Possible leak

[Vibrant]

Hello, i'm new to this forum and wish to learn a lot.
I suspect a leak in my pool system. The pool runs extremely well on "high" and I have it set to run 3 hours on high a day, now when it switches to "low" for another 7 hours it looses a lot of prime ( as the water level drops to a points I cant see it clearly anymore), and also, not all of the jets are blowing to keep circulation in the pool as I only see 1 jet blowing a strong current of water.
It this a leak problem? Or could it be something else? When it is running on high I must admit the pump basket is not filled 100% with water as I can see a small amount of bubbles.

Thanks a lot
~Vibrant

tl;dr not all jets work on low, but do on high.

 

[duraleigh]

Hey, Vibrant,

Welcome to the forum :lol: You have a suction side air leak.....not water (if that's what you're thinking).

Somewhere between the skimmers and the pump, air is being sucked into the system causing the pump basket not to fill and not giving you the volume of water you should get.

Since it seems to work Okay on high, I would check the gasket on the lid to the pump basket. It sounds like air may be leaking in just a little on low and, with the increased suction when the pump is on high, it pulls the lid down tight and completes the seal.

If that's not it, you'll have to do some detective work but, at the risk of being repetitive, you will very likely find air being sucked into the system somewhere between the skimmer and the pump.

 

[eline65]

I'd agree w/ Dave. I'm no pool expert, but the mechanics of it all make sense. Set your focus on the exposed pipes (above ground to start) that are before the pump. You might be able to see where the leak is using a food coloring dropper while running on low since that's when it's most evident.

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

One of the most common sources of air leaks is the threaded fitting on the suction side of the pump. It usually needs to be un-threaded, have the threads cleaned (a toothbrush works best), and wrap the male threads with a 3 to 5 winding layer of Teflon tape, the blue spool with the white cover. I personally prefer the 3/4" size but HD and Lowes don't usually have it in my region.

Some like to use a thread sealant too/instead but I have found it can leak later on after it dries.

Scott

 

[waste]

Vibrant, welcome to TFP!!

Here's a post on properly applying Teflon tape, if that ends up being the problem.

Given the difference in air in the pump between running on high and running on low, I'd suspect the pump lid gasket (as per Dave )!