Hayward Variable Speed….wont prime

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I would not use a pressure washer.
I do not think any of your processes to drain some water was an issue. Draining water that way however is not the best. You can damage pumps if they run dry. I assume you monitored them continuously so that did not happen. Get a submersible pump for draining water.
 
Needsdecaf said:
I'm 99.99% sure that they come from floor drains. I have four
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N,

That is exactly how it should be... :goodjob:

There is no such thing as an "airlock" when working with pools.

Your main pump sucks a vacuum and air in the line just gets sucked right through the pump, until it is all water.

When your main pump starts, it should make a vacuum that then pulls the water from the pool. Things that might keep the pump from making a vacuum are:

1. An air leak under the pump lid.
a. Lube the O-ring
b. Replace the O-ring
2. An air leak in the plumbing coming into the pump.
a. I assume that you have tried to run the pump from just the main drain and just the skimmer..
b. It would be unlikely to have both skimmer line and the main drain line bad.. But the Jandy valve could have an air leak.
3. A clog in the plumbing coming into the pump.
a. Unlikely to have both the Main Drain and Skimmer lines plugged. But the Jandy valve could be plugged or broken.


If this were my pool, I would look at the pump O-ring first and then I would open the Jandy valve and make sure it is not broken, clogged, or leaking.

Let's see what @JamesW has to say..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Does air come out of the air relief on the filter when the pump is on?

If air is continuously coming out, the pump is moving air.

If air is not coming out, then the pump is not moving air.

Show a video looking into the pump basket when the pump is turned on.

Try closing the main drain to pull only from the skimmer.

Picture of current system?

Is there a leak under the pump?

Did the pump run dry?
 
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mknauss said:
I would not use a pressure washer.
I do not think any of your processes to drain some water was an issue. Draining water that way however is not the best. You can damage pumps if they run dry. I assume you monitored them continuously so that did not happen. Get a submersible pump for draining water.
Click to expand...

OK, I won't do the pressure washer. Will borrow a hose from one of my neighbors.

Understand on the draining the pool / submersible pump but TBH life has been crazy and I don't have a pump or know anyone who has one and didn't want to go out to buy one. Given that the water feature suction comes from the bottom of the deep end and I only took about 18" of water out of the pool, no chance they ran dry.


Jimrahbe said:
N,

That is exactly how it should be... :goodjob:

There is no such thing as an "airlock" when working with pools.

Your main pump sucks a vacuum and air in the line just gets sucked right through the pump, until it is all water.

When your main pump starts, it should make a vacuum that then pulls the water from the pool. Things that might keep the pump from making a vacuum are:

1. An air leak under the pump lid.
a. Lube the O-ring
b. Replace the O-ring
2. An air leak in the plumbing coming into the pump.
a. I assume that you have tried to run the pump from just the main drain and just the skimmer..
b. It would be unlikely to have both skimmer line and the main drain line bad.. But the Jandy valve could have an air leak.
3. A clog in the plumbing coming into the pump.
a. Unlikely to have both the Main Drain and Skimmer lines plugged. But the Jandy valve could be plugged or broken.


If this were my pool, I would look at the pump O-ring first and then I would open the Jandy valve and make sure it is not broken, clogged, or leaking.

Let's see what @JamesW has to say..

Thanks,

Jim R.
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Understood. Starting to think it's the o-ring on the pump lid. Yes, I have run the main pump in skimmer only, main drain only, and split 50/50. No difference in result.

I have never opened up one of the Jandy valves. I just watched a YouTube video on it and it looks pretty easy to do. It's definitely not leaking, though. And it's likely not broken, I can freely rotate it throughout the two positions and it sweeps smoothly and does change the inlet flow from skimmer to main drain and back.


JamesW said:
Does air come out of the air relief on the filter when the pump is on?

Show a video looking into the pump basket when the pump is turned on.

Try closing the main drain to pull only from the skimmer.

Picture of current system?
Click to expand...

Hmm, dunno. I will open the air relief on the filter and see if anything is coming out. But...I will say that in monitoring my return jets, there is an amount of air coming out. I can see bubbles in the nearest return jet when the pump is running. Not nearly as much as normal....whenever I remove the lid to clean the strainer and then re-start the pool, a huge amount of air is pumped back through as I have no check valves.

