Return lines blowing air

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DanWC

Active member
Aug 17, 2023
36
Kentucky
Pool Size
17890
Surface
Fiberglass
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair Intellichlor IC-20
Hi all,

I am having an issue that I believe is new.

My return lines are all blowing pockets of air at any RPM above 2,200.

I thought maybe I did not have a good seal on pump basket or filter. I have reset them and still have pockets of air being pushed through all return lines.

I have turned off main drain only and still see them and also turned off skimmer only and still see them.

I went down to pool this morning and pump basket did have a decent size air pocket in top of glass view port and my SWG was not on due to flow not being adequate. This was at 1,900 RPM’s.

This is a new pool built last year and I am a new pool owner. I have neglected using o-ring lubricant whenever I have opened pump basket or filter. Could this be the source of air getting into lines? My biggest fear is pipes under ground getting a leak.

Any help would be mush appreciated!
 
Is it constant air out of the return or for just a few minutes and then it disappears?

If it is the later, it could be the SWG. I have had the same thing happen in my pool. On low speeds and when the SWG runs, the hydrogen gas generated by the SWG can collect in parts of the plumbing because the flow rate is low. Then when the flow rate is higher, all the gas gets pushed out of the returns. However, this does not usually last very long and is only temporary.

If it is continuous and you see air in the pump basket all the time, then there could be an air leak in the system although on lower speeds, air is less likely to get pushed out of the returns.

DanWC said:
This is a new pool built last year and I am a new pool owner. I have neglected using o-ring lubricant whenever I have opened pump basket or filter. Could this be the source of air getting into lines?
Click to expand...
Most definitely! Drain plugs as well.
 
mas985 said:
Is it constant air out of the return or for just a few minutes and then it disappears?

If it is the later, it could be the SWG. I have had the same thing happen in my pool. On low speeds and when the SWG runs, the hydrogen gas generated by the SWG can collect in parts of the plumbing because the flow rate is low. Then when the flow rate is higher, all the gas gets pushed out of the returns. However, this does not usually last very long and is only temporary.

If it is continuous and you see air in the pump basket all the time, then there could be an air leak in the system although on lower speeds, air is less likely to get pushed out of the returns.


Most definitely! Drain plugs as well.
Click to expand...
It definitely seems to be pretty consistent. I would post a video but seems as though I can only attach pictures.

Another thing I noticed is the first elbow after the pump between pump and filter has a very small leak. I ran my finger under it the other day and noticed my it was wet after doing so. Maybe this is the culprit? It’s so small though I can’t imagine it being the reason.

I will also try to see if o-ring lube helps. I can’t say for certain if this was going this before. But I am very observant, especially the pool as issues give me such anxiety lol. And I fairly certain I have not noticed this prior to Saturday when I cleaned filter.
 
DanWC said:
It definitely seems to be pretty consistent. I would post a video but seems as though I can only attach pictures.
Click to expand...
So after 5 minutes, air is still coming out? Are you sure it isn't the SWG? Are they small bubbles or large bubbles?

DanWC said:
Another thing I noticed is the first elbow after the pump between pump and filter has a very small leak. I ran my finger under it the other day and noticed my it was wet after doing so. Maybe this is the culprit? It’s so small though I can’t imagine it being the reason.
Click to expand...
That is on the pressure side of the pump so it would not leak air in while the pump is on. It would only leak water out. Air leaks occur on the suction side of the pump.

DanWC said:
I will also try to see if o-ring lube helps. I can’t say for certain if this was going this before. But I am very observant, especially the pool as issues give me such anxiety lol. And I fairly certain I have not noticed this prior to Saturday when I cleaned filter.
Click to expand...
Most air leaks are usually in the pump lid.

One more thing, have you tried to purge the air in the filter?
 
mas985 said:
So after 5 minutes, air is still coming out? Are you sure it isn't the SWG? Are they small bubbles or large bubbles?


That is on the pressure side of the pump so it would not leak air in while the pump is on. It would only leak water out. Air leaks occur on the suction side of the pump.


Most air leaks are usually in the pump lid.
Click to expand...
I can say for certain this is not due to SWG. I have seen bubbles from that. This is bursts of air coming out randomly. I can hear them and see them. If I turn the pump up they start no matter what.

What leads me to think maybe they are from pump basket and lack of o-ring lube is because turning off skimmer or main drain doesn’t make a different. And they are blowing out of all return lines. Of course unless there are leaks in both skimmer and main drain which would be incredibly unlucky.
 
mas985 said:
So after 5 minutes, air is still coming out? Are you sure it isn't the SWG? Are they small bubbles or large bubbles?


That is on the pressure side of the pump so it would not leak air in while the pump is on. It would only leak water out. Air leaks occur on the suction side of the pump.


Most air leaks are usually in the pump lid.

One more thing, have you tried to purge the air in the filter?
Click to expand...
I do suppose it’s possibly the SWG is creating pockets of air that aren’t being pushed out at lower RPM’s. But from what I have observed the bursts of air really never are stopping. I’ll have to observe for a longer time to say for sure.
 
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DanWC said:
I do suppose it’s possibly the SWG is creating pockets of air that aren’t being pushed out at lower RPM’s. But from what I have observed the bursts of air really never are stopping. I’ll have to observe for a longer time to say for sure.
Click to expand...
Turn off the SWG and see if the bubbles keep going. 😉
 
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