Pool problems and worms...
- Thread starter Carpool
- Start date
duraleigh said:
No, I wish! Now, we are lucky if we can manage to prime it manually by adding water to the pump basket. I was just recalling past behavior of our system that, in retrospect, would indicate a worsening issue of an air leak on the suction side.
First, I hope that your husband is well! When the impeller was replaced, were the shaft seals and pump gaskets replaced too?
Here is a long shot guess: If the pump had more trouble priming after the impeller was replaced, then perhaps it was replaced incorrectly of the wrong impellor was used. You might try taking the pump into a shop to have it looked at. This will not solve your leak issue, but might improve the priming of the pump.
When the impeller was replaced, the gaskets and shaft seal were not.
We did have a person from the national company who built our pool over yesterday. He also happens to handle repair issues on the side, and he inspected our system. He spent a lot of time, and handled most if not all the stuff that has been suggested here - without me having to suggest it - (and I watched the entire thing). He pointed out that the pump shaft seal was bad, and that the pipe going into the pump basket was still sucking air, was the incorrect pipe, and was installed poorly. Once he got the pump primed and going, all three lines (together and separately) were fine.
Of course, once everything is shut down, air is getting back in through the suction side, and the pump basket empties. To boot, the filter and new plumbing (from the pump to the filter) is leaking. Thus, the pump is going to be taken apart and seals/gaskets checked and replaced. The pipe going into the basket that is letting air in will be repaired or replaced properly. He's also going to fix properly the leaking plumbing from the pump to the filter.
I am going to have to get the previous repair guy out here to reseal our filter - he had cleaned and replaced a broken part,and apparently did not put it back together properly, as it's leaking water.
I can't believe the $$ we have spent in the past 2 months to have poor work done. On the bright side, I have gotten a great education on pool plumbing thanks to this forum (and thanks to mistakes made by less than stellar repairmen).
We did have a person from the national company who built our pool over yesterday. He also happens to handle repair issues on the side, and he inspected our system. He spent a lot of time, and handled most if not all the stuff that has been suggested here - without me having to suggest it - (and I watched the entire thing). He pointed out that the pump shaft seal was bad, and that the pipe going into the pump basket was still sucking air, was the incorrect pipe, and was installed poorly. Once he got the pump primed and going, all three lines (together and separately) were fine.
Of course, once everything is shut down, air is getting back in through the suction side, and the pump basket empties. To boot, the filter and new plumbing (from the pump to the filter) is leaking. Thus, the pump is going to be taken apart and seals/gaskets checked and replaced. The pipe going into the basket that is letting air in will be repaired or replaced properly. He's also going to fix properly the leaking plumbing from the pump to the filter.
I am going to have to get the previous repair guy out here to reseal our filter - he had cleaned and replaced a broken part,and apparently did not put it back together properly, as it's leaking water.
I can't believe the $$ we have spent in the past 2 months to have poor work done. On the bright side, I have gotten a great education on pool plumbing thanks to this forum (and thanks to mistakes made by less than stellar repairmen).
I am glad that you are getting good help now! I don't know if this is possible with where your pump controls are, but whenever I am opening the pump strainer basket, I try to prevent emptying the suction piping, to improve prime time. I do this by closing the suction line as soon as I turn the pump off, on my set-up I have a three-way valve (drain, skimmer, off.) I usually turn the multi-port to off, also. If the pump basket is empty, fill it and the suction pipe back to the valve, then secure the basket lid; open the multi-port to filter; open the suction valve to skimmer and start the pump immediately. It should prime quickly.
FWIW, IMHO I would have this guy make ALL repairs, and I wouldn't let the previous guy( and the worms in his pocket) back on the property! I would also have the check valve removed, as I think that they cause more problems than they solve. Also, you need to remember that with the pump off and all valves open, the entire system above water level is under vacuum(suction,) and any air in leaks(water leaks out of the filter) will cause water to drain back to the pool, increasing pump prime time. Best Wishes, and Good Luck!!
Carpool,
Soundas like you are heading down the right path. "New2me" is on the same page as I am........I would ask your new guy to get the system into shape.....asking the "gob of worms" guy may be like throwing good money after bad.
Please keep us posted. Everyone learns from the experiences of others.
