New Pump Has no Suction

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NeilH

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Sep 5, 2011
27
I have two pumps that control my pool. The first pump is for the filter/skimmers/returns and the other pump (Dura Glas Sta Rite) is for the main drain and a waterfall feature. Water gets sucked from the main drain and comes out the waterfall. The main drain pump stopped working at the end of last season. It went from whining when running, to just a click, to nothing.

I hired a company to open the pool last week. I replaced the pump motor (Pentair A100DLL 3/4 HP, 230V) yesterday. Previous to turning on the pump I removed the cover to the pump basket and filled it with water. The pump turns on but I get no suction from the main drain. The water exits the pump but I don't see it come out of the waterfall. The line is plumbed so there is a spigot after the pump outlet and before the waterfall valve. When I opened the water spigot and closed the valve to the waterfall, water shoots out of the spigot. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this means that the pump is working on the "blow" side but not the "suck" side.

Is there something I'm missing that would cause this? Did I miss a step? One key thing I noticed was that the main drain cover somehow came off during the winter and I can see leaves down there. Could it be something as simple as a blocked drain? The water is 52 degrees right now so I won't be going in the water for a while to check if it's blocked. Thanks
 
The pump can not work on just the suction OR the return side ... if water is moving it is doing both.
If I follow correctly, it sounds like your waterfall is clogged if water shoots out of the spigot.

Can you add some pictures of your equipment pad plumbing.
 
Why is there a valve on the waterfall then like you stated in the first post?

How long did you let it run before you gave up on seeing it come out of the waterfall?

What is going on in the pump basket when you are trying to run it?
 
It is possible there are enough leaves down there to clog the line. You can try blowing the clog back out into the pool by running a water hose down the skimmer opening that leads to the main drain. You can use a drain king or wrap a rag around the hose to seal the pipe while running water through the hose.
 
jblizzle said:
Why is there a valve on the waterfall then like you stated in the first post?

How long did you let it run before you gave up on seeing it come out of the waterfall?

What is going on in the pump basket when you are trying to run it?
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the help so far. I did not have this pool installed. I bought the house with the pool so I'm not able to explain the reasoning behind the plumbing decisions.

Referencing the picture, the valve on the far left of the picture will open/close the main drain. You can then see the spigot coming out of the pump. If you follow the line, you'll see another valve. It is the second valve from the left. During normal operation, the valve to the main drain and the waterfall are both open. The spigot is closed. If you close the valve to the waterfall and open the spigot, water will come out of the spigot. I guess it's a way to drain the pool.

Currently what I have been trying is leaving both valves open and then filling the pump basket with water. I close the lid and turn on the pump. Eventually after a few minutes, some water came out of the waterfall but it stops after a trickle. The problem is that there is no water coming from the inlet.
 
zea3 said:
It is possible there are enough leaves down there to clog the line. You can try blowing the clog back out into the pool by running a water hose down the skimmer opening that leads to the main drain. You can use a drain king or wrap a rag around the hose to seal the pipe while running water through the hose.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the suggestion but it appears as if there is no skimmer basket connected to the main drain. The two skimmers run off of the filter pump. The main drain has its own pump that does not appear to be connected to the other lines. Could I try the same thing by opening the lid to the main drain pump basket and putting the hose down the inlet side?
 
Yes, try running a hose backward from inside the pump. It just still seems odd that water will come out of the spigot and not out of the waterfall. To me that points to a problem after the pump toward the water fall ... unless the suction is clogged enough to not get enough pressure to get the water to the water fall. OR the impeller may be partially clogged.
 

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It only comes out of the waterfall or the spigot if I fill the pump basket with water before turning it on. Once that water is gone, there is no more water coming out anywhere. I will try the hose suggestion tomorrow. Thanks.
 
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