Air Release Valve Sucks Air When Opened With Pump Running 1500 RPM Or Less

[RANDY M]

!st time owner of variable speed pump. Been running it @ 1000 rpm except when chemicals are added or using vac. Just noticed today that when I checked to see if there was any air in the filter it sucked air when opened. Ran rpm's up until water started coming out @15oo rpm. Does anyone know if this is normal? I would think with pump running it would create positive pressure.
Thanks

 

[mas985]

Yes, that can be normal. It just depends on the elevation of valve with respect to the pool water. The pump adds pressure to the line but it isn't necessarily above atmospheric pressure. It is all relative. Also as water rises, pressure drops and can go below atmospheric pressure. So if your equipment is high enough, the pressure at the valve can be below atmospheric pressure.

Is the filter elevated fairly high above the water level? What was the filter pressure when this happened?

 

[RANDY M]

Thanks for responding. The pad for the equipment is about 4' above water level. It looks like it's at 0 psi until I ramp up the rpm's to about 1600 to get the gauge to move. Is it ok to run it at a 1000 rpm's.

 

[mas985]

Yes it is perfectly fine to run at 1000 rpm as long as the pump is primed and water is flowing through the pump.