Pump will not prime

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thedingo13

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Jul 5, 2013
34
Commack, NY
Today I installed a new filter and pump on an 33,000 gallon in-ground pool. Unfortunately, after getting everything set up, I filled the pump basket with water and ... nothing. The pump apparently will not prime. I tried pouring more water, but, every time I do, it simply drains out of the basket (it appears to drop to the very bottom of the intake line every time). After several attempts with filling, I ran the pump again, and bubbles came out of one return continuously, and nothing out of the other two returns. I would suspect that there is an air leak somewhere, likely as result of the re-plumbing I had to do to accommodate the new filter, however, the one part of the plumbing I did not touch was the suction side of the pump. That remained exactly the same. I am kind of at a loss, and, if I cannot get it running this weekend, I am likely to just cover it up for the year and forget about it.

If anyone can offer any assistance, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

Chris
 
I have had this happen many times. It's always been the pump basket assembly for me:

1) The pump basket assembly wasn't far enough into the skimmer intake line. Same exact symptoms as you
2) o-rings where pipes connect to each other. One time it was kinked up and sticking out of the pipe. Same symptoms.
3) the pump basket lid has a rubber gasket type thing. This was kinked like the o-ring and sticking out.

This year I sprayed down every connection with WD-40 (although you are not supposed to use this, there is a lube you should use). That being said, the pump primed on the first shot for me this year.
 
What has worked for me:
Open only one suction side valve at a time. Wait till that line is sucking water nicely. Slowly open the next so as not to loose prime. Repeat. One of my suction lines is really long and over time I've determined that this is the quickest way to open the pool in the spring.
 
Any chance you have your pump situated 10 maybe more feet uphill of the pool. I macgyvered a number 10 plus (depending on your skimmer plumbing size) expansion rubber plug with a garden hose fitting. Take out the wing nut and screw/washers, drill the appropriate size hole into the rubber,(always alittle bit smaller), and drive that fitting in.
Then hook up your hose to the fitting, and push that plug into the skimmer making sure all other line s are closed,(ie main drain , other skimmers, vac). Leave your pump basket open and close it up once the water is pushed up into it. Start pump and simultaneously remove plug/primer hose. I t is a 2 person jobby. lol Check your 2 pump draining plugs and your plumbing to the pump for leaks. Gasket for pump lid as well
 
Update on this (still trying to get some pictures of the setup up). I disconnected the suction side of the pump and reassembled and tightened the union on that side. Additionally, I closed off one of the skimmers (I thought the pool wasn't able to close off one, but it turns out that the cap was broken off - found another one and sealed it). The pump actually pulled a steady stream of water, and the near return bubbled like a volcano. I tried opening the second return, and the water flow got stronger, up until the point that the basket filled up entirely. However, that lasted about 5 seconds before the basket water level fell again (still a stream of water being pulled though). I am at a complete loss. I am going to attempt to tighten the unions all the way around, but all of the other ones are on the return side, and not on the suction side, so I am not sure if they will make a difference. Any additional thoughts?
 
Also - does it matter that I am attempting to do all this in recirculate mode? I have not been able to coat the DE filter with DE, and I did not want to run a lot of dirty water through it without DE in it. And, I did not want to mix up DE and put it in the pool until I was sure that the suction was going to work.
 

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Air leaks in only on the suction side. Being in recirculate mode is fine.

Are you saying you got the pump to fully prime with just a skimmer open? Your description is hard to follow.
 
Sorry for the confusion.

I had followed a suggestion to open the skimmers one at a time to encourage the pump to prime. Opening one skimmer had initially started the flow of water, and then opening the second resulted in full prime.






Unfortunately, once the skimmer basket fills up (to virtually no bubbles at the top), the water level immediately drops and the water flow into the pump slows to a slow stream. Then it speeds up again and the pump basket chamber fills again, only to drop immediately. The cycle repeats.

The connection at the pump is a short run of PVC into a union, which runs into an elbow, into another union, and then into PVC pipe in the ground. I am still working on a picture (unfortunately a ton of tech issues today).

I was thinking that there must be a leak on the suction side, but the problem with that is that the previous pump did not have this issue, and it was hooked to the exact same suction setup. Let me know if this clears thins up any. I appreciate all of the help thus far.
 
So - you guys are exactly right. It appears that the near skimmer is indeed sucking air. Here is what I found (though not sure how to fix it):

1) The pool is filled to beyond halfway above the skimmers.
2) When the pump is off, both the near and the far skimmer are filled with water, to the level of the pool (easily above the skimmer baskets).
3) When the pump is turned on, the far skimmer appears to operate normally, (water flow and suction).
4) The near skimmer, however, rips water in violently, and almost immediately the water level inside the skimmer gets entirely sucked away. Additional water pours in, but there is clearly air being pulled as well.
5) The level of the pool does not drop in the area, meaning that it appears that the water is being sucked out of the skimmer faster than it is let into it.

Would this indicate a problem with the skimmer? And if so, how would one fix it? I tried to reach around and underneath, but I cannot feel anything that would be blocking it. I am a little cautious with leaning over the pool, because it is a viscous swamp green, and at night I swear I can see Nessie's head poking out of the water. I am either breeding the next swamp thing, or a new generation of antibiotics.
 

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