CircuPool SmartFlo® Variable Speed Pool Pump - 3.0 THP

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dmoks

Active member
Jun 15, 2020
34
Matawan, NJ
Pool Size
18000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
SWG Type
CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Need some help here or ideas on what the issue may be.

I installed the pump in the title and it won't prime. I filled strainer with water, have pumped water down the supply lines (comes out the skimmer side), blew out the lines with the cyclone to see if anything was stuck, pumped water through the skimmer, closed each valve (skimmer/main drain) individually, and put multiport valve on recirculation to bypass filter.

Any ideas would be helpful as I'm perplexed.

Picture of install.

It's set to bypass heater and there are no leaks on fittings from what I can tell.
 

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dmoks said:
Need some help here or ideas on what the issue may be.

I installed the pump in the title and it won't prime. I filled strainer with water, have pumped water down the supply lines (comes out the skimmer side), blew out the lines with the cyclone to see if anything was stuck, pumped water through the skimmer, closed each valve (skimmer/main drain) individually, and put multiport valve on recirculation to bypass filter.

Any ideas would be helpful as I'm perplexed.

Picture of install.

It's set to bypass heater and there are no leaks on fittings from what I can tell.
Click to expand...
+1 on What @Texas Splash asked. If you ran your pump for over 3-4 minutes and it still didn't prime...then see below.

Suction side leaks suck. You have a suction side leak somewhere. Remove the lid, clean the lid and the o-ring, re-lube with silicone lube (Magic Lube II...don't use a PTFE/Teflon lube on o-rings). Take the union on the front of the pump off again, re-lube the o-ring on the union.

Put some shaving cream around the lid, the union, the pvc connections and the valve. If there is a suction leak at the pad, you will see where the shaving cream is getting sucked in...
 
Lubed up the suction side o-rings and retaped suction side fitting (4x around). I'll try shaving cream next if this doesn't work.

Pool to pad is 15 ft.

Waterline to pump is approximately 1 ft.

Last year, I had a single stage pentair and had no issues with it.

Should I increase the suction on the pump to max?

Ran it for 4 min on max and didn't work.
 
dmoks said:
Should I increase the suction on the pump to max?
Click to expand...
For initial prime I would. Once primed, then back it down as much as you can to a low rpm. I would also pull from the skimmer only initially, then later adjust to allow a little drain pull. It may take a good 1-2 minutes to fill that suction line from the skimmer to the pad. Let us know if you get it.
 
dmoks said:
Removed tape on union. Put more lube. Shaving cream on the connections and nothing. Ran for 7 min and no suction
Click to expand...
That is odd. :scratch: Any chance the weir door back at the skimmer is shutting on you? Could you have someone be close to the skimmer as you try to pull water to watch the door and maybe see if any water is getting pulled in?
 

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When you fill the pump pot with water, I understand it will try to flow backwards down the suction line. So maybe you've already noticed this. But if you were to fill the pot quickly, put the lid on, and turn on the pump, does the remaining water in the pot get pulled IN by the pump?
 
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The water does get pulled in.

I opened the pool today. I didn't use the old pump - it died at the end of last year. I waited until a couple weeks ago to buy the new one.

I opened pool roughly 5 hrs ago. I marked a line by skimmer at around 2 because I thought I had a leak but neither drain or skimmer work.
 
dmoks said:
The water does get pulled in.
Click to expand...
dmoks said:
I opened pool roughly 5 hrs ago.
Click to expand...
Okay, good on both counts. So here's what I would do. Even though you blew air backwards and tried to move some water backwards, I would remove that 3-way valve handle/lid in front of the pump. Many times we have seen something like an acorn or some other debris get stuck just enough to impact prime. The owner was oblivious becasue water "appeared" to move and the line "seemed" to be clear. But a tiny blockage was all it took.

If that doesn't show anything positive, the only other thing I can think of is you have another person stick a hose in that skimmer hole. Maybe place a rag around the hose and try and seal it as they push water all the way to the pump to fill that suction line. Once you see (thru the lid) water coming in, turn on the pump and remove that hose quickly at the same time.
 
Thank you for the help!!! I'll look to do the suggestions this week at some point. Wife's saying I spent enough time on this today haha
 
You sure all winterizing plugs are out of your skimmer?
 
dmoks said:
Wife's saying I spent enough time on this today
Click to expand...
full
 
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Check that the joint circled in red is correctly glued. It shows no signs of purple primer around it.

IMG_0984.jpeg
 

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