Hello everyone, I'm not sure if it's a problem but am getting air in the system.

What sort of pump do you have, and if it's a variable speed, what are your runtime speeds and settings?

Air getting into the system is typically suction-side, before the pump. Can you take a photo of your plumbing going into the pump and as much as is visible before that point?

Have they checked the Jandy valves before the pump yet?

From what you describe, the solar heating system is working as designed. The water draining when done, the air pushing into the pool when the heater starts, all normal. I'm gunna guess the air in the pump is unrelated to the solar system.

As Ice points out, you likely have a suction-side leak. With luck, it is not underground. Use this technique to determine if there is a leak (in front of your pump or anywhere around your suction manifold*), and then we'll go from there.

Your suction manifold is those two black three-way valves and all the PVC pipe between the front of the pump and the ground...

Theoretically, the hose trick should find any suction-side leaks above ground, including the valves or the o-rings. Did you hold in each area for a good long while?

You're already on to the next step. Changing out the o-rings is easy and cheap, so give that a go. When I fixed my leaking valve, the o-rings came in a five-set pack. See if you can find the o-rings for your valves, along with a video about how to change them out. I found fixing mine to be pretty easy. Then the same for the pump. There's the big ring for the lid, but there may also be an o-ring on a plug near the bottom.

Or you can try this first: after you take a pic of where the valve handles are normally, try the various combinations that would isolate each of the three branches of your suction side plumbing. If plumbed correctly, there should be no way to set the valves such that you would dead-head the pump (cut off all its water sources), but just in case, move the valves slowly and listen for any drastic change in the sound of the pump, as if it was being choked off. You're looking to see if by cutting off all the pipes, one at a time, if the bubbles stop. That would indicate which of the lines is leaking. If that works, you can try the hose trick again on the length of pipe between the valve and the ground. If that doesn't reveal the leak, then that kind'a indicates the leak is underground, unfortunately. Though there is a "glue trick" or a plastic wrap trick we can try if this test reveals the leak is in only one line.

The plastic wrap trick is basically wrapping PVC joints with plastic wrap to see if that stops the leak. You can do one joint at a time, or all of them to rule out multiple leaking glue joints. The "glue trick," which I don't personally like, is squirting PVC glue at the suspected leak in hopes the system's suction will draw into the leak enough glue to plug itself. I'd prefer to replace the joint if possible, but others seem to think squirting glue is an adequate fix.

You are also correctly theorizing that there could be more than one leak. So you might have to try some or all of these tricks in various order.

Understand the following for your work on the o-rings:

@mas985, could the pump or its impeller be causing the air in the pump somehow? That's beyond what I know how to look for...

Dirk said:

@mas985, could the pump or its impeller be causing the air in the pump somehow? That's beyond what I know how to look for...

Click to expand...

If the impeller is clogged, it may not have enough flow rate to push out the air. High head loss can also be an issue.

OP, what is the filter pressure when solar is on vs off?

When was the filter last cleaned?

When did this problem start?

cvap said:

I'll try the water again and try saran wrap, then orings, but I think it may be under the slab. The slab has multiple cracks although none have dropped off plane with each other. If all else fails, is it possible to snake flexible 1.5" inside the 2"? I don't know how it could be connected at the skimmer, main and vac, or if installers normally use 90's, but just a thought.

Click to expand...

Work through Mark's questions.

Did you understand the bit about operating the suction manifold valves to isolate which pipe might be leaking?

Even if there were no 90s in a leaking pipe, which is virtually impossible, you would not be able to shove a pipe all the way through it. But you were sort'a on the right track. There are "no dig" fixes. I don't have any info about how well they work, and they're not cheap. I'm guessing they're priced not by what it takes, but rather by what someone would be willing to pay vs taking their yard and deck apart. Here's an example:

cvap said:

skimmer, main and vac

Click to expand...

There is another possibility if the leak turns out to be underground.

Main: I have one skimmer and had my main drain removed (on purpose). The pool works fine without a main drain, and it's likely yours would, too. You could close the valve at the pad and seal up the main drain.

Vac: For a whole lot less than a repair, you could stop using your vac line (close valve and plug the other end) and buy yourself a nice robot cleaner.

Skimmer: of the three this is the one that you can't do without, so fingers crossed...

The pump lid and drains plugs are the usual culprits.

cvap said:

I have ran the pump with only one line open at a time as my first post indicated.

Click to expand...

Sorry, miss-read that. Well, that could be good news then. On to the o-rings...

I've never actually tried the hose trick, 'cause I've never had a leak. But I'd have to guess the farther away from the pump the leak is, and the smaller it is, the longer you'd have to hold the hose. Possibly the plastic wrap would work better for a small leak.