Pump not priming correctly...

[luria8]

Help!

My pump is not priming correctly! There is very little flow when the pump is on... When i turn it off there is water returned into the pump skimmer and the water level rises. It was working yesterday... Came home today and the water was cloudy. We repaired the pump last week (replaced capacitor). My doubt is that maybe the jandy valves are not at the correct setting. Attached are pictures of my pumping system and a close up of the jandy valves. Please help!!

 

[Richard320]

When it's running... what is the pressure on the gauge? Maybe it's just dirty.

Second - is that basket attached to the pump full of stuff?"

Third - have you tried bleeding air out the top of the filter using the air bleed?

 

[luria8]

Pressure is at 30....
The basket is clean...
Never tried bleeding out air.... How is that done?

 

[luria8]

One more thing i noticed... There is no water running by the clear plastic cap (not sure of the name), but before i did notice water running through there when pump was on.
Picture attached and taken while pump was on.

 

[jblizzle]

Turn the knob on the top of the filter near the pressure gauge to let the air out while the pump is running. When water squirts out shut it.

Compressed air in the filter is the problem causing the water to flow backward when the pump turns off.

The source of the air entering the pump though is your primary problem.

That cap only has water when you are backwashing.

 

[luria8]

Geez I wish I knew more about pump stuff!!! I feel like a kid asking too many questions. At what point do i close the knob? When pressure is lowered or no water is coming out?

 

[jblizzle]

Pump on. Open air valve on filter. Air comes out. When water comes out, then close the air valve.

Now leave the pump on for a few hours and go back and open the air valve again ... if more air comes out, that pretty much confirms you have an air leak on the suction side of your plumbing. Do you see air in the pump basket?

 

[Richard320]

[attachment=0:mgb3o5py]airbleed.jpg[/attachment:mgb3o5py]

Turn the part I circled to let air out. You might need pliers. It may also be left-hand threads, so try both directions, but don't force it.

 

[luria8]

What is an average time of doing this process?

 

[Richard320]

What is an average time of doing this process?

Bleeding air? Less time than it took to type this, if the pump is running and there is some flow. If pump basket is totally dry, no more than a couple minutes.

 

[luria8]

Ok we did this for about 4 minutes.... And priming looks so much better. Here is a picture of what the pump skimmer looks like while running the pump...doesn't look like if it has air too me or does it? I will let run for a few hours and see what turn out i have.

 

[jblizzle]

It really should only take a few seconds to get the air out of the filter (less than a minute). If you have no leak, there should never be air in the filter unless you open the system (open the filter or open the pump) for cleaning. After these events you should always open the air relief valve until the air is out.

A fully primed pump looks like the strainer basket is empty because there is NO air in it ... hard to tell due to the reflection, but looks like you have air to me.

 

[luria8]

Ok so what should i do if i do have an air leak in the suction side of my plumbing? I notice there is weak pressure in my return jets....

 

[jblizzle]

You have to try and find the leak and fix it. Make sure the pump lid o-ring is in good shape and well lubed. Make sure the drain plugs on the pump are sealed.

 

[luria8]

Where is the drain plug located?

 

[Richard320]

You know, 30 psi, hard priming, and weak flow all sort of point to a dirty filter. And air leak is also likely, unless you didn't bleed anything after replacing the pump motor.

When's the last time it was backwashed? Or broken down and really cleaned? It might look like this inside: extremely-dirty-d-e-filter-help-t60455.html

 

[luria8]

We cleaned the filter just last thursday one by one (each grid). Left them looking like new. We backwashed yesterday... We did not bleed any air out after replacing the capacitor last week. I honestly did not know we had to do this...

I will make sure the drain plugs are sealed, the o ring is in good shape and lubed. I hope this solves my problem. But it will be done tommorrow.
I appriciate all the help!!!

 

[keene3b07]

Based on the pictures it seems pretty clear that you have a suction leak at the fitting going into the pump. It looks like somebody recognized that air was getting in and tried to put electrical tape over it to seal it off. You might want to take the tape off and get a good look at those connections.

 

[luria8]

Based on the pictures it seems pretty clear that you have a suction leak at the fitting going into the pump. It looks like somebody recognized that air was getting in and tried to put electrical tape over it to seal it off. You might want to take the tape off and get a good look at those connections.

Good eye... Seems that water flow to the pump is good, but getting it back into the pool is not good. I sure will look into this also! Wow so much learning for me today! Thanks!

 

[linen]

If the flow is not good back into the pool well, then it is not getting to the pump very well either