I will try to take a video and post tonight. Going to pick up some lube at lunch today and hopefully that's the fix.

Pics of current system same exact as above at initial installation. Only difference is that the Jandy valve for the water feature return is set to favor the bypass a bit greater than 50% so that the water feature is a waterfall not a water fountain. Other than that, same exact pumps (I no longer use the pressure cleaner pump but it is still hooked up).

There is no leak under the pump.

The pump did not run dry. I did not use the main pool pump to pump the water out of the pool. I tried, quickly realized it was barely pumping any water out the hose bib and instead was returning the majority of the water to the pool through the filter. So I then shut it down and switched to pumping the pool dry through the water feature pump.
 
TinFoilHat said:
For future reference, you can rent a good pump from Homer and it will come with up to 50' of hose. It's about $50/day. That's what I use every few years.
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Yeah, first time in 11 years I've had to do this and hopefully the last. But if there is a next time....hopefully it's not when I have 52,000 other things distracting me from trying to get my pool chemistry straight.
 
JamesW said:
Earlier pics are when it was working.

So, it is not the exactly the same.

We need pics of it now, not working.

Something is different now and it might be visible to us where you would not notice.
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I will post updated pics and video when I get home tonight. Prepare to be disappointed, though. It really does look the same. Just 11 years old and dirty. Not trying to not do the work, but setting realistic expectations.
 
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Use a plumbers bladder and remove pump lid and fill the lines up completely, you will have to close off the second skimmer. Once it’s filled close the lid and remove hose and start it.

You can also use the intake valve to close off pump fill the pot and that stretch of pipe, put lid back on, open valve and run it.
 
PoolStored said:
Silicone lubricant like Magic Lube II or similar. Avoid PTFE/Teflon lubes.

Also lubricate the pump drain plug o-rings.
Click to expand...

mknauss said:

Pool Lube - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
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So, funny Pool Store story.

I looked on Amazon last night. The Magic Lube II was $16.99. But wouldn't get here until Tuesday. So I figured, between pool store or Ace, I have to find silicon lube.

Go to Pool Store #1 at lunch. They point to the lube at the register. It says PTFE on the front. I said, "I need Silicon". She said "I'm pretty sure that is silicon". I said, "It doesn't say Silicon on it, thanks".

Go to Pool Store #2. Guy brings me to where the lube is. Grabs a tube of "house brand" silicon lube. $9.99 for a medium-ish tube. He said most people buy this. Next to it was the Magic Lube II. Was $19.99. Brought it to the register and he said "oh man, you got the $30 lube! No homeowners buy this. Only pool technicians buy this stuff." Uh, yeah, why do you think that is? Callbacks are expensive and not worth it. LOL.

Then it rung up at $19.99 and he's like "man I thought this was $30! We could charge more for that." I told him it was $3 cheaper on Amazon, thanked him, and left.
 
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Poolbreh said:
Use a plumbers bladder and remove pump lid and fill the lines up completely, you will have to close off the second skimmer. Once it’s filled close the lid and remove hose and start it.

You can also use the intake valve to close off pump fill the pot and that stretch of pipe, put lid back on, open valve and run it.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I don't think those Jandy valves "close". At least when I was playing with it yesterday, it can only go to one inlet or the other. But not completely close. So not sure how I would accomplish your second step.

For the first step...where would you propose I install it?
 
The hose bladder attaches to the garden hose and you stick in the intake port of the skimmer you will have to plug the other skimmer with a plug. The idea is to fill the lines completely with water. Follow the rest of the steps.

The intake valve can turn 360 you need to loosen the top nut and lift it over the stop tabs. Giving the pump a good foot of water to prime off usually gets it going.
 
Needsdecaf said:
Hmm, ok I will double check. Usually it only goes on one way otherwise it hits the pipes if I put it on backwards. But I could have somehow screwed that up.. Would feel pretty foolish if that was the case.
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Ok, putting on the correct way did nothing. Then lubed up the gasket. Nothing. Took apart the Jandy valve. Not clogged. Turned the Jandy valve closed and filled the 1' of inlet pipe, then completely filled the basket. Nothing. Still won't prime.

I even thought maybe my filters were maybe clogged but rather than take the filter apart I hooked up a hose to the bib on the top of the circ pump and left that open so the pump was pumping free. It pumped water but not. Lot and still wouldn't prime.
 

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