Tiny Bubbles - NOT the Don Ho song :)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
3

3pfilms

0
LifeTime Supporter
May 23, 2012
11
I have bubbles in the basket of my pump. Not big ones, the kind that you have to be within 3 ft of the basket to even see. I've replaced the lid o-ring, and tried the garden hose trick, but to no avail they are still there.

There is a main drain and skimmer line, both 1.5 in. They are controlled by a Hayward sp735 valve, which is hard to find much info on besides parts list http://www.poolpartsonline.com/p-26...p735-ball-valve-parts-hayward-pool-parts.aspx. The previous owner told me she hadn't moved the valve in 10 years, It's on 50% Drain and 50% Skimmer.

The valve and pump are approx 15yrs old. We bought the house last year at the end of the swimming season and I don't remember weather the bubbles where there or not. The pump is quiet when running, no gravelly sound, although the Hayward s244t filter makes some racket, nothing loud, but it's there.

There is no visible air from the return lines in the pool, however you can kind of tell that the water is aerated when you have goggles on. (and contact lenses in) Not sure if this is from the mostly constant pool party my kids seem to have or from a suction leak.

1. Is this even a problem? I haven't noticed a leak, water loss seems to be on par with evaporation (bucket test)

2. If it IS a problem, would the valve be a good place to start (I've already replaced the o-ring, and can't get the winter drain off)

3. If the valve should be replaced should I switch to the Jandy valve? It seems like that is the standard valve (which may be because the Hayward sp735 was junk?)

Thanks!
p
 
If you can see bubbles in the strainer basket lid, it IS a suction leak. They frequently don't present a water leak.

If it's not bothering you, you can leave it. There is a little less efficiency with the pump and, usually, they make extra noise but yours doesn't seem to be very large. If it's not worth chasing (they are hard to find) then it is not worth chasing. :lol:
 
duraleigh said:
If you can see bubbles in the strainer basket lid, it IS a suction leak. They frequently don't present a water leak.

If it's not bothering you, you can leave it. There is a little less efficiency with the pump and, usually, they make extra noise but yours doesn't seem to be very large. If it's not worth chasing (they are hard to find) then it is not worth chasing. :lol:
Click to expand...

Kind of what I figured, does filtering efficiency go down too?
Any experience with the Hayward Valve? It seams like it way more points of possible leaks than the Jandy one.
 
After running the pump for a while (a couple of hours), while watching the pump lid and drain plug closely, turn the pump off. You're looking for a little spurt of water (caused by the "spring" effect of air in the filter). If you see a tiny spurt, that's the source of your air leak.

You said the drain plug is frozen. Does this mean you can't get it out, or someone has epoxied it in? I'd look more closely at that.
 
Qwaxalot said:
After running the pump for a while (a couple of hours), while watching the pump lid and drain plug closely, turn the pump off. You're looking for a little spurt of water (caused by the "spring" effect of air in the filter). If you see a tiny spurt, that's the source of your air leak.

You said the drain plug is frozen. Does this mean you can't get it out, or someone has epoxied it in? I'd look more closely at that.
Click to expand...

Looks like someone stripped the head off of the plug a long time ago, and it's rusted too. I don't dare try to remove it really.

I was getting the water through the oring on the lid, which is why I replaced it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply