I posted the info below to an existing thread about solar. I thought I'd repost here since it seems like more of a pump/filter issue.
OK, so I have all of the plumbing in to make the pool operational again, but don't have the panels hooked up. I did take the top off of my cartridge filter, which I'd never done before, to make sure my new plumbing wouldn't interfere with it's removal. I decided that now was a good time to check and make sure the pool still worked. It doesn't.
When I turn on the pump, nothing happens. No bubbles in the pool for the incoming water, nothing. When I look at the pump I can see about 4" of air in the basket. This is after letting the cartridge refill and closing it off when the water comes out. I don't have my camera cable with me or I'd post a pic in case anything jumps out. I wondered if maybe the main 3-way valve was leaking a little even though no water was coming out or no air, so I went ahead and glued the cutoff valve in place and retried. Nada. The only thing I noticed was at one of the returns it made a small ripple in the pool from attempting to suck.
I guess this means I'm sucking air from somewhere, but water isn't coming out any of the fittings. I'm still pretty new to all of this and don't know all of the signs to look for. My guess is that one of the 3 threaded fittings out of the filter, into the SWG, or out of the SWG are leaking.
Any advice? Could something else be a cause? I did trip the 3-way to see what would happen and shot water out as if water were being diverted to the panels. That rules out the check valve being in backwards even though I've checked that about 10x.
I'm concerned that I shouldn't really proceed any further with the solar install until this problem is solved.
Thanks.
Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85659721@N ... 522083093/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85659721@N ... 522083093/
OK, so I have all of the plumbing in to make the pool operational again, but don't have the panels hooked up. I did take the top off of my cartridge filter, which I'd never done before, to make sure my new plumbing wouldn't interfere with it's removal. I decided that now was a good time to check and make sure the pool still worked. It doesn't.
When I turn on the pump, nothing happens. No bubbles in the pool for the incoming water, nothing. When I look at the pump I can see about 4" of air in the basket. This is after letting the cartridge refill and closing it off when the water comes out. I don't have my camera cable with me or I'd post a pic in case anything jumps out. I wondered if maybe the main 3-way valve was leaking a little even though no water was coming out or no air, so I went ahead and glued the cutoff valve in place and retried. Nada. The only thing I noticed was at one of the returns it made a small ripple in the pool from attempting to suck.
I guess this means I'm sucking air from somewhere, but water isn't coming out any of the fittings. I'm still pretty new to all of this and don't know all of the signs to look for. My guess is that one of the 3 threaded fittings out of the filter, into the SWG, or out of the SWG are leaking.
Any advice? Could something else be a cause? I did trip the 3-way to see what would happen and shot water out as if water were being diverted to the panels. That rules out the check valve being in backwards even though I've checked that about 10x.
I'm concerned that I shouldn't really proceed any further with the solar install until this problem is solved.
Thanks.
Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85659721@N ... 522083093/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85659721@N ... 522083093/