Idea to help fill pump basket

[Spyder]

Hi guys I am new to this site and have had my Ecostar VSP for over a year now and have just figured out a trick that does fill my pump basket in less than a minute and all my lines are 1.5inches. When I first bought the pump I assumed it was a leak somewhere but my previous pump never had an issue. I called Hayward and the said flat out that because my lines are all 1.5inches it would never fill because although the pump is powerfull it cannot pull enough water in fast enough because that lines just cannot accomodate the flow in. I also thought about that fact that the pump basket is huge compared to my previous pump. So I thought about makin the internal space in the pump smaller so the flow can fill to what my lines can handle. Also, I read somewhere on this site about the entrance to the pump is much higher that the exit out of the basket so air may not be able to be pushed out. So what I did (and please don't trash my idea yet) was to fill 8oz bottles of water in the basket one bottle at a time until I the basket full. Well 3 bottles later it worked and primed the basket in 30 seconds!
Also how they are arranged in the basket matter. As per my picture this is how I had to orient them making sure not to block the entrance into the pump. I have done this for a couple of days and yes you get some air bubbles on slow speed but this is a huge difference. I am putting my idea out there so if anyone has some feedback I would appreciate it as I would rather not us drinking bottles but rather make a filler in the basket that will tolerate all the pool chemicals.

Cheers!
Spyder

 

[Texas Splash]

I see no one had chimed-in on your post Spyder. Interesting idea, and hope it continues to work for you. Keep us posted. Have a nice day.

 

[pooldv]

I have some air bubbles in my leaf basket at low speed and I have 2" plumbing. It clears above a certain RPM, like maybe 1800. It has never caused a problem and I think it is common. The problem with your idea is it is more work to clean out the leaf basket because you have to mess with the bottles.

 

[aussieta]

if you plumb a check valve just before pump should stop lines draining back and keep basket full