Airlock in secondary (cleaner) pump

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sorry to revive an old thread. Thought I had the problem fixed, but my cleaner has continued to stop running.

I've disconnected the secondary pump and know that the supply side of the pump is getting water almost instantaneously when the pump is activated. I disconnect from the return side right where it hits the PVC in the picture and it gets full pressure water there when at full rpm. (right where it hits PVC on it's way underground to cleaner wall fitting)

To get it running again, I take the return hose off and fill the return side (hopefully I'm using the right terminology.....the side that leaves the pump and heads back to the cleaner) with water. Reconnect, activate the pump and the cleaner begins working.

I'll post a better pic of the secondary pump. Yes, the supply for the cleaner pump is underground. (but as mentioned, I think the supply is fine)

Also, I have noticed some corrosion on the little metal strainer inside of the cleaner wall fitting. I replaced that wall fitting about a year ago, and now the new strainer is rusting again. Where could that corrosion be coming from? I would think that from the return side of the pump, all the way to the pool wall is PVC. Correct? (pool built 2013). That corrosion means air is getting in there, right?

Could it be coming from a bad cleaner hose?

Any suggestions as to the airlock on the return side of my cleaner are appreciated.
 
Again, it is not an air lock. Air locks can only occur in gravity fed systems.

Also, I don't think filling the return hose does anything because that would just flow out to the pool. It must be having a secondary effect with something. There is likely a clog somewhere that is causing the issue.

What happens if you disconnect the cleaner hose from the wall port and let the wall port just run open ended? Perhaps the issue is with the cleaner and/or cleaner hose.

How long does it usually take for the cleaner to stop working?

Does your Polaris have a pressure release valve on the hose? There might be an issue with that.
 
Can't really put a definitive number on how long before it stops running. A few days? I am a pilot and am out 2-4 days a week. Tough to keep track.

It's not a Polaris. Pentair kreepy krauly platinum.

I'll try disconnecting cleaner hose and see what I get from bare wall fitting.

I don't think there is a pressure relief valve on the hose. The wall fitting might have a pressure release valve? See pic.

Any comment on the corrosion Inside the strainer of the wall fitting pictured below?
 
And I figured it was airlock because filling that return line ALWAYS fixes the issue.

I have never seen any sort of debris from something clogging the return line.

Getting results from just the bare wall fitting......I guess I'll have to wait until it stops working again?? Because I'm guessing it's getting normal pressure now. I disconnected and filled the return line this morning. The cleaner began working fine before I left on my trip.
 
If you disconnect the cleaner from the wall, does water come out of the wall connection with the booster off?

Have you checked the in line strainer?

If yes, is it getting clogged?
 
If you are referring to the metal strainer in the wall fitting I posted above, no....it never has debris in it. It is corroding however, as I mentioned.

Will advise if any water comes out of wall without booster pump on....just the variable speed. My inclination is no water comes out without the extra pump running
 
OK. Got home today and checked the cleaner, not running.

Disconnected the wall fitting. Turned on the variable speed main pump only. No water whatsoever coming from the wall. Activated the cleaner, which puts it in "delay mode" for 5mins, and increases the VS RPM to about 3200. Nothing at all from the wall fitting. Cancelled the delay and started up the booster pump. Nothing from the wall. Could tell from the sound of the booster that it wasn't pumping properly.

After about 30secs a large expulsion of air came from the wall, and the water began flowing what I would term "normally" from the wall. Shut everything down and reinstalled cleaner wall fitting.

Now, working just fine.

But, NOT FOR LONG, based on the history I've had recently.
 
Once it stops again, remove the hose from the wall and see if any water comes out. If not let it run a while again.

The booster is not self priming and given the setup you have, the booster is drawing from a lower elevation below ground somewhere. If you have any air within the return side on the main plumbing, it could fill up the booster suction pipe and break the prime. But if there was enough pressure on return side of main pump, it should push out all the air and reprime the booster. What is the normal RPM you use when running the cleaner and what is the filter pressure?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
As far as the booster not self priming......

I've disconnected the supply and return hoses off the booster at different times when the cleaner stops working.

BOTH have water instantaneously. At low pressure with just the VS pump on and then high pressure when the booster activates.

Not saying you're not right, but thought that info might be pertinent.
 
Just to keep this thread updated....as I am convinced it will stop working eventually....

As of right now, the cleaner has worked for the past 3 days.

When it stops running, I will disconnect the wall fitting without turning off any pumps and see if water starts flowing thru the cleaner wall fitting again.

Any other ideas? Thanks
 
When it stops running, I will disconnect the wall fitting without turning off any pumps and see if water starts flowing thru the cleaner wall fitting again.
Click to expand...
See if air comes out first before the water. That could be telling.
 
Worked for a few days....was gone for a couple. Came home last night...cleaner not running today.

Disconnected wall fitting. Absolutely nothing coming from wall. Kept it off for a couple minutes...nothing. Shut pumps off, restarted.....nothing. Felt the return line coming from aux pump....soft, obviously no water going thru it.

Was dealing with an unrelated issue....although at first I thought it could be related....a red FLOW light on my IC40 SWG. Pump on off on off, pulled flow switch, etc. Got it working again...think it's the flow switch and is unrelated to my pump prime.

Somewhere in there, the aux pump got primed again and is currently working.

So, does it sound like I'm getting air on the supply side that's blocking the prime? I seem to think this all started about the time they came to replace the electric valve that controls my pool/spa return. But that valve would be on the return side...not supply side.

Another possible clue.....during Harvey, I turned my pumps off for a couple days. It was set to normal before I did with everything returning to pool. My spa drained on it's own with everything off. From my internet research, bad check valve? Could it be related?
 
So, does it sound like I'm getting air on the supply side that's blocking the prime?
Click to expand...
If you remove the Booster suction line does water come out when the main pump is on? If so, then the suction is under positive pressure and it should prime.

My spa drained on it's own with everything off. From my internet research, bad check valve? Could it be related?
Click to expand...
Yes that is likely a bad check valve but usually that will only affect the spa.
 
Yes. When booster supply line disconnected, I get an immediate steady flow of water with just my VS pump on.

But unlike a previous pool of mine, I never see a trickle of water coming out of my cleaner with the VS on and booster off. That's why I figured it was some sort of air on the cleaner side.

Could the inner workings of the pump be failing?

I'm completely out of ideas on how to stop this from recurring.

Thanks
 
Could the inner workings of the pump be failing?
Click to expand...
That is a possibility. You could try and disassemble the pump and see if you can find the problem. I suspect there is something loose somewhere that clogs the pump under certain circumstances or perhaps there is an issue with the impeller.
 
JamesW said:
It might just be how it's plumbed. Can you show the whole system and where the Polaris pump connects to the return line?
Click to expand...


I'm on the road until Tuesday. But if you look above in #21, that's my cleaner pump. The outlet comes out the top, the curved flex hose. It goes to the PVC you see which runs straight down into the ground.... And I assume to the cleaner wall fitting.

- - - Updated - - -

mas985 said:
That is a possibility. You could try and disassemble the pump and see if you can find the problem. I suspect there is something loose somewhere that clogs the pump under certain circumstances or perhaps there is an issue with the impeller.
Click to expand...


Thanks Mark.

Do you have any DIY videos you'd recommend regarding disassembling the pump?

Also, I'm definitely due a filter clean which I'm doing next week. Any chance it could be as simple as an overly dirty filter?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply