Air in lines?

[s_dubb]

I have been fighting my pool with what I believe is air in the lines. The BLUE filter basket was not filling all the way up and so the pressure was low. I discovered that it had a crack in the lid, I replaced that and the pressure is much better but I think there is still something wrong as my in floor cleaning is still not as powerful as it was before. The BLUE basket is still not completely filling up with water and purging all the air out. I think this started when the vacuum was hooked up to the skimmer basket to clean the floor. Any ideas how to get the BLUE basket to fill up completely and purge all the air out?

 

[Texas Splash]

Simple question - since that's a new lid, di you lube the O-ring really well?

 

[s_dubb]

Simple question - since that's a new lid, di you lube the O-ring really well?

Yes

 

[Nordy-que]

Valve o-ring is another possibility.

 

[s_dubb]

Valve o-ring is another possibility.

Can you take the valve completely apart?

 

[s_dubb]

So I still seem to have air in my BLUE basket, I have lubed all of the o-rings, I replaced and lubed all the o-rings in the valves also, is there anything more that can be done? I remember before that I would just get one small bubble in that BLUE basket and my waterfall or in floor system was really powerful and now it seems it's at half power. Seems like the BLUE basket has about half inch of air on top.

 

[Texas Splash]

is there anything more that can be done? I

Not that I can think of. I think you've covered just about everything on the suction side. If the pump pot water levels continues to drop or you start losing prime, you may need to call in someone who can do a pressure test on that suction line. One last thing though since all of our focus has been on the suction side. If there is ANY doubt about your filter being dirty, clean it. Do that first before calling anyone just to see if it helps with water circulation (restriction). I'd be curious as well.

 

[reggiehammond]

I had really good luck using this technique:

 

[s_dubb]

Not that I can think of. I think you've covered just about everything on the suction side. If the pump pot water levels continues to drop or you start losing prime, you may need to call in someone who can do a pressure test on that suction line. One last thing though since all of our focus has been on the suction side. If there is ANY doubt about your filter being dirty, clean it. Do that first before calling anyone just to see if it helps with water circulation (restriction). I'd be curious as well.

Yeah I cleaned the filters, lubed the cartridge filter ring and replaced the o-rings in the valve for the waterfall/in floor system. I'm so stump

 

[Texas Splash]

Your equipment looks fairly new. Is the installation still under warranty? Also, since you mentioned this seemed to start happening when you connected your vacuum to the skimmer, is there any chance you sucked-up something creating a partial clog?

Just because that blue pot is separate from the main pump, I'm going to ask @Jimrahbe for another opinion.

 

[s_dubb]

Your equipment looks fairly new. Is the installation still under warranty? Also, since you mentioned this seemed to start happening when you connected your vacuum to the skimmer, is there any chance you sucked-up something creating a partial clog?

Just because that blue pot is separate from the main pump, I'm going to ask @Jimrahbe for another opinion.

Sucking up something crossed my mind but I'm sure I didn't suck up anything. Also if I completely shut off the skimmer I still have the same problem with air in the basket. Only thing I can think of is maybe the black basket is cracked. I tried the trick posted in that video @reggiehammond but I still couldn't get the air out.

 

[reggiehammond]

Sucking up something crossed my mind but I'm sure I didn't suck up anything. Also if I completely shut off the skimmer I still have the same problem with air in the basket. Only thing I can think of is maybe the black basket is cracked. I tried the trick posted in that video @reggiehammond but I still couldn't get the air out.

Did you start with gentle water pressure at the first point the pipe exits the ground and follow it all the way to pump pot?
If you had a crack, the water should find it and the air bubbles disappear almost instantly.

 

[s_dubb]

The only thing I seem to notice that's different is when I changed the 2 small o-rings on the valve there was a plastic ring separating the 2 o-rings on the stem, all the videos I watched didn't have that plastic ring.

 

[s_dubb]

I give up! I have spent the past 7 days for 5 hours a day trying everything to get the air out of the basket. All new o'rings all lubed, nothing is working and my pool is getting dirtier and dirtier. Maybe I just don't have a clue what I'm doing. I'm so defeated right now. Off to bed, that is all.

 

[Texas Splash]

Let me try @Jimrahbe again since he was offline for a while.

 

[Jimrahbe]

S,

Maybe I missed it, but at what speed are you running your pump?

What is your filter pressure and when was the last time you cleaned your filter?

What happens when your run the pump faster?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[s_dubb]

Maybe I missed it, but at what speed are you running your pump?

What is your filter pressure and when was the last time you cleaned your filter?

What happens when your run the pump faster?

Thanks,

Jim R.

I have tried all speeds
Ranging from 1500-3050 RPM
Tried just try he skimmer line and just the main drain line. I tried opening both completely and the water rushes in fast but I can't keep the basket full of water. Always seems to be about 1" of air on top. Maybe I dont know how to properly evacuate air from the pool lines.

 

[wireform]

Does that pot as you call it have its own drain plug at the bottom possibly not sealed completely

 

[Jimrahbe]

S,

When was the last time you cleaned your filter?

What speed were you running the pump when everything was working the way you wanted? At that time what was the filter pressure? If you run that same speed now, what is your filter pressure?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[s_dubb]

S,

When was the last time you cleaned your filter?

What speed were you running the pump when everything was working the way you wanted? At that time what was the filter pressure? If you run that same speed now, what is your filter pressure?

Thanks,

Jim R.

Cleaned the filter yesterday, and the filters look good, lubed the big o’ring
When everything was working I was running the pump at 3050 RPMs and the pressure was at 20psi
Now at the same speed the pressure shows 30 psi