Bubbles in Pump Basket, None in Returns

[BadFriend]

Hi everyone,

I'm back again in need of some help. I recently noticed bubbles in my pump strainer basket. I'm not sure how long it has been since this happened, but it was within the last few days since I had not noticed them before.

The issue seems to be coming from the deep end skimmer. I have two skimmers, one deep end and one shallow, and I have the ability to isolate them. When I close the valve on the deep end skimmer all of the bubbles disappear. They appear again when I open it back up.

The bubbles are small and I am not losing prime. There are no bubbles coming out of the return jets. Everything seems to be functioning "OK", but I'm worried.

Some additional information - this same skimmer that is now having issues was blocked temporarily the other day. A large frog had gotten sucked into the line when I removed the basket to hook up the vacuum. He must have been hiding where the weir is, because when I took off the lid and removed the skimmer basket he appeared in the water and immediately got sucked into the line. I had already isolated that skimmer to give me greater suction when I attach the vacuum. I ran over to the pump and noticed the water in the basket had dropped and was frothing and the pump got louder.

I went to go turn off the pump but then I noticed that the basket started to fill back up with water and resume its normal function. When I looked in the basket I saw the poor guy in the basket. A total of probably 45 seconds elapsed between the line being blocked and the line clearing.

Did I screw something up? Where do I go from here?

 

[JVTrain]

Are you running on a variable speed pump, or two speed?

I would try only running off of the skimmer that's giving you problems (close the other one) for a couple hours with the pump on (and at full speed, if an option) to see if the bubbles stop coming into the basket. It could be the frog incident pulled some air into your lines and it's working its way out. I would think after a while they would have stopped coming out of the line though...

Keep an eye on the bubbles and your water level over the next few days. Bubbles in the pump basket, as you guessed, are an indication of a suction side leak, but you would also start seeing the water level of the pool drop more than usual over time. You could try a bucket test to keep an eye on the pool level versus normal evaporation.

Check out this article here for some more ideas: Pool School - Suction Side Air Leaks

 

[BadFriend]

Are you running on a variable speed pump, or two speed?

I would try only running off of the skimmer that's giving you problems (close the other one) for a couple hours with the pump on (and at full speed, if an option) to see if the bubbles stop coming into the basket. It could be the frog incident pulled some air into your lines and it's working its way out. I would think after a while they would have stopped coming out of the line though...

Keep an eye on the bubbles and your water level over the next few days. Bubbles in the pump basket, as you guessed, are an indication of a suction side leak, but you would also start seeing the water level of the pool drop more than usual over time. You could try a bucket test to keep an eye on the pool level versus normal evaporation.

Check out this article here for some more ideas: Pool School - Suction Side Air Leaks

It's a two speed pump. I'll try running it on just the one skimmer as you suggested.

You could try a bucket test to keep an eye on the pool level versus normal evaporation

Could you explain this to me? I didn't see it on the Pool School page you linked.

Thanks for help!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JVTrain]

You just use a large bucket (5 gal) and put a few large rocks on the bottom then place it in the pool so the top is out of the water. Fill the bucket with water even with the pool level.

The levels should stay the same. If the pool level drops more than the bucket over several days, you know you have a leak.

Sent from mobile device. Beware of brevity and spelling errors!

 

[BadFriend]

You just use a large bucket (5 gal) and put a few large rocks on the bottom then place it in the pool so the top is out of the water. Fill the bucket with water even with the pool level.

The levels should stay the same. If the pool level drops more than the bucket over several days, you know you have a leak.

Sent from mobile device. Beware of brevity and spelling errors!

Awesome, I'll give this a shot. Thanks!

 

[BadFriend]

So a few things have happened since the last post.

1. I failed the bucket test, so it seems I have a leak.

2. The bubbles have gotten worse. I am now seeing small bubbles coming from the return jets.

I am almost 100% certain the issue is coming from the deep end skimmer. If I close off suction to that skimmer the bubbles disappear and everything returns to normal. As soon as I open the valve back up the bubbles return.

Being a new pool owner I am not sure where to go from here. It seems like there is a leak in the pipe between the skimmer and the pump. Is that something I can isolate and/or fix on my own? If not, what is the process for getting something like this fixed. And, most important, what kind of money are we talking about here?

--EDIT--

Editing to add photo of my pump area, just in case it might help. The pipe circled in red is the one coming from the deep end skimmer. The green one is the shallow end.