pump stops pumping after 10 minutes or so

[michmike]

hey guys,

I just started my pool after having it closed for the summer.
I have the pump on recirculate right now, and when I start it, water is flowing regularly. however, after 5-10 minutes, no water is flowing around.

is there any reason the pump just stops pumping water? the pump seems to be working fine. if I stop it, put it on waste for a minute, and back on recirculate, the water flows regularly for another 10 minutes until it stops again.

any ideas on what might cause this. I don't see any water leaks anywhere in my system and the filter is not used at all when this happens.

 

[mas985]

When you say it stops pumping water, I need a bit more detail:

If the motor stops running as well, then it could be a bad bearing causing the motor to overheat. Once it cools off, it will start running again.

If the motor remains running, then it could be a broken impeller but it depends on other factors. Does the filter pressure change?

 

[duraleigh]

I would believe it's the filter clogging very quickly. Answers to mas985's questions will perhaps confirm.

 

[michmike]

thanks for the quick reply guys.

the motor is actually running fine. it just seems that water is not flowing through at all. the impeller seems to be working since when I start it, it is moving water through. since I have the pool on recirculate, the filter is not being used at all and I don't have a filter pressure.

i opened the hatch before the impeller as well and cleaned it of leaves, so that's clean.

any other ideas on what could cause this. this was definitely not an issue before i closed the pool for the winter.

 

[duraleigh]

That additional information you added is helpful. Since you are bypassing the filter and the pump starts out running fine, your multiport valve must be clogging up.

It's helpful when you give us the whole picture.....why are you running on recirculate and bypassing the filter?

 

[michmike]

That additional information you added is helpful. Since you are bypassing the filter and the pump starts out running fine, your multiport valve must be clogging up.

It's helpful when you give us the whole picture.....why are you running on recirculate and bypassing the filter?

Since I am just starting up the pool after the winter, there are a ton of leaves and debri in the pool. instead of using my filter to catch all of these and have to backwash all the time, I use my aquabot heavily. aquabot has a 2 micron filter bag that does an excellent job. when the aquabot cleans the pool well, then I go and I start my filter again to clean the rest and make it swimmable.

When you say the multiport valve must be clogging up, what should I do to fix it? I plan to open it when I go home, but I was wondering what I should be looking for.

thank you!!!

 

[mas985]

I would not run a filter on recirculate if you have an SWG. It can easily get clogged with debris unless you can bypass that too. Have you checked it for any debris build up?

 

[michmike]

my SWG is off until I get the pool completely clear. let me check for debris in the multi-port valve.

the SWG has a clear window where the cell is, and I don't see any debris there.

 

[mas985]

The debris may be stuck in the input port of the SWG and you wouldn't necessarily be able to see it from the outside so it would be worth it to remove it just to double check.

If the SWG or multi-port doesn't pan out, it would be good to have filter pressure measurements when the flow rate reduces. If pressure drops, then it is either the impeller or something on the suction side. If the pressure rises, then it might be something on the return side. So can you either run the filter in normal mode or attach a pressure gauge to the pump return side drain plug?

However, because it is a variable condition, my suspicion is there might be something wrong with the impeller.

 

[michmike]

ok I went home and did some inspections.
-the SWG seems clean and nothing seems to be stuck on the input port. also, since every time I restart the pump water flows through fine, this might not be the issue.
-the multiport also seems to be clean of debris
-if the impeller was at fault, would it also exhibit the same issues if I kept the multiport valve on waste?

any other ideas on how to troubleshoot this? mas, you mention to measure the filter pressure. this means I should remove it from recirculate and put the multiport valve on "filter" correct?

one thing to note is that when the water stops flowing, I don't see bubbles or anything else coming out. so basically nothing flows, neither air or water.

attached are 3 pics of my multiport valve in case I am missing something

 

[mas985]

if the impeller was at fault, would it also exhibit the same issues if I kept the multiport valve on waste?

Yes

his means I should remove it from recirculate and put the multiport valve on "filter" correct?

yes

I want to know the filter pressure when the flow is good vs bad.

 

[michmike]

hi everyone,

sorry for the late reply in this thread. I just had to find some time to do an exhaustive cleaning of my system.
what I did is:
-opened SWG and cleaned it
-opened my pump and cleaned it
-cleaned and lubricated strainer basket lid
-cleaned the multiport valve and lubricated it

I think this fixed my issue and I no longer seem to have this particular issue. so basically, what it seems like it happened is that my pump was getting air and it was loosing the priming. if I was a betting man, I would said lubricating the strainer basket lid is what fixed the issue.

thanks for your awesome support as always