pump sucking air when using vacum

[hemieli]

for some reason my pump is sucking air when i start to vacum. at first i thought it might have been bad hose, but after having return my brand new hose back three times, and having both connection ends submerge underwater. i realized it must be something else. once i start to vacuum i get about five to ten min. of vacuuming before the pump just loses all pressure and i get no suction. at this point i must turn my pump off, remove the hose then restart my pump and allow the air to be removed. i replaced the gasket on the skimmer attach to the pump, because i saw that when turning on and off the pump a bit of water would spit out the side of the lid.

if anyone can think of a reason why this would happen, your assistance will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Crzyfrlss1]

I had that problem at first too.

Here is how I got my vacuum to work.

-Put vacuum and hose in pool
-put vacuum hose in front of return jet, don't need a tight seal here.
-purge all the air out of the vacuum hose, you'll know when to stop as you'll see no more air bubbles coming from the end of the vacuum.
-connect to suction line, keep the vacuum hose under the water.
-start vacuuming, or watch the auto vacuum do it's work.
-In the case of the auto vacuum, go have a cold beverage of your choice

 

[Richard320]

I get that, too. The pump can push water out faster than it can pull it in through that long skinny hose. Pull the hose from the skimmer (keep it submerged) when it slows down, let it recover a bit, go crack the air bleed on the filter until water comes out, then put the hose back in and resume. I've also experimented a little with moving the three way valve to let some water in through the spa drain, enough to keep the filter basket full. I haven't decided yet if it works better with a full basket or not, the pool hasn't been real dirty.

 

[ivyleager]

for some reason my pump is sucking air when i start to vacum. at first i thought it might have been bad hose, but after having return my brand new hose back three times, and having both connection ends submerge underwater. i realized it must be something else. once i start to vacuum i get about five to ten min. of vacuuming before the pump just loses all pressure and i get no suction. at this point i must turn my pump off, remove the hose then restart my pump and allow the air to be removed. i replaced the gasket on the skimmer attach to the pump, because i saw that when turning on and off the pump a bit of water would spit out the side of the lid.

That's normal. The clear plastic top is NOT to be too tight either. When the pump is activated, the pressure seals the cover and a small bit of water is pushed out. When the pump is turned off, quite a bit of water escapes due to the release of pressure. Is your pump strainer still "spitting"? It should be.

 

[JohnT]

What kind of pool do you have? Is the skimmer the only water pickup?

 

[hemieli]

i have a 16x32 vinyl inground pool with a sand filter, 3/4hp pump, chlorinator, and one skimmer on the top and the drain at the bottom.
@Crzyfrlss1 i always fill the line before connecting it to the skimmer. thats not the problem.

@Richard320 i dont have a bleed valve on my filter but maybe closing the valve from the skimmer could work. when i first plug in my vacuum, the suction is incredibly strong and maybe its not getting enough water. i will have to give it a try.

 

[JohnT]

Does your drain have it's own line back to the pump or does it pass through the skimmer. If you aren't sure, look in the skimmer. Are both holes open, or is the one closest to the pool plugged?

Are you plugging the hose directly into the hole in the skimmer or using a skimmer plate?

 

[hemieli]

i changed the gasket in pump basket and the problem was fixed. still dont understand why it only happen when using the vacuum, but know the vacuum has great suction and it pump basket doesnt suck in air, or spit out water anymore.