Brand new here - Pump draining when turned on

[Studlybob]

Hi, nice to see there is a forum out there to help noobs like me. Basically my problem is that when I turn my pump on the water in the pump (where the little white basket resides) goes away and the level goes all the way down. Before this started happening the water in the pump always seemed to rise when I turned the system on. Now the water level lowers almost to the bottom as soon as I turn the pump on as if water is being sucked out to the pool but no water is coming in to replace it. The creepy crawley in the pool doesn't move anymore. I think is bad because if water isn't flowing I imagine my motor will burn out. I tried filling the pump up with water before turning it on (although I've never had to do that before) with no luck. I've tried using the air release valve on the filter as well. It used to let air out of the filter for a few seconds before water started spraying out but now that doesn't happen. The basket is pretty clean as well.

As far as I can tell nothing else is wrong. I cleaned out my filter recently, sealed it back up and ran the pump for about a week with no problem. Now it seems to be broken. Any ideas?

I have a Sta-Rite SuperMax .75 HP 115/230v pump

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

How is the cleaner attached? Is there a leaf canister?

Sounds suspiciously like you have clogged the suction line.

 

[duraleigh]

If the suction side is not clogged it could also be an air leak....but only on the suction side somewhere between the skimmer(s) and the pump.

 

[Studlybob]

I have a Pentair K70405 Kreepy Krauly Classic cleaner without a leaf canister. It attaches to the suction line in the skimmer. The cleaner doesn't seem to be clogged and I don't see any air bubbles coming up. As you said perhaps between the skimmer and the pump. I'll open the filter again and see if there is any blockage there. If not, is there an easy way to tell where/what is being clogged?

 

[BNighGrow]

What you can do to test a blockage would be to open your pump lid and stick a garden hose in the PVC which is coming from the skimmer. Turn on the hose and walk over to the skimmer to see if water is flowing back into the pool. Secondly since the garden hose is just resting in the PVC on the pump side when you turn the hose on, the water will most likely flow back into the Pump so there might not be enough pressure to push the water all the way to the skimmer. When I was having issues with the pipe between the pump and skimmer I bought one of these http://www.homedepot.com/p/BrassCraft-Medium-Drain-Bladder-BC00332/100586170 which will shoot pressured water to the skimmer and if there is a blockage could unblock it.