New VS pump, came home to no return flow and a full water basket at low RPM, help?

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summertimesadness

Gold Supporter
Aug 23, 2022
393
New Jersey
Pool Size
20000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
I've run this pump on SLAM at 2400 RPM with no issues.

Yesterday I programmed it to run 22 hrs at 1300 rpm and 2 hrs at 3200 for cleaning.

Came home today to find nothing coming from the skimmer returns and the SWCG on no flow / low flow. I opened the pump basket and water came pouring out. The pump basket wasn't dirty enough to warrant any blockage. I re primed it and all the air cleared the lines.

Of note, there is a slight water leak from the pipe on top of the pump that goes into the filter. It's going to be fixed soon.

Would this leak however cause this problem? Obviously low RPMs is causing the lines to become air blocked. Thoughts?

Hayward super pump vs 700 for reference.
 
summertimesadness said:
I've run this pump on SLAM at 2400 RPM with no issues.

Yesterday I programmed it to run 22 hrs at 1300 rpm and 2 hrs at 3200 for cleaning.

Came home today to find nothing coming from the skimmer returns and the SWCG on no flow / low flow. I opened the pump basket and water came pouring out. The pump basket wasn't dirty enough to warrant any blockage. I re primed it and all the air cleared the lines.

Of note, there is a slight water leak from the pipe on top of the pump that goes into the filter. It's going to be fixed soon.

Would this leak however cause this problem? Obviously low RPMs is causing the lines to become air blocked. Thoughts?

Hayward super pump vs 700 for reference.
Click to expand...
Low rpms dont cause an air blockage but low rpm might not be enough to close the flow switch in the SWG. Ideally you run 100-200 RPM above whatever rpm is needed to close the flow switch. Get the leak fixed and then check it.
 
Bperry said:
Low rpms dont cause an air blockage but low rpm might not be enough to close the flow switch in the SWG. Ideally you run 100-200 RPM above whatever rpm is needed to close the flow switch. Get the leak fixed and then check it.
Click to expand...

Correct on the SWCG. Its why I played with it and it runs fine at 1300 / 1400.

Would the pipe on the pump leaking create air pockets into the system? Just odd no water was returning in the jets.
 
summertimesadness said:
Correct on the SWCG. Its why I played with it and it runs fine at 1300 / 1400.

Would the pipe on the pump leaking create air pockets into the system? Just odd no water was returning in the jets.
Click to expand...
Are you sure NO water is coming out of the jets? Its gotta be foing somewhere. Are the return valves open?
 
Bperry said:
Are you sure NO water is coming out of the jets? Its gotta be foing somewhere. Are the return valves open?
Click to expand...

Yesterday when I came home, I put my hand in front of the jet and no water was coming out.

I turned off pump, drained the basket to see if there was any obstruction and poured water back in to prime it. After it primed, it pushed the air through and everything was back to normal.

I upped the timer speeds to 1800 rpm. I'll see this evening if it did the same thing.
 
summertimesadness said:
Yesterday when I came home, I put my hand in front of the jet and no water was coming out.

I turned off pump, drained the basket to see if there was any obstruction and poured water back in to prime it. After it primed, it pushed the air through and everything was back to normal.

I upped the timer speeds to 1800 rpm. I'll see this evening if it did the same thing.
Click to expand...
Check your skimmer weir doors to make sure they a arent stuck closed. Mine did that once and it caused air go get sucked in over time and then very little was being pumped through.
 
Bperry said:
Check your skimmer weir doors to make sure they a arent stuck closed. Mine did that once and it caused air go get sucked in over time and then very little was being pumped through.
Click to expand...

Possible, but I did look at them at first and it didn't appear stuck. I'll see this evening.

I think somehow air is getting into the system and it's creating a makeshift obstruction some how.

But it only happens on lower RPMs.
 
Your signature shows a 1 HP Pentair pump. Can you update that so we know what VS pump you are speaking of?
 

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With a heater and sand filter it is likely that low hp VS pump will not be able to be run at low rpm and move any water. I suspect the minimum will be 1800 rpm or even higher.

You would have been well served to get a full 3 hp VS pump.
 
mknauss said:
With a heater and sand filter it is likely that low hp VS pump will not be able to be run at low rpm and move any water. I suspect the minimum will be 1800 rpm or even higher.

You would have been well served to get a full 3 hp VS pump.
Click to expand...

I don't run the heater unless I'm home and I push it up to 2400 rpm.

After the heater is done, I turn it off and reduce the VS lower.

I didn't have the heater on at all yesterday.
 
Can you post a picture of your pad equipment?

Is the pump below water level?

Are there check valves in the plumbing? A broken check valve can have unpredictable behavior. Sometime open, sometimes closed.

When the pump first turns on via the timer, does it first go through a priming cycle (i.e. higher RPM for a few minutes)?

Air locks can only occur where the pump pressure is lower than the highest pipe.
 
mas985 said:
Can you post a picture of your pad equipment?

Is the pump below water level?

Are there check valves in the plumbing? A broken check valve can have unpredictable behavior. Sometime open, sometimes closed.

When the pump first turns on via the timer, does it first go through a priming cycle (i.e. higher RPM for a few minutes)?

Air locks can only occur where the pump pressure is lower than the highest pipe.
Click to expand...

1. Sure, ill do it tonight.
2. Nope
3. Not sure what to call it. Should be able to tell from the picture I posted.
4. It does, 5 minutes at 3400 RPM.
 
summertimesadness said:
1. Sure, ill do it tonight.
2. Nope
3. Not sure what to call it. Should be able to tell from the picture I posted.
Click to expand...
Did you post a picture somewhere that I missed?

summertimesadness said:
4. It does, 5 minutes at 3400 RPM.
Click to expand...
After priming and the pump steps down to the lower RPM, how long before the flow stops?

Also, what is the filter pressure at full speed?
 

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