Do I have underground plumbing issue?

[alen129]

The other day I noticed my return jets have really low pressure(almost none) my and Zodiac suction side pool cleaner is not working, I checked the pump and it had lost prime. I attempted to fill the basket with water and noticed some air bubbles escaping the skimmer, checked the water level, O-rings, surface plumming for leaks, pulled apart the pump and cleaned the impeller and all seemed to be in order. I followed all the troubleshooting steps and figured I'll check the lines with a rubber bladder to check for a blockage. Putting the bladder in the skimmer to return water to the pump basket, I do get water but the volume is not enough to fill the 1 1/2 inch pipe and I'm assuming this is due to the garden hose not having enough throughput to fill the pipe with water(?). Going from pump basket to the skimmer, I can see water flowing nicely but I also see bubbles - like a lot of bubbles - the bubbles eventually die down and I get no more bubbles after about 7~8 minutes of water running through the line(is this normal?), but shutting off water for about 20 second and redoing the whole process again, I get massive amount of bubbles again, is this normal? Can a water leak underground introduce air to the pump?

One other theory I have is that my DE pump has not been cleaned for about 6 months, if the pump is clogged can it cause low pressure in my jets or cause the pump not to prime?

Sorry for the long winded post. I appreciate all the help.

 

[Jimrahbe]

129,

The number one cause for weak water flow out of your pool returns is.. a dirty filter.

It may be something else, but cleaning the filter should be the first thing to do, if for no other reason than to rule it out.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[alen129]

129,

The number one cause for weak water flow out of your pool returns is.. a dirty filter.

It may be something else, but cleaning the filter should be the first thing to do, if for no other reason than to rule it out.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Hi Jim,
Thank you so much for the tip!
I washed my DE filter, and you were right , the jets have full pressure and my suction side cleaner works flawlessly, I've noticed the water clarity has improved too.
One thing I noticed, my pressure gauges - on top of the filter - has gone down to 5 vs when my pool guy would clean the filter it'd start off with 10 and slowly creep up, is that normal? Is there something I should be checking?

BTW I let my pool guy go about 3 months ago since I was not happy with his service and felt I was learning so much more thanks to this community.

 

[mknauss]

DE Filter Use and Care - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Clean the filter when the filter pressure rises by 25% over clean filter pressure.

 

[Jimrahbe]

129,

Since you are taking care of your pool yourself, I recommend that you use our TFP pool care process.

Take a good read through our Pool School and see what we are all about...

We do things quite differently than pool guys and pool stores...

The pressure on your filter is backwards to what many people think. High pressure is bad and low pressure is good. High pressure does not mean you have a great pump, it means that water is having a hard time getting through the filter and back to the pool. Think of a running garden hose with an open end vs. when you put your thumb over the end. With your thumb over the end, pressure goes way up and the flow goes way down.

Thanks,

Jim R.