Bubbles from returns but none in the pump basket

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B

BApool

0
May 2, 2018
15
Baltimore, md
I posted here last week about a weird air leak and didn't get any response so I replaced basically all of the above ground PVC on the auction side. I currently have no air whatsoever in the basket, like none at all, which is awesome.

However, I still have bursts of air coming out of the return jet with lots of little bubbles rising to the surface. If I open the air valve on top of the filter there is only water coming out.

Any idea where this air could be coming from??
 
The SWG makes hydrogen during production but nothing when off.

If you're getting air out of the returns, it's almost always getting in on the suction side.

What pump do you have?

If it's variable speed, what speed are you using?
 
It's a hayward super pump (sp2610x15), single speed, 1hp. Logically, i would expect the issue to be suction side but I truly don't see any air in the basket. So much so that I had to really stare at it to be sure it was actually full of water.

I'm running low on ideas unless air is injecting itself in somewhere but again, logically, if it was a leak after the pump it would be shooting out water not pulling in air.
 
logically, if it was a leak after the pump it would be shooting out water not pulling in air.
Click to expand...
Many, many people cannot get their heads around this and insist on looking for an air leak on the pressure side.

It is possible to be pulling in air and not see it......depending on bubble size. One of the most common examples of that is if the drain plug(s) in the pump strainer basket are loose. The air goes from the bottom of the pump basket and shoots into the volute from down low and you can't see it.
 
So this is still going on. And it's bizarre.

The pump keeps prime for days with no issue. The basket shows zero bubbles 99% of the time, today I had it running for nearly 24 hours and when I got home from work I had two small bubbles dancing in the basket but significantly reduced suction from the skimmer and flow from the return AND even more air from the teturn, enough to actually see bubbles at the surface versus the stream of bubbles I'm seeing underwater.

I've looked as closely as I can at the pump basket and I really don't see any air. Drain plugs, gasket, and lid are all new, as is the plumbing from my diverter valve into the pump. Opening the air relief valve on the filter shoots only water, no bursts of air at all.

Here's what I don't understand: how can there be no noticeable air in the pump basket, no noticeable air being released from the filter valve, no loss of vacuum/prime but significant and consistent air from the return??
 

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