Air Bubbles and Heater "Flo" questions

[Natural Pool]

New pool owner.
Pump: Hayward Super Pump VS 700 230/115V
Filter: Hayward Pro Series Sand Filter
Heater: Hayward HeatPro Heat Pump

A couple of issues/questions. I've read several places where "some" air bubbles in the pump basket may be normal on variable speed pumps. At max RPMs there is 1 tiny air bubble and when I drop the speed down to 2000 RPMs there are a few more. It has gotten better after I refilled the basket with water and re-primed. However, the bubbles are still more prominent at lower RPMs. Also, we have 3 return jets in our pool. The one closest to the pump has a few air bubbles that trickle out. The other 2 never have air bubbles. I'm guessing there may be a leak at the pump, but I wasn't sure if that may be associated with the air bubbles in the pump basket itself.

2nd question. If the water flow is too low then I get the "Flo" error on the water heater. I set timers on the pump to run at max RMPs for 8 hours at night, 11pm - 7am. For 7am -11pm I set it at a lower RPM. Initally, I had it at 1500 rpm, but that would always cause the Flo error on the heater. So I edited the speed to 2000 rpms and that worked that the heater would kick on. However, this only last for 3-4 days then the Flo error came back. So I then edited the speed to 2100 rpm and that worked for 1 day.

Anyone else have this issue? I was hoping to be able to run my VS pump at lower speeds and still have the heater work. Also confused at why it would sometimes work and then not. Again, could there be an air leak somewhere that would affect the flow and GPM going through the heater.

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Heat Pumps require higher RPMs then gas heaters for adequate flow due to their smaller internal plumbing.

Sounds like your filter is getting clogged with algae requiring increased RPMs to maintain adequate flow. Backwash your filter and do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

The air bubbles do not sound like they are causing any problems.

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[HermanTX]

The one closest to the pump has a few air bubbles that trickle out. The other 2 never have air bubbles. I'm guessing there may be a leak at the pump, but I wasn't sure if that may be associated with the air bubbles in the pump basket itself.

That one return may be the nearest to your pump output so that is expected plus a SWCG will generate some bubbles to come out of the return.
Having some bubbles in the pump basket is ok - especially at low speeds. Just run the pump at a higher speed for a short period of time to clear out the bubbles. Don't forget to bleed the air out of your filter to ensure that is fully flled with water.

If the water flow is too low then I get the "Flo" error on the water heater. I set timers on the pump to run at max RMPs for 8 hours at night, 11pm - 7am. For 7am -11pm I set it at a lower RPM. Initally, I had it at 1500 rpm, but that would always cause the Flo error on the heater. So I edited the speed to 2000 rpms and that worked that the heater would kick on. However, this only last for 3-4 days then the Flo error came back. So I then edited the speed to 2100 rpm and that worked for 1 day.

Have you cleaned your filter? Appears the increase in flow speed helps then the filter becomes clogged with debris.

 

[Natural Pool]

Update:

We had a ton of rain over several days. So I backwashed for an extended period of time to also lower the water level.

After backwashing, the heater once again worked at the lower RPM!

Lastly, I turned off the SWG and sure enough the bubbles coming out of the nearest return stopped.

Thanks for all the input!