We had a problem earlier with the pump on our in ground pool losing prime when the solar cover was on. We cut out areas around intakes and problem solved. Now it’s happening again. We’ve checked water level, filter baskets, bought a new gasket, and checked that all unions are tight. Pump runs fine once we add water to it, but loses prime over night. Any suggestions on more trouble shooting?
Pump loses prime
- Thread starter Smith2646
- Start date
- Jun 24, 2021
- 7,507
- Pool Size
- 30000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60
Is the pump on or off when it loses prime? If you leave the cover off, does it lose prime? Does it lose prime during the day? How long and how often are you running the pump?
drsipe
Gold Supporter
- Jul 24, 2020
- 384
- Pool Size
- 24500
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
When the pump is primed, does it accumulate an air bubble in the pot?
If it does accumulate air in the pot, it is a suction side air leak, and you can find the leak by slowly pouring water over each connection one at a time while the pump is running and observing the air bubble in the pot, if the air bubble gets smaller, you have found your culprit.
Do you have a variable speed pump, if so, what speed does the pump run?
Do you have any other leaks in the system, around the pump, pot, filter, heater, or return piping?
If it does accumulate air in the pot, it is a suction side air leak, and you can find the leak by slowly pouring water over each connection one at a time while the pump is running and observing the air bubble in the pot, if the air bubble gets smaller, you have found your culprit.
Do you have a variable speed pump, if so, what speed does the pump run?
Do you have any other leaks in the system, around the pump, pot, filter, heater, or return piping?
Here are photos of our pump and filter set up. It’s old (here when we bought the house) and I think single speed 1/2 hp. We run it 5-6 hrs in morning. Got it going today, turned it off for about 3 hrs then went out to start it up. No prime. Filled basket with water and got it to run. When I turned it off it blew water out of the basket. Basket was tightened down and we have a new gasket. No solar cover. Took it off end of Feb.
We haven’t noticed any leaks anywhere else in the system.
We haven’t noticed any leaks anywhere else in the system.
Attachments
I posted photos. Any help would be appreciated. We tried the smoke test on all of the connections and couldn’t find anything.
I posted photos of our system. We tried the smoke test and couldn’t find anything. Any ideas are welcome.
drsipe
Gold Supporter
- Jul 24, 2020
- 384
- Pool Size
- 24500
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
The smoke test will find large suction side leaks, and it's good that you performed the test, but again,,, Does your pump pot accumulate an air bubble while the pump is running, and if so how quickly does the bubble form?
Using a hose to pour water on the connections is a better way to find suction side leaks.
Have your tried Hayward, Jack's lube on the strainer lid "O" ring?
www.troublefreepool.com
If you do not accumulate an air bubble while the pump is running, then are you losing prime when the pump is off. Somehow your pump/plumbing is losing water while the system is off,,,, how long does it take to drain out enough water to not allow a prime?
If your system is draining back after the pump is off, one culprit could be your mulit-port valve. If the valve is the problem, it could be leaking into your backwash line, which is a leak you might not see easily. Then when the pump is off, this would allow air to enter the system and the water would drain from the pump back to the pool. Take a look at the backwash outlet while the pump is running, to see if you have any leakage.
Using a hose to pour water on the connections is a better way to find suction side leaks.
Have your tried Hayward, Jack's lube on the strainer lid "O" ring?
Suction Side Air Leaks
If you see air bubbles coming out of the return lines in your pool, you likely have a leak. Some signs that a suction side plumbing leak has occurred include: Read more
www.troublefreepool.com
If you do not accumulate an air bubble while the pump is running, then are you losing prime when the pump is off. Somehow your pump/plumbing is losing water while the system is off,,,, how long does it take to drain out enough water to not allow a prime?
If your system is draining back after the pump is off, one culprit could be your mulit-port valve. If the valve is the problem, it could be leaking into your backwash line, which is a leak you might not see easily. Then when the pump is off, this would allow air to enter the system and the water would drain from the pump back to the pool. Take a look at the backwash outlet while the pump is running, to see if you have any leakage.
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When the pump turns off it blows air and water out from the basket. I just put the lube on the o-ring and after pouring water over all of the connections the big air bubble is now just a couple of small ones. I will see what happens when the pump turns off this time.The smoke test will find large suction side leaks, and it's good that you performed the test, but again,,, Does your pump pot accumulate an air bubble while the pump is running, and if so how quickly does the bubble form?
Using a hose to pour water on the connections is a better way to find suction side leaks.
Have your tried Hayward, Jack's lube on the strainer lid "O" ring?
Suction Side Air Leaks
If you see air bubbles coming out of the return lines in your pool, you likely have a leak. Some signs that a suction side plumbing leak has occurred include: Read more
If you do not accumulate an air bubble while the pump is running, then are you losing prime when the pump is off. Somehow your pump/plumbing is losing water while the system is off,,,, how long does it take to drain out enough water to not allow a prime?
If your system is draining back after the pump is off, one culprit could be your mulit-port valve. If the valve is the problem, it could be leaking into your backwash line, which is a leak you might not see easily. Then when the pump is off, this would allow air to enter the system and the water would drain from the pump back to the pool. Take a look at the backwash outlet while the pump is running, to see if you have any leakage.
drsipe
Gold Supporter
- Jul 24, 2020
- 384
- Pool Size
- 24500
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
When you poured the water on each joint, did it make a difference on one joint, you may need to run water on each joint for 5-10 minutes,,,, one joint at a time to find a leak. This is not a fast test.
If you blew water out of strainer basket, how did the gasket look? The o-ring Lube will help, but if the o-ring is chewed up, it still may not seal.
On a good note, I think you are making progress. Suction side air leaks are not easy or quick to find. Slow and maticulous troubleshooting is what it takes.
If you blew water out of strainer basket, how did the gasket look? The o-ring Lube will help, but if the o-ring is chewed up, it still may not seal.
On a good note, I think you are making progress. Suction side air leaks are not easy or quick to find. Slow and maticulous troubleshooting is what it takes.
Thanks. When I put lune on the o ring I could see a bunch of tiny cracks. It’s a very old motor so I had to order a replacement. It was hard to tell but I think when I Darn water up under the filter basket cover the bubbles got smaller. That makes me think it’s either the o ring or an issue with the cover.