Leaves Found In Impeller - Getting Past the Pump Basket-How?

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T

thetinkerer

0
Feb 25, 2011
67
Dallas Texas
My pump keeps getting starved because leaves are somehow getting past the pump basket and into the impeller..this keeps happening throughout the fall as the leaves enter into the pool..I have a Hayward pump and I put in a new pump basket last summer...it is like new no cracks etc etc....I have one O ring in the cover and its good....once the leaves are cleaned out of the impeller she runs fine....

I am puzzled on how the leaves are able to get past the pump basket.............

I thought that I may have been missing a O ring but from the diagrams on haywards there is only one up in the cover on the pump basket...

I hope I can solve this problem...

Oh btw I believe the majority of the leaves are coming from my POOLVERGNUEGEN "the pool cleaner" off the bottom of the pool...

Thanks in Advance....

ps some have talked about putting a woman nylon stocking over the pump basket but the water pushes on the inlet side and pulls by the pump off the outlet side so I dont see how it could be installed around the pump basket and not be pulled away from it....
 
Re: Leaves Found In Impeller - Getting Past the Pump Basket-

If you're using the cleaner in the skimmer, I would get a vacuum plate so you can leave the skimmer basket in place. That way the skimmer basket will catch the leaves and you're not relying on the pump basket alone to catch stuff.
 
Re: Leaves Found In Impeller - Getting Past the Pump Basket-

I can think of no possible way leaves can get into your impeller when the strainer basket is in place and your pump running.

I suppose I could envision a situation where your strainer basket is full AND you are sucking a bit of air into your filter. Then, when the pump shuts off, there would be a momentary, abrupt back flow from the filter through the pump.....possibly allowing the strainer basket to come up slightly and then the leaves in it could overflow under it. That's a stretch for sure, but it's all I can think of.
 
Re: Leaves Found In Impeller - Getting Past the Pump Basket-

What kind of hayward pump do you have? If you have a Hayward Superpump the square basket can be installed backwards which it still fits but it doesn't seat properly which allows anything coming into the pump to bypass the basket by going underneath it.
 
Re: Leaves Found In Impeller - Getting Past the Pump Basket-

i had the exact same problem. cause of it was a broken basket; when it would get full of leaves, the leaves would then "sneak" though the crack in the impeller chamber
 
Re: Leaves Found In Impeller - Getting Past the Pump Basket-

If the basket gets so full with leaves and stuff, that water flow through it is severely restricted, then the suction of the pump could be strong enough to deform the basket a bit so that very thin objects (like leaves) could bypass it.

This could not happen with a clean basket though.
 
Re: Leaves Found In Impeller - Getting Past the Pump Basket-

Oh god I hate the northstar. I've never been on a system where it ran great. Double check there isn't any cracks in the basket by trying to bend it with your hands Make sure that notch is lined up so it's seating all the way down. The only other thing I can tell you is to put a heavy rock or weight in the basket, maybe it's possible that it's unseating when the system is turned off and the basket float s up a bit.


also just noticed you said the system gets starved. If the pump runs long enough without water to cool it the water in the lint pod can get really hot. Hot enough to deform a basket. Maybe this happened subtly enough that the basket isn't cracked but is deformed where objects can get by. Wish I had a smoking gun answer for you.
 
Re: Leaves Found In Impeller - Getting Past the Pump Basket-

Its a brand new basket ........Ive checked it again and I dont see any cracks in it...

Is it possible that the leaves could be getting thru the small holes..........

The leaves I pull out of the impeller are whole leaves and not pieces of leaves...

?
 

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Re: Leaves Found In Impeller - Getting Past the Pump Basket-

Is it possible that the leaves could be getting thru the small holes..........

The leaves I pull out of the impeller are whole leaves and not pieces of leaves...
Click to expand...
No, it's really not possible. Since your equipment is positioned and operating correctly, the only logical conclusion is they are finding an alternate path.

What that alternate path might be is beyond my pay grade.
 
Re: Leaves Found In Impeller - Getting Past the Pump Basket-

Ok here are some pictures......let me know if I need to take more to give more information....

Seems to me the basket has room to move upward in its "Confined" zone or drop down ..... in other words it seems as though it was designed with a gap between the top rim of the pump basket and the cover...a passage to allow debris to pass thru on on toward the impeller....am I wrong about this...??
 

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