Soundas like you are heading down the right path. "New2me" is on the same page as I am........I would ask your new guy to get the system into shape.....asking the "gob of worms" guy may be like throwing good money after bad.
Please keep us posted. Everyone learns from the experiences of others.
I think you guys are correct. As much as I would like to get the previous repair guy to fix his mistakes, it seems like a bad idea! As if I could even get him back out here in the first place... 
Now that we are hitting a cold spell, I just want to be able to use my spa again!! :-D
Now that we are hitting a cold spell, I just want to be able to use my spa again!! :-D
To give you guys an update:
I am very happy with the new person who has been working on our pool. I took your advice and along with replacing the faulty plumbing, replacing the shaft seal, handling any air leaks going into the pump basket - he fixed the leaking filter as well.
Do you know that when he opened the filter, not only was the gasket caked with mud -- the filter itself had NO DE in it, and was filled with mud. This was the filter that I had paid to have taken apart, cleaned, and backwashed. Unbelievable.
Then, the plumbing from the suction side straight through to the filter was so out of whack, that he mentioned that it looked as if the previous person hadn't taken measurements. Comparing the previous work to the new plumbing now is like night and day. Once he got everything square and sealed up, the pump just primed up immediately. And, there isn't an air bubble to be found in the pump basket, even 24 hours later.
He also mentioned yesterday that a bearing in the pump was going bad, and it was making things quite noisy. We had planned to wait until it failed, in the interest of saving a little money. Well, the freexe control kicked in last night, and I'm quite certain that our neighbors dislike us right now for the racket it made. My husband put in a call this morning, and our repair guy was here at 9 (kudos to him), to replace the the offending parts in the pump. Right now, it's running like a breeze.
On a positive note, I've learned a great deal about our pool plumbing (thanks TFP), and we've found a great new repair person. Unfortunately, we'll be spending close to $2000 when all is said and done.
Part of me wants to accept this - and part of me wants to put the house up for sale! Our pool is about 9 years old. Can anyone give me a little perspective on whether or not a pool can or should be a money pit? Anyway, thanks for reading this very long post!
I am very happy with the new person who has been working on our pool. I took your advice and along with replacing the faulty plumbing, replacing the shaft seal, handling any air leaks going into the pump basket - he fixed the leaking filter as well.
Do you know that when he opened the filter, not only was the gasket caked with mud -- the filter itself had NO DE in it, and was filled with mud. This was the filter that I had paid to have taken apart, cleaned, and backwashed. Unbelievable.
Then, the plumbing from the suction side straight through to the filter was so out of whack, that he mentioned that it looked as if the previous person hadn't taken measurements. Comparing the previous work to the new plumbing now is like night and day. Once he got everything square and sealed up, the pump just primed up immediately. And, there isn't an air bubble to be found in the pump basket, even 24 hours later.
He also mentioned yesterday that a bearing in the pump was going bad, and it was making things quite noisy. We had planned to wait until it failed, in the interest of saving a little money. Well, the freexe control kicked in last night, and I'm quite certain that our neighbors dislike us right now for the racket it made. My husband put in a call this morning, and our repair guy was here at 9 (kudos to him), to replace the the offending parts in the pump. Right now, it's running like a breeze.
On a positive note, I've learned a great deal about our pool plumbing (thanks TFP), and we've found a great new repair person. Unfortunately, we'll be spending close to $2000 when all is said and done.
Part of me wants to accept this - and part of me wants to put the house up for sale! Our pool is about 9 years old. Can anyone give me a little perspective on whether or not a pool can or should be a money pit? Anyway, thanks for reading this very long post!
Knowledge is power! The more you chose to learn about your pool, the more satisfying ownership will become and the less money you will spend.
You have shown great willingness to be patient and learn about this particular issue (as we have all learned along with you) and my guess is you will continue that path and thoroughly enjoy your pool this Summer.
Stay on the forum and post lot's of questions as Spring approaches. Read every article in pool school....many more than once. Don't be completely dependant on your new person....regardless of how good he is. Become very proactive with him and here on the forum and you'll have a "Troublefree pool". :lol: :lol:
PS - a pool that has been as badly serviced as "worm man" apparently did will likely have some additional glitches but they should be relatively easy to sort out.......glad you got it up and running.
PPS - are you planning on running the pump nightiimes during this very cold snap? You don't want your pipes to freeze.
