Short Story
Turn on pump without pool cleaner - runs fine
Turn on pump with pool cleaner (automatic (HugBug) or manual) - water flow slows down after a few minutes, to less than a quarter
Unplug pool cleaner while pump is still running - water flow remains slow
Switch off pump for a few seconds and switch on again without pool cleaner - runs fine (although initially it blows out a cloud of green algae that the pool cleaner just picked up off the bottom of the pool)
What's going on here?
Long Story
The outlet was spitting out bubbles for quite a while, and the water flow would slow down, I thought, as a result.
One day the pump was making a lot of noise and I found it wasn't moving any water. It seemed too much air had got in. The water inside the pump housing was steaming hot.
I got a pool repair company to come in and they replaced a right angled pipe that was cracked that attached to the inlet of the pump housing. It worked better but there were still bubbles.
It got progressively worse again, so I thought I would give it a go and try find were it was sucking in air. I found another cracked joint underneath the pool pump which I replaced. No more bubbles. I assumed this would also fix the water flow problem, but it didn't.
The pump is almost 30 years old so I thought it might be the problem. I took it in to the manufacturer. They tested it out and said it was still ok, but replaced the bearings as there were a bit rusted. They also replaced the impeller as it had worn down slightly and replaced the water diffuser (I think it's called) as it had cracked.
I reattached the pump and it did seem to run better that it did before, but after running it with the pool cleaner for a while the water flow slowed right down again. There was a lot of debris on the bottom of the pool though as the pump had now been disconnected for a quite a few weeks.
I subsequently cleaned out as much as possible and backwashed and rinsed several times. But still the water flow rate goes right down after a while if I have the pool cleaner connected.
It runs fine if i disconnect the pool cleaner. It also runs fine if I bypass the filter and connect the pool cleaner - but then it just circulates the dirt.
It seems a bit of fine debris picked up off the bottom of the pool by the pool cleaner that makes it's way to the filter substantially decreases the flow rate, but a bunch of leaves trapped in the weir basket doesn't.
Also, once I disconnect the pool cleaner, switch off the pump for a few seconds and then back on again, it runs fine. If the flow rate remained low then I would suspect a faulty pump, but this just blows my mind. Also, when i switch it back on, it blows out a cloud of green algae (the stuff that it just picked up off the bottom)
Still, the only thing I can think of is a faulty pump as it's so old, but i don't want to fork out more money on a new pump having already had it repaired, if I don't know for sure it's the pump at fault.
Any ideas?
Turn on pump without pool cleaner - runs fine
Turn on pump with pool cleaner (automatic (HugBug) or manual) - water flow slows down after a few minutes, to less than a quarter
Unplug pool cleaner while pump is still running - water flow remains slow
Switch off pump for a few seconds and switch on again without pool cleaner - runs fine (although initially it blows out a cloud of green algae that the pool cleaner just picked up off the bottom of the pool)
What's going on here?
Long Story
The outlet was spitting out bubbles for quite a while, and the water flow would slow down, I thought, as a result.
One day the pump was making a lot of noise and I found it wasn't moving any water. It seemed too much air had got in. The water inside the pump housing was steaming hot.
I got a pool repair company to come in and they replaced a right angled pipe that was cracked that attached to the inlet of the pump housing. It worked better but there were still bubbles.
It got progressively worse again, so I thought I would give it a go and try find were it was sucking in air. I found another cracked joint underneath the pool pump which I replaced. No more bubbles. I assumed this would also fix the water flow problem, but it didn't.
The pump is almost 30 years old so I thought it might be the problem. I took it in to the manufacturer. They tested it out and said it was still ok, but replaced the bearings as there were a bit rusted. They also replaced the impeller as it had worn down slightly and replaced the water diffuser (I think it's called) as it had cracked.
I reattached the pump and it did seem to run better that it did before, but after running it with the pool cleaner for a while the water flow slowed right down again. There was a lot of debris on the bottom of the pool though as the pump had now been disconnected for a quite a few weeks.
I subsequently cleaned out as much as possible and backwashed and rinsed several times. But still the water flow rate goes right down after a while if I have the pool cleaner connected.
It runs fine if i disconnect the pool cleaner. It also runs fine if I bypass the filter and connect the pool cleaner - but then it just circulates the dirt.
It seems a bit of fine debris picked up off the bottom of the pool by the pool cleaner that makes it's way to the filter substantially decreases the flow rate, but a bunch of leaves trapped in the weir basket doesn't.
Also, once I disconnect the pool cleaner, switch off the pump for a few seconds and then back on again, it runs fine. If the flow rate remained low then I would suspect a faulty pump, but this just blows my mind. Also, when i switch it back on, it blows out a cloud of green algae (the stuff that it just picked up off the bottom)
Still, the only thing I can think of is a faulty pump as it's so old, but i don't want to fork out more money on a new pump having already had it repaired, if I don't know for sure it's the pump at fault.
Any ideas?
