Pentair Whisperflo just quit......any advice?

[cruzmisl]

Hi All,
I have a 3 month old Pentair Whisperflo 3/4HP pump that was working great up until this morning. I went out to turn the heater on and there was no water in the basket. I shut it off and the water that was in the basket was probably 110 degrees and the pump body was really hot. Water flow isn't blocked and it does pull water up that I put in the basket with the hose but it won't prime. Any advice?
Thanks,
Joe

 

[cruzmisl]

Hmm, took the pump apart (separated motor from pump housing), everything appeared to be in order. I assembled it back together and now it works......what's up with that???

 

[JasonLion]

That sounds like either a suction side blocked pipe or a major suction side air leak. Obvious things first, if there are valves on your skimmer/drain lines are they turned on? Are the skimmer basket(s) clear? After that I would try removing the pump strainer basket and fitting a garden hose with a drain king attached into the intake pipe and seeing if it blows out any obstructions and if not where the water goes.

If that doesn't work could you describe your plumbing in a little more detail for us? (How many skimmers, drains, seperate pipes or all on one pipe, how many feet above the pool the pump is, do you have a spa, etc.)

 

[cruzmisl]

Well, it did it again this morning. I got it working but I think I may have a suction side air leak on one of the incoming pipes. I was able to get the pump to prime, albeit slowly, from the spa drain. I then turned the skimmer valve open and drew in tons of air and then the same for the main drain valve. Once it was primed I noticed that if I draw water from either the skimmer by itself or main drain by itself, I get a lot of air in the basket. Still flows well but alot of bubbles. BOth skimmer and main drain open there aren't too many bubbles, I think due to lesser resistance.

My plan is to try and isolate the leak. I know the spa drain doesn't leak down so I'll leave that open with the other two closed. If it primes in the morning then I'll continue the same process with the other 2 lines. If the spa doesn't prime in the morning then the leak is between the valve and pump.....

Sound reasonable?

 

[JasonLion]

That sounds like a good plan. One way to check for leaks on pipes you can access is to spray them with shaving cream. A suction side leak will suck the shaving cream in, which is easy to spot.

 

[cruzmisl]

AHA! Found the problem.....I think. I went out to look at the pump just as the water level in my Liquidator went below the floats (which it's not supposed to do). It took a about 20 minutes after shutdown but the "out" float on the Liquidator had some deposits on it due to my pH problem which has since been fixed. Anyway, it wasn't sealing and letting air into the suction side of the pump. Normally when it's closed it doesn't allow air/water flow hence it would prime just fine. With the valve stuck open it's the same as a 3/8" hole on the suction side A quick soak in some acid and all is good now. We'll see what happens tomorrow morning but I have a good feeling about this.

Thanks for the shaving cream tip....never would have thought of that.