Am I doing something wrong

[rdelisa]

My pump is a long, long ways from my pool skimmer; about 40 feet away. It takes a long time to prime and I risk losing prime if I run the pump at speeds lower than 1250RPM. Also, if I shut the pump off overnight the pump has to prime again when I turn it on the next morning. Neither my heater nor my SWG nor my heater work properly if the pressure is too low, but what RPM is reasonable to expect both of these things to work? I hate to waste energy, but I seem to have the best luck if I just keep the pump running above 2,000RPM.

I used to be able to turn my pump off overnight and not lose any water pressure or prime after several hours. I hate to run the pump 24x7 if I don't have to.
I can hear water refilling the sand filter and regaining pressure in the heater. This makes it a real pain to get the heater going again as I will continue get a PRS error due to inadequate flow I imagine.
What I don't understand is that I have to run it at a high speed for a while then kick it down to a lower speed to get the PRS message to go away so I can get the heater on. Often times, I just have to mess with going back and forth between low and high speeds to get the PRS message to go away and ignite the heater.

Do I have a leak in my plumbing somewhere? (I don't have any water leaking anywhere in the pump room)
Should I be able to run the pump at speeds lower than 2,000RPM for the heater to work properly?
Should I consider replacing the flow sensor? (I see this is pretty easy to do)

 

[Texas Splash]

Do I have a leak in my plumbing somewhere?

Sounds like you do. You may not see water coming out, but air can certainly sneak "in" the system causing water to shift around when the pump is off.

How about posting some pics of your equipment pad from different angles?

 

[rdelisa]

Good idea. Note the air bubbles in pump. I think this is the big clue there is an air link. The pump is running at 2375RPM when I snapped the photo. I don't think I should have air bubbles, but where are they coming from? The O-Ring on the Pump basket looks pretty good.

 

[Texas Splash]

It looks like someone has been trying various methods to ID a suction side leak with all that tape. Instead, I would encourage you to take each fitting, each valve, each connection one at a time. If those valves are old, you may consider removing the top/handle portion to inspect the O-ring inside. Speaking of O-ring, the clear pump lid and pump drain plug(s) are always suspect and need to be inspected/lubed really well. You have several unions, all of which have a tiny O-ring inside, so look at those too. On top of your filter is the pressure gauge and perhaps built-in air relief. Those can leak and allow air to get "in".

Suction side leaks (before the pump) allow air to get pulled inward while running. A pressure side leak after the pump can often leak water. But a very small leak on either side can allow air in when the system is off. Just take your time and make it a process of elimination.

 

[rdelisa]

Thanks. What I did was clean and re-lube the O-Ring on the pump lid. Also, I don't think the filter knobs were cranked down enough. I tightened all of those. The side pump o-rings looked good.
I removed the plumber's tape which I put a few years ago when the pump was installed. The plumber had not tightened them properly. There doesn't appear to be water coming out of them.
I loosened the pressure release gauge and let it run for a few minutes to release trapped air. The bubble inside my pump basket is now much smaller; very tiny.
Lastly, I noticed a very small water leak where the SWG connects to the Jet / Fountain Valve. This wasn't noticeable when I was running at lower pump speeds. I will have to get the pool plumbing guy to fix this; it's out of my skill set.
Thanks for the feedback. You got me on the right track.