just want to say this is my first post. i need help with my intex 2650 sand filter. this is my second season with this filter pump along with the intex 24x52 ultra frame pool. last season all went well and we ended up taking it down after the season to relevel ground for the next spring season. we have the pool back up and leveled, water is in, salt is in with generator working. last season i just used the flexible hoses, but this time i followed the custom intex adapters and that worked well with no leaks. i hard plumbed the system with 1 1/2 pvc piping and now have found that i have a significant difference in water movement...meaning alot less!!! i dont know whats wrong. no leaks, no trapped air. my gauge is reading in the middle of the green. with the flex hose last year it was right below the yellow. the system does not have enough pull to even vacuum. has this happened with anyone else? thanks for any help and input.
need help...
- Thread starter kinetik923
- Start date
Welcome to TFP!
It sounds like your pump might be drawing in air. Is the water level high enough in the skimmer so no air is be drawn down into the skimmer? Are you confident there aren't any air leaks in your plumbing?
It sounds like your pump might be drawing in air. Is the water level high enough in the skimmer so no air is be drawn down into the skimmer? Are you confident there aren't any air leaks in your plumbing?
yes im pretty confident. im using the over the wall intex skimmer and my water level is at max for the pool. i made sure air was bled through the pump basket drain and also unscrewing the basket lid slightly then re-tightening. air was pushed out and water flow seems solid. theres pretty good suction in the skimmer basket but the output back into the pool is low. if i hook the intex vacuum up theres very little suction on the vacuum attachment so its hardly picking up anything. it also drops the level of water in the pump basket pretty low and wont fill back up unless i re-do the steps of bleeding.
If the pump basket is getting air in it, you have a suction side leak. If you're sure it's not getting in at the skimmer then it has to be in the plumbing or the suction side of the pump.
Have you checked the drain plugs?
Have you cleaned and lubed the basket lid o-ring?
Did you check it for cracks?
Have you ran water over the plumbing to see if the bubbles went away?
Have you checked the drain plugs?
Have you cleaned and lubed the basket lid o-ring?
Did you check it for cracks?
Have you ran water over the plumbing to see if the bubbles went away?
Ok i changed the suction side piping back to the intex hose and found that there was some type of leak where air was getting in because the pump basket filled with water and now looks clear with no bubbles moving around. i went ahead and siliconed the return side piping at all joints and fittings to make sure i wouldnt have any leaks or air getting through. the gauge is now reading about 8 psi, slightly above half in the green but the return water back into the pull is still a little low. i know for a fact last year that the output was definitely alot more. i cant figure this out for the life of me!!! please input, you guys' help is greatly appreciated and well received. thank you.
Bear with me, Im quite a newbie still. what exactly do you mean and how would i go about running the water from the pump to the skimmer with a hose? thanks again.
Take the lid off the pump basket and stick a hose in the hole in front of the basket. That will run water back toward the skimmer. You can use a rag to help seal it off.
I don't think the suction side is bad. Once i switched it back to the hose the water flow became better. I know this because the pump basket was filled and no bubbles were flowing around. Where as with the pvc piping there always seemed to be plenty of bubbles in the basket. My concern now is return flow of water. Its alot less than when i had the flex hose. Now that its pvc it has decreased. I thought it would be more...???
It should have increased a lot when you changed to hard pipe. I misread that it was the suction you changed back. Can you post a pic of the equipment and new plumbing.
I don't see anything that looks like a problem. The only thing I can think of is that something is hung up in the return side of the plumbing.
I didn't think i plumbed it wrong. Its just weird that i was able to aim the pool eye up and see the flow break the surface of the water and now its only a ripple. Not sure what to do...? Thank you very much bama for taking the time to help me with my issue.
So with the same setup you have last year (flex hose) you now see lower flow rates than last year? Is that right?
How clean is the filter? Is it new sand? Or maybe it is old sand and clumped up and restricting flow?
Just throwing out ideas.
How clean is the filter? Is it new sand? Or maybe it is old sand and clumped up and restricting flow?
Just throwing out ideas.
Well this year i hard plumbed the system and found the pipe from skimmer to pump was letting air in so i change it back to the hose and that fixed the bubbles in th basket issue. I left the remaining pvc intact from the pump all the way to the return and also siliconed the fittings and joints to make sure there was no leaks. The sand was put in last year being this is only my second season with the sand filter.
Oh, so last year the return was also flex pipe. Seems odd that this plumbing would reduce the flow.
Have you opened the filter and checked the sand? ... I am grasping at straws
BTW, the return is under pressure so you will not get air leaks on that side of the pump. I am also not sure that silicone would actually help anything if there was a pressure leak.
Have you opened the filter and checked the sand? ... I am grasping at straws
BTW, the return is under pressure so you will not get air leaks on that side of the pump. I am also not sure that silicone would actually help anything if there was a pressure leak.
i appreciate the grasping at straws, lol. as far as the silicone, im not sure it would do anything also other than stop a water drip or so...and i didnt have that at all on my fittings. i opened the filter and didnt know what to look for. sand wasnt clumped up. i thought changing to pvc wouldve improved my water flow but it hasnt. i went as far as thinking 1 1/2 pvc was too big and went down to 1 1/4 pvc with the same results. so basically i spent a good bit of $ plumbing the system twice. its so upsetting because i tee'd off and plumbed a fountain for my kids and heck...the water doesnt even spray but a foot in the air with the ball valve completely open. SMH.
There is something wrong ... we just have not figured it out yet. Is the 1.5 " on it now?
Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone
Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone
Did you change the eyeball size in the pool?
One problem with the fountain is that it's plumbed in after the block valve and it should be before, so you can throttle the block valve back to divert more water to the fountain.
One problem with the fountain is that it's plumbed in after the block valve and it should be before, so you can throttle the block valve back to divert more water to the fountain.
