Need Check valve and pump run hours?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
investindy

investindy

0
Oct 21, 2008
51
Terre Haute, IN
The previous owner of my house/pool ran their pump 24/7 even though the math works out to be a 7hr turnover. To save electricity I am looking at doing an 8 hour daily run. One thing he told me when he showed be how to do backwashing is that he hurries up and powers down changes to backwash mode and then restarts so he doesnt have to reprime the Hayward pump.

I have the superflow and tried it once and it does prime itself after about 15s (he was using local shutoffs to close, fill water then startup so it was never dry).....This pump is suppose to be made to self prime but is that daily 15s really hard on my pump (does it get really hot)???? The only damage I could think of wouild just be seals due to heat. Should I add a check valve to stop the return of water upon shut-off....This task would make an extra hurdle at season close (blow out lines).

Any advice on if I need a check valve?

Second question......I know its recommended to add the chemicals at night due to sun breakdown, but everyone says to run the pump during the day. I want it at night to circulate chemicals....What is the best time of day to run those required 8 hours in my case and the corresponding add chemical times?
 
15 seconds is no problem. One manufacturer told me you have about 15 minutes before you get serious problems. Serious problems being just as you suspected: The pump relies on water to keep the seal cool, so no water = melted housing. The PVC fittings also tend to expand and pop out of the housing.

I'd install a check valve only if it was a pump that took more than a minute to reprime or required refilling with a hose every time. Usually those are ones that are set several feet higher than the waterline. Yours sounds just fine and I wouldn't bother.

As for adding chems, I'm sure you'll get more specific advice from the others but I'd only be concerned about the night time thing when you're shocking the pool, which shouldn't be nightly. However, with the cold weather you'll probably want to start circulating at night anyway in case of freeze damage.
 
Cant help you with the check valves ..... but

Each pool and its filtering requirements have a lot of dependencies such as bather loads, algae blooms, rain storms, etc that require each filter to be run at different times and for various amounts of time during the pools needed filter requirements. So a lot of people figure out whats best for their scenario and go from there.

If you do a search in previous posts you will find lots of varying amounts of run times from various people who reside in different circumstances of pool requirements around North America and the world in fact.

Chemicals such as chlorine should be added at night so it has a chance to fight off and kill any organics that might be lurking in your pool water. I'm pretty sure borax, baking soda, MA and such can be added during the day with no ill effects on its usage for water balancing.
 
You only need about an hour of pump run time to fully mix in chemicals. Chlorine is best added in the early evening, other chemicals don't care what time of day you add them.

Having the pump running during the day is indeed slightly better, but this is really a minor issue and if there is some reason to run the pump at night you can go ahead and run the pump at night.
 
I have never been a fan of check valves unless they are absolutely necessary. Your 15 second time-to-prime is fine (I wish mine would do that) and I would not consider a check valve.
 
More of a concern to me would be why the pump is losing prime. If you have a solar system with a relief valve then the pump will lose prime without a check valve.

If you don't have solar then the pump should remain primed between runs unless there is an air leak somewhere.
 
The pump lid is usually the source of air leaks so that is a good first check. Other areas to look at are valves.

Do you lose prime with normal operation or just when you backwash?

Do you see air in the pump basket while the pump is running?

If not, then it could be a leak on the return side which seals itself when the pump is running but opens without pump pressure and lets air in.
 
Only loose prime when turning power off to pump when changing to backwash mode for the sand filter. No sign of air...If I do it quick I do not loose any prime. If I do allow it to sit and drain back it takes about 15s to suck back enough volume into the pump getting it back to normal operation....My pump etc is about 30' from the edge of the pool...Even though I think I would only have air between the pump and where it goes into the ground to the height of the pool water. Thus only a pocket of maybe 8' of 1.5" PVC. As far as I know I'm not loosing any water, I only have to top=off here in the midwest about once every few weeks with water.

Should I be concerned if everything is not fully sealed? Do you agree with an early post in the thread that the 15s to pull it in shouldnt hurt anything?
 
In order to lose prime, air must enter the plumbing somewhere.

If the pump is only losing prime when switching to backwash then the air could enter through the backwash exit pipe. However, if you use a flexible backwash hose this would collapse and prevent air from entering that port.

But even if you have the pipe open, in order for air to enter the pump basket, most of the water would need to drain out of the filter so that it could get to the pump. This should take quite a long time to do so I am still surprised that air enters the pump so quickly.

It almost sounds like the ports in the backwash valve may be swapped. What kind of Hayward backwash valve are you using? Have you checked to make sure the ports are connected correctly?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
:) Your right, system seems okay. Just turned the pump off without doing the normal shift to backwash mode and the water stayed in the pump...Gonna leave it this way overnight and see if any slowly bleeds back. Must be the air introduction going to the filters backwash mode what I was seeing...The In/Outs/Waste were correct based on the tags on the filter. Still don't know why we get air-in shifting modes (is solid lines) but its not hurting anything. Feel better about doing 8 hour cycles now knowing I don't have the dry period at startups!!!!
 
If you use a PVC line for backwash then I almost gaurantee that's where the air comes from. I get the same thing on mine when I switch to backwash. It will let some air in and it will get to the pump quickly because when you push down on the handle, all of the ports are open.

HTH,
Adam
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply