1st Time Pool Owner with a few questions

[hummer28]

First off all I'm happy to have joined this forum and look forward to assistance from pool knowledgeable members.

I had a new pool company start this week and do a filter clean this past Saturday. The cartridges were disgusting to put it mildly and even after a thorough washing they remained brownish (see pic below, only 3 of 4 pictured). The pool was put in in 2009 and we have been in the home roughly a year. The technician suggested I see how they perform after the cleaning, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't just start from zero since I don't know if they have ever been changed. There has been a considerable amount of blow-back in my pool though I always assumed it was flagstone shedding around the coping. As he cleaned it, I realized the gunk was the same thing that was settling on the bottom of my pool almost like a fine silt.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/18imsgvuz4ne6ax/IMG_3579%202.JPG?dl=0

Lastly,

I'm getting air bubbles through one of my return jets. It started out as tiny bubbles and now sounds like someone gurgling. I don't have a backwash function on my equipment so I can't perform one. Oddly, my waterfall basket pump cover remains full of water to the point it looks clear when looking at it through the pump cover, but my main pool pump never hits the top clear cap and surges almost like a clogged toilet then recedes a few seconds and surges again. I have a pool tech coming this week to assess, but I don't want to get taken for a ride. Has anyone had this happen before?

Here is photo showing my setup, and a link to video showing what happens as the surge occurs both closeup and from overlooking the pool itself.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a1zvktx2wps6jmm/IMG_3592.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hc3j7ioe479crrn/IMG_3586.MOV?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zob94upm2gmm58v/IMG_3595.MOV?dl=0

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

It is usually worth examining the cartridges for problems and continuing to use them unless you find something specific wrong. But if you feel like replacing them instead gf doing a close inspection, that is your call.

It sounds like you have a suction side air leak. The most common causes are a problem with the seal on the pump strainer basket lid, or the water level being too low so a vortex forms in the skimmer and draws in air, though there could be an actual leak in the plumbing.

 

[hummer28]

Welcome to TFP!

It is usually worth examining the cartridges for problems and continuing to use them unless you find something specific wrong. But if you feel like replacing them instead gf doing a close inspection, that is your call.

It sounds like you have a suction side air leak. The most common causes are a problem with the seal on the pump strainer basket lid, or the water level being too low so a vortex forms in the skimmer and draws in air, though there could be an actual leak in the plumbing.

Thanks for the feedback Jason,

I recently installed a Skimdoctor on my skimmer basket to draw more surface debris into the skimmer. This causes a huge suction vortex and has been working like a charm. However, I just found that when I removed it along with the skimmer basket it attaches to after a minute or so many of the bubbles I was referencing stop all together. I would say they are reduced by 80-90%. I assume I have air escaping on the suction side and the Skimdoctor exacerbates the issue. The suction in the skimmer is so strong is sounds like a waterfall that can be heard immediately upon entering the pool area so the Skimdoctor may be working too well. Depending upon how wide I opened the Skimdoctor it would pull so hard I could see the bottom of my skimmer basket so I'm sure air is getting in. I'm going to add a few more inches to my pool this week (was holding off because we are expecting rain) and I think it may resolve the issue. The pool isn't low, but could handle an addition 1.5 inches. I'm going to go run it for a while with just the skimmer basket. I will make sure the tech checks the seal on the pump as well. Thanks for the info. My brain immediately went to, "OMG ..... I could have an underground leak that requires thousands of dollars to repair!" I will let you know how this turns out.

 

[Patrick_B]

Good luck, and with any at all it will be on the pump. It often is, and it sounds like the skimmer issue was the big culprit here.

Welcome to TFP!

 

[hummer28]

Good luck, and with any at all it will be on the pump. It often is, and it sounds like the skimmer issue was the big culprit here.

Welcome to TFP!

It appears that the issue is the pump. I also have been noticing water at the base of the main culprit for the past few weeks, but figured it was an anomaly until it has continued to happen. I ordered a Hayward KIT Quick Pump Repair for TriStar. My pool service wants to charge me $310 to install a few O-rings and seals. Needless to say, I'm just going to do it myself. I will let you all know how it comes out!

 

[duraleigh]

From everything I see in your videos, the issue is not the pump but the fact you are sucking in air on the suction side of your system. If you stop that air from coming in, your pump will prime and your system will work.

That you see water around the pump is a different issue and the repair kit may fix that but it won't stop your system from sucking air which is your biggest problem.