Troubles after Spring opening.

[chenson]

I have an in ground fiberglass pool.
So before my spring opening I decided to change the sand in the filter as I was unaware of when it was last done as we just bought the house.
Hubby and I removed the quick connects from the pump to the sand filter( I have hard lines)and left it connected to the multi port and set it gently to the side. We vacuumed out all the sand and cleaned everything as we should, added water and filled with sand ( not the first time I have changed sand in a filter). Upon start up with all ports open and main drain, side suction, and skimmer open we primed and started everything up... We also lubed and Teflon taped all plugs and gaskets...So here are my symptoms
1. 15lbs of pressure on a new oil filled gauge.
2. No water in my sight glass while in filtration mode.
3. Tiny swirling bubble inside of the pump basket while on.
4. Tiny drip at the hard junction from the pump to the return on the multi port that only drips while running. Is there something to fix this without tearing apart the connection and resealing with pipe dope?
5. Air bubbles puffing out of all 4 eyeballs in the pool.
6. When turned off, Bubbles enter the pump skimmer basket from sand filter side of the pump and drops the water down to the level of the top of the basket.
Pool is open and clear but dirty on the bottom and about 60 degrees and I cant get an appointment for service until the end of may! Can I add shock to keep the green away until I get this bad boy fixed?
PLEASE HELP.
Thanks!

 

[JohnT]

1. 15lbs of pressure on a new oil filled gauge.
2. No water in my sight glass while in filtration mode.
3. Tiny swirling bubble inside of the pump basket while on.
4. Tiny drip at the hard junction from the pump to the return on the multi port that only drips while running. Is there something to fix this without tearing apart the connection and resealing with pipe dope?
5. Air bubbles puffing out of all 4 eyeballs in the pool.
6. When turned off, Bubbles enter the pump skimmer basket from sand filter side of the pump and drops the water down to the level of the top of the basket.
Pool is open and clear but dirty on the bottom and about 60 degrees and I cant get an appointment for service until the end of may! Can I add shock to keep the green away until I get this bad boy fixed?
PLEASE HELP.
Thanks!

Welcome to TFP!

1. 15lbs is a very normal reading. Pressures vary with many things and no two pools will be the same.

2. You shouldn't have water in the sight glass during any filter operation that doesn't involve water going out the waste line. Backwash, rinse and waste will put water through the sight glass, but no other setting will.

3. That indicates an air leak somewhere in the intake side of the pump. Check out http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/151-suction-side-air-leaks for help

4. Not really anyway to fix it other than to tighten the threaded pipe or remove it and add some plastic pipe dope or teflon tape. This leak is probably the cause of #6 as well.

5. This is because you have an air leak as mentioned in #3 above. Solve that and you should solve both issues.

6. See answer to #4

You can keep running like it is. You may see a little pH rise from the aeration, but nothing serious will happen.

 

[chenson]

Ok so here is what I think is the problem. The junction where the hard pipe is dripping is my source.(lower pipe on the multi port) I turned my pump on and let it run a little while.. I can almost feel the connection and air coming in.. I am currently running about 13.5lbs of pressure... So the Ah Ha kind of moment is when I turned off the pump and when the water began gurgling, I pressed my ear against the pipe where the drip is and can hear the faint sound of air leaking in! So now my next question is... I have 2 hard lines that come in to the multi port... Should I air on the side of caution and dismantle and redope both connections...?
Thanks

 

[JohnT]

The dripping connection is one cause of the air leaking in when the pump is off, but you have an air leak on the other side of the pump that is causing the bubbles. Leaks on the outlet side of the pump are under pressure when the pump is running, so they can't cause the bubbles.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

If only one is leaking, then that is the only one that needs to be unscrewed and re-doped.

With your setup, you are going to have to open up the union fitting and cut the horizontal pipe. Then re-seat the fitting into the filter and use a coupler to reconnect the horizontal pipe and then tighten the union back up.

 

[chenson]

So on the other side of the pump...? Is that like the skimmer gasket maybe....? or the 3 Red handle connections..Skimmer, side suction and main drain?

 

[JohnT]

So on the other side of the pump...? Is that like the skimmer gasket maybe....? or the 3 Red handle connections..Skimmer, side suction and main drain?

Yes, plus the drain plug on the pump basket. Everything between the impeller and the pool on the inlet size. Those valves are common sources. Could be something not tight. Often it will spurt water right as you shut the pump off.