No water coming through pipes...I'm stumped

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Shpigford

Shpigford

0
Apr 19, 2011
50
Birmingham, AL
Short story: No water is coming through the skimmer or main drain pipes...nothing at all and I can't figure out why.

Longer story...

Went out of town on Saturday morning. Pool was pumping fine. I run my pump 24/7, and made sure the water level was high so that we wouldn't loose too much while we were gone.

I checked the pool this morning and the water level had dropped down below the skimmer and no water was passing through the pump or filter (eeeek!). No idea how long that had been...I figure less than 24 hours.

I refilled the pool to a good level and turned the pump back on, only to find no water was coming out of the pipes and in to the pump. I figured it was just some big clog and so I got a hose bladder out to force some water through the pipes...except nothing came through. So seems like a complete blockage. No idea what could have gotten in there but no water or air seems to be getting past it.

But here's why I'm really confused. It seems I actually have a complete clog in both the main and skimmer pipes. Which seems crazy. I'm trying to avoid ripping apart a bunch of PVC, but don't know what else it could be.

I've attached a rough drawing of my pipes and the various joints and valves to provide some insight.

When I was trying various methods of forcing water through, at one point I was able to close the main drain valve (valve #4 in my drawing) and force water from the skimmer towards the pump and I was indeed getting water to come through. Then I opened up the main drain valve while still forcing water through the skimmer, and all water passage to the pump stopped and since then I haven't been able to get any water from the skimmer to the pump and the main drain seems to be clogged to because no water makes it's way to the pump when the skimmer is closed.

So...any ideas? Any points of clarification needed? Is it possible for air in the pipes to cause something like this (though I feel pretty sure I got all of that out)?
 

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John and I are on the same wave length. If motor ran dry and got hot two things probably happened. 1) the top pipe of your motor got hot and will more then likely leak once you get motor primed again and/or 2) the shaft seal "melted" along with the impeller threads. Some of the Hayward pumps have solid plastic impellers instead of a brass insert as the threads.

Take off the pump basket lid. Remove the basket and turn on the pump. If you don't see the water moving CAREFULLY stick your finger in the housing and see if the impeller is turning. If not, you'll need a shaft seal as201 and an impeller. This is real easy to do since you have a super pump.

Good luck,
Joe
 
I guess I didn't explain myself well. I'm forcing water from the skimmer to the pump housing...and no water is making it through. This is pure PVC piping, all before any actual moving pump parts are hit. I'm also forcing water from inside the pump housing towards the skimmer (not into the pump/filter) and nothing is making it's way through.

There aren't any pumps/parts to melt in my scenario.

In my pool drawing I attached, I'm only working with the blue, green and black lines...no pumps/filters.
 
Shpigford said:
JohnT said:
I'd be suspecting impeller or housing damage from running dry.
Click to expand...
But how would that explain no water passing through the pipes? I was forcing water through with the pump off and the pump cover off and there was no water coming through.
Click to expand...

Your hose bladder has very low flow. When you opened the drain valve, all of the water coming in from the skimmer went down the drain line rather than into the pump. It could take a good while to fill the plumbing before you see any water come out.

Any pump is going to have issues running dry for 24 hours. The odds of having simultaneous clogs in both lines are astronomical, especially the drain, unless somebody vandalized your pool.
 
If you think your lines are cracked go to your local hardware store and in the plumbing section look for a "drain king" it is a black ballon, so to speak, that hooks to the end of your hose and water expands the ballon and makes a tight seal. Stick the ballon in the inside of your pump and close the MD. Turn on the water and give it 15-20 mins to fill the line and then check to see if any water is coming through skimmer line. Or stick in skimmer (deep enough that when bladder expands it seals pipe. And then close MD valve and open pump lid and see if any water comes through line. It may take several minutes.
 
AquaDoctorLLC said:
If you think your lines are cracked go to your local hardware store and in the plumbing section look for a "drain king" it is a black ballon, so to speak, that hooks to the end of your hose and water expands the ballon and makes a tight seal. Stick the ballon in the inside of your pump and close the MD. Turn on the water and give it 15-20 mins to fill the line and then check to see if any water is coming through skimmer line. Or stick in skimmer (deep enough that when bladder expands it seals pipe. And then close MD valve and open pump lid and see if any water comes through line. It may take several minutes.
Click to expand...
See my original post...that's exactly what I did. I referred to it as a "bladder" though.
 

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AquaDoctorLLC said:
Shpigford said:
See my original post...that's exactly what I did. I referred to it as a "bladder" though.
Click to expand...

How long did you wait? Did you check to see if impeller is spinning while motor is on?
Click to expand...
Probably 20-30 minutes. And I didn't check the impeller, but like I mentioned, the clog is independent of the pump. All my declogging attempts (and failures) were between the skimmer/main drain and the input into the pump housing.
 
JohnT said:
Your hose bladder has very low flow. When you opened the drain valve, all of the water coming in from the skimmer went down the drain line rather than into the pump. It could take a good while to fill the plumbing before you see any water come out.
Click to expand...

I would have to agree with John. This seems like the case since when you closed #4 you started to see water flow into the pump. If it were completely clogged, you'd start to build pressure in the pipe and then no longer hear water flowing through the drain king.
 
If nothing broke free in the pump it is highly unlike both pipes are clogged. If the water level is above the skimmer I'd try a shop vac at the pump side. I have access to pressure testing equipment so I would put 15lbs of pressure on the line and see if it the pressure dropped.

It is possible that the suction male adapter on your pump melted too. This would cause an air leak and not allow your pump to prime.

1) check impeller as stated above.
2) see if suction and pressure male adapters are "loose" and replace if necessary.
3) reprime motor and hope for the best.
 
AquaDoctorLLC said:
What's the word? Any luck finding out what was wrong?
Click to expand...
Had my local pool guy come by with some better equipment and ultimately seems there was just a ton of air in the pipes. We spent about an hour blowing out air and doing different combinations of opening/closing pipes to clear out the air and get water flowing.

So...seems we're good now, and the pump doesn't seem to have any damage :eek:

Thanks for everybody's input on this.
 
The ultimate "air lock". I had one of those before and you better go buy a lottery ticket. A very rare occurrence.

I spent 2+ hours jacking valves, refilling the pot etc. In the future if you have problems priming the pump, turn multiport to waste or recirculate. Always seems to help when you don't have to push all that air out of the filter.
 
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