the, please pardon the expression BALLS, to approach us when we were moving in to offer his services, AS I WAS JUST FINISHING FROM leaf raking, and vacuuming the pool.
Bad Valve and more..Please Help!!
- Thread starter nanashana
- Start date
So is your equipment above the pool water or below the pool water level?
You really should not need a check valve on the suction side plumbing ... UNLESS you have a leak on the pressure side plumbing that would allow air in and let the filter and pump water drain back into the pool.
I did not really see a question in there ... were you just looking to vent ?
You really should not need a check valve on the suction side plumbing ... UNLESS you have a leak on the pressure side plumbing that would allow air in and let the filter and pump water drain back into the pool.
I did not really see a question in there ... were you just looking to vent ?
I apologize for getting off track, but I found the valve after searching was also available through a landscape supply store as well, it turns out that this valve is not able to handle chemically treated water. Combined with the fact (please forgive my ignorance) that I was putting a chlorine tablet in the skimmer basket, it was doomed! I decided to replace it with a new FloVis flo-meter/check valve instead, which I am waiting on at the moment. We are using the bad valve until we get it, to keep the pool filtered (not fun everyday) Yesterday I noticed a broken valve on the solar feed (from the filter to the solar,add to the busted pressure gauge) and noticed for the first time that much of the racket when we shut down the system was coming from the pipe feeding the (disconnected to pool, bypassed from filter) solar heat system, it was actually shaking and the open broken check valve spring. Does that mean that part of my suction leak is coming from a bypass gasket or valve failing, since the open connection is able to draw air ?I plan on addressing the plumbing in the next few weeks, including repairing/reconnecting the Solar. I don't know where to start so that I can to do the job a part or two at a time, or in phases, before I make the pool connection. Help me please guys, I'm a capable gal, but I am intimidated by the unknown here, I understand plumbing basics, but the actuated valves & valves and the directions they should run is complicated here, especially when you add the waterfall into the mix. Point me to the end of the rainbow, oh wise ones...