Pump not priming

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pooltime

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Mar 18, 2008
80
Garden State
When shut-off my pump looses prime. A few minutes after starting up it typically works again. This evening my pump is not priming.

Help...

The pump has a little water in it, but is not pulling from the pool, etc. What is bothering me is that nothing changed, I simply unplugged it as I was moving the cord, and when I plugged it back in it wouldn't prime.

I am guessing I must have a source of that air is getting in, but how does one find that source?
 
Magically the pump has decided to prime itself again, no idea why it didn't work earlier, I guess it was scared once I posted here.

Since I have already started this post I might as well take it a little further...how do I keep from losing prime when the pump is turned off? The natual gravity flow for the water is back down to the pool since the equipment is higher than the pool. I assume that I must have an air leak somewhere which is allow air in letting the water flow back. With that assumption, how do I go about finding it and fixing it?

Once again, thanks in advance for all the help!
 
I'm trying to encourage everyone to re-read Pool School on a regular basis! :)

In Pool School there is an article on leaks here that can be a start to finding any leak - if you have air in the pump strainer after a few minutes of running the pump, you've got an air leak!.

The solution for the priming problem is to install a check valve in front of the pump. (It's been a long and fairly lousy day for me... if you need more info on what I've said here, just post back and I'll probably be able to get to it tomorrow :)

I'm glad :goodjob: the problem solved itself tonight - as said, if you want a little more info tomorrow, just ask and I'll get back to you :-D

Which exit are you near? :p I'm from Tenafly :wave:
 
Waste, thanks for the help. I reviewed the article on finding leaks before posting, however didn't find what I was looking for.

Once up and running I have no air in the pump basket at all - it fills so tightly it looks as if it is empty as there are no bubbles at all. The check valve at the pump sounds great, are these something I can just pick up at the local home depot / lowes and install in my pvc pipe feeding the pump? I was thinking of re-plumbing part of that setup anyway to give myself some differet shut-off valves to make winterizing easier.

To answer your other qustion, I am in Central Western NJ (Branchburg) not too farm from PA (New Hope) if that rings a bell.
 
Sometimes air leaks seal themselves due to the suction created by the pump when it primes. This is especially true for pump basket lids and O-rings. Before doing much else, try lubing your pump basket lid O-ring or even replacing it to see if the problem goes away.
 
They make unionized check valves, which you would want for winterizing ease. If you can't find one, you can install a regular check valve with a regular union between it and the pool (for the suction side). You may be able to blow the lines from poolside without the union, but I always like to keep the option of doing it from the filter pad 8)

If you want some info on making the system more 'closer friendly', post a couple of pics of your set up and I'll tell you how I'd do it :)
 
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