Pool pump runs but does not pump water

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J

jonostang

0
Apr 11, 2016
14
Orlando
Pool Size
20000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
I've tested out typical culprits and think that it is the pump itself. It is a hayward tristar 2.7 hp. It is about 8 years old.

I was curious if anyone had any ideas. The pump turns on and the motor runs. At times some water is being pumped but nowhere near what is needed to prime. At other times, no water is being pumped while the motor runs.
I've checked the impeller (using my fingers to feel for anything). The pipes are clean.

My guess is that the motor runs but the impeller isn't turning.

Any thoughts on this?
 
Clogged impeller is another possibility. But first make 100% sure there's not some other clog in the system: intake plumbing, filter, heater, SWCG, return plumbing. A quick thing to try if you have a cartridge filter is to remove the cartridges. If the problem remains, the filter is no longer a suspect.
 
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Thanks guys, So I opened the pump, and the impeller and diffuser looked good to me (I am no export). I cleaned them out and put the pump back together. I verified that the impeller moves with the motor (i.e. I spun the impeller and verified that the fan at the back of the motor also spun with it.

I ran the pump after this and still nothing...

I saw in another forum to manually prime the pump so I filled it with water and TA-DAAAAAAA that sucker pumped a ton of water.

I never needed to do this before so I"m not sure what happened here. I'm leaving this topic open for a couple of days until I'm sure that this item has been resolved.

pumpDifusser.jpgpumpImpeller.jpg
 
jonostang said:
Thanks guys, So I opened the pump, and the impeller and diffuser looked good to me (I am no export). I cleaned them out and put the pump back together. I verified that the impeller moves with the motor (i.e. I spun the impeller and verified that the fan at the back of the motor also spun with it.

I ran the pump after this and still nothing...

I saw in another forum to manually prime the pump so I filled it with water and TA-DAAAAAAA that sucker pumped a ton of water.

I never needed to do this before so I"m not sure what happened here. I'm leaving this topic open for a couple of days until I'm sure that this item has been resolved.

View attachment 560130View attachment 560131
Click to expand...
There is a slight clog in that impeller picture. It may have cleared once the pump started moving water.
 
Yeah pumps generally need some water in them to prime. The manual for your pump says "If water source is lower than the pump, unscrew and remove strainer cover; fill strainer housing with water." In most cases when you're just stopping the pump for a short period to empty baskets, clean filter, etc., there's no need to do this because the water that was in the filter back-flows into the pump. But if anything happens that causes the pump to be completely emptied, you need to add water.
 
ok, a day later, it started struggling again.

Even though I didn't see cracks, I did hear a very faint hissing sound when the pump went from on to off. This led me to think that the cover had an issue or the cover's rubber gasket was bad. I checked the cover and didn't see anything wrong with it. The rubber gasket looked good to me (no cracks). I tried adding pool-o-ring lubricant but still heard the sound.

I ordered the (gulp!!) $65 cover. It included a gasket

Once replaced, the water appears to be priming nicely now. 1 good day so far






PumpCover.png
 
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