At least that part's out of the way. A pool does not have to be a money pit, and this place will help you make sure of that. By the time pool season comes around you'll have no problem taking care of it, and when something beyond your ability does happen, you'll have someone to call who you can trust.
It won't be cheap, but it can easily be worth what you get out of it.
It won't be cheap, but it can easily be worth what you get out of it.
duraleigh said:
Thanks, Dave. I agree - knowledge is power. I've always been my "own woman" as far as water chemistry goes, and now the plumbing doesn't intimidate me, either. I found that with my new pool guy, I am now able to ask relevant and intelligent questions that gave him input, and allowed me to participate and understand more.
We do have a computer controller, with "freeze control" built in. When temps hit 35 degrees, the pump turns on and the valves rotate between the spa, pool, and cleaner every 15 minutes to protect the lines. It stays on until it warms up to 39. Truly a blessing, as we don't need to babysit the pool in cold weather.
Hey, speaking of worms, I have yet to see another one! :-D
I jus knew there was an issue with the DE filter! I'm so glad you had that checked, and even happier that your pool is back to normal! 
As the title says "Pool problems and worms...." I am glad that your pool is in great working order, but what about the worms??? I am stilling wondering myself where the heck they came from? Carpool, you have a picture of the old misaligned plumbing how about a before and after shot, you might as well share your $2000 worth of repairs 
Rockcrawler said:As the title says "Pool problems and worms...." I am glad that your pool is in great working order, but what about the worms??? I am stilling wondering myself where the heck they came from? Carpool, you have a picture of the old misaligned plumbing how about a before and after shot, you might as well share your $2000 worth of repairs
I'll be glad to post a picture, probably tomorrow. Regarding the worms - that's still a mystery. I did ask our new repairman if he noticed any when he started the pump up for the first time. He said he did notice a couple in the pump basket, but certainly nothing more than that. We did talk about the worm issue for a bit, and he thought it was almost impossible for them to be getting in from an pipe break. He mentioned 3 reasons, one being that we were losing no water (and I can't recall the other two reasons). He believed that the worms just made their way into the pool through the main drain (we have had a very rainy month here).
Honestly, I still am not convinced that I know how those worms got into the pump basket. I plan to keep a close eye on the contents of that basket over the next month. And, now that my pool does not look like a swamp anymore, I'll have an easier time of examining the pool bottom and drains.
That being said, before we hired the previous pool repair guy, I have never noticed a single worm in the pump basket. Then again, my pool has never sat stagnant for 2 months, either. He seemed to think that the pump prime problem was due to an underground pipe break - hence the worms. I am more inclined to attribute the worm factor to something related to our pool sitting idle for a length of time.
Well, we may be beating a dead horse here but I didn't see the worms as such a mystery.......it was important to make sure they didn't become the focus of the pump not priming, however.
The worms simply came from the only opening(s) in the system they could......thru the main drain or a suction side cleaner...conceivably the skimmer but very doubtful.
The "gob" that surged into the pump basket I believe was very likely caused by the check valve being blocked. OP had reported earlier "problems" with the check valve which is usually a blockage to the flow. With all the other suction side plumbing issues, a check valve can easily contribute to the problem.
On the occassions the pump would prime, the resulting surge of water would dislodge whatever obstructions were in the pipes and they would be dumped into the pump strainer basket.
BTW, carpool, you should carefully look into that check valve at least weekly to make sure it stays unobstructed.
The worms simply came from the only opening(s) in the system they could......thru the main drain or a suction side cleaner...conceivably the skimmer but very doubtful.
The "gob" that surged into the pump basket I believe was very likely caused by the check valve being blocked. OP had reported earlier "problems" with the check valve which is usually a blockage to the flow. With all the other suction side plumbing issues, a check valve can easily contribute to the problem.
On the occassions the pump would prime, the resulting surge of water would dislodge whatever obstructions were in the pipes and they would be dumped into the pump strainer basket.
BTW, carpool, you should carefully look into that check valve at least weekly to make sure it stays unobstructed.
Dave, I'm sure you're correct about the worms.
And, thanks for the heads up about the check valve. Thankfully, the one we have now (installed by Mr.Worm) is more amenable to cleaning.
Caroline
And, thanks for the heads up about the check valve. Thankfully, the one we have now (installed by Mr.Worm) is more amenable to cleaning.
Caroline