I am in the process of slamming our pool. I have been filtering and backwashing since last Friday. Everything was going good until I went out to test this morning and my water was about 4" below skimmer level. I knew it was getting close to me need ing to add water and I planned to do that this evening, but it dropped about 6" over night. My question is, once the level gets below the skimmer, should it drop rapidly if the pump is going?
Low water
- Thread starter phillipwyse
- Start date
Yes I think so. Ive never seen it because we bought the house a few months ago and the pool was green. But i can feel it when i rake for leaves and brush.
- Jan 21, 2014
- 1,069
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
when the pump is running, do you see water movement in the backwash sight glass? Honestly it sounds like you're draining the pool via backwash unless I'm misunderstanding the scenario.
When i back washed it last night there was water in the site glass. What i dont understand is how the water level dropped so rapidly when all i did was run the filter all night. The pump and filter were still going this morning but there wasnt much water coming out the return jets. And the water was below the skimmer. Somehow i lost 6" of water during the night while i was just running on filter.
Could be a leaking backwash valve. Has happened to me after setting it to filter but it was not fully seated and I lost a lot of water.
- Jan 21, 2014
- 1,069
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
THe above quote from Jason is what I was getting at. Are you currently losing water via backwash?
Regarding your poor pressure from the return jets...
Is there air in the pump basket now? I would assume there is...assuming you have your suction set to the skimmers and the main drain. If you are pulling just from the main drain, there's a strong possibility (depending on the age of the pool) that you aren't moving much water due to debris covering the main drain. Newer pools have a dual main drain (anti-entrapment) which will lessen the likelihood of this being your problem. It's still entirely plausible if you have much debris. What do you see in the pump basket?
Can you see the bottom of the pool currently?
I cant see the the drain right now. The pool is still cloudy from the slam. I have raked and raked around the drain and i dont think there is a bunch of debris there but im not positive. Im betting its the leaky valve. How do I fix that? Could i put a manual valve in the backwash line down flow of the filter? Or do i need to replace the entire valve mechanism on the top of the filter? Thanks guys. All the help yall have given me in the past 2 weeks has saved me alot of money. Im hoping this isnt a costly fix also!
No, if that's it, you should try replacing the multiport/spider gasket first. It's likely simple as that.
Your multiport valve on top of your filter has a gasket inside, and if you scroll down on the page linked below, there is a picture of one. You remove all the screws on top of your valve and take it apart to get at it.
Pool equipment pictures
Your multiport valve on top of your filter has a gasket inside, and if you scroll down on the page linked below, there is a picture of one. You remove all the screws on top of your valve and take it apart to get at it.
Pool equipment pictures
Thanks guys. Im not sure what I'd do without yall and TFP. I'll check it out as soon as I get home today.