Ecostar and Air bubbles

[mas985]

1.5" in only two hours has to be leak somewhere and I would say that is not normal. The hard part is going to be finding out where it is. Since you already had a leak on the lid gasket, that would be the first place to look.

 

[jhalpinjr]

1.5" in only two hours has to be leak somewhere and I would say that is not normal. The hard part is going to be finding out where it is. Since you already had a leak on the lid gasket, that would be the first place to look.

I went back out to check the lid again, tried food coloring and the water trick- no luck in finding a leak. Also did all the suction line fittings- seems okay.

I went and bought a tube of Magic Lube #630 teflon based lube, and applied to it the gasket. We will see what happens.
Some time next week or the week my PB is bringing his Hayward Rep over to check the pump. The past couple days the GFCI breaker keeps tripping. Trips during 1.2 amp draw on low speed, tried a new breaker no luck. Hayward believes the Drive Control Module may be defective.

LOL I feel like a guinea pig- this is the first Ecostar install in the area according to the PB. Just my luck.

Anyways I am going to make them stay and watch the level in the basket.

 

[jhalpinjr]

mas - I believe you are right. there are now bubbles coming out of the returns. If i look through the lid- every once in a while I can see an air bubble come in from the suction line. I dont believe that is out gassing. What do you all think. Here are the bubbles at the return:

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[mas985]

Outgassing usually shows up as very tiny bubbles clinging to the pump basket as shown in this post. Plus it only generates a very small amount of air at best but over long periods of time it can accumulate. I really think what you are experiencing is an air leak somewhere. Especially if you are seeing air come out of the pump basket inlet pipe.

 

[Aquatica]

sorry couldnt read all the posts but the only way you can get air in the system is via the suction side of the pump. could be the strainer cover sucking, main drain or skimmer valves are usually the culprit, or any part before the pump..suction side of pump..

if you got leaks usually when pump is on its after the pump on the return side. however when pump is off leaks can be anywhere..

 

[jhalpinjr]

I think there is a fitting leaking as when I went to take the lid cover off again it is so hard to loosen I can see the PVC flexing. The PB has a few joints that should have been removed when this pump was put in place of the SuperPump. I would redo the PVC myself but I cant unless I order parts. There is a special PVC piece that goes into the suction inlet that is glued to the suction plumbing. I cannot redo the joint, I don't believe without ordering a new one.

I am going to ask the PB to redo the plumbing.

 

[Minnesota Brit]

Lot of silicon grease around the cover o-ring solved this problem for me!

 

[cyclebob]

April 30 2012

Spoke with the Hayward Tech re the basket not filling to the top without some air turbulence. This he said is normal and the amount of water in the basket may drop some at lower speeds. I have no leaks and no air bubbles in my returns. They tell folks to use 3 min prime and not auto sense since in some cases this will be a nuisance. My pump works fine in all other respects and probably is functioning normally. I called to speak to several Techs so this must be the new Mantra.
Another note is that apparently auto sense works only on initial prime. If for some reason the pump looses prime and can't
prime again it will not shut down on auto sense but will probably shut down on high temp.. I will call Tech again to see if I get any different answers and report back.

 

[mike_patrick]

I know this thread is a little old but more and more Ecostar SP3400VSP are being sold especially in Florida requiring VS or 2 speed pumps for new pools and not to mention it's hard to find your local pool store selling pumps rated over 3/4 horse due to new legislation. Anyway - the Hayward Tech. told me that the SP3400 may have an air gap in the pump strainer lid from time to time especially if you are plumbing from 2" to 1 1/2" PVC like me. He said not to worry and didn't warn of any ill effects on motor. I did set the prime for 3 minutes which helps fill the gaps. I'm gonna try some mechanical timer programming for a 2 hour stop in the day because when pump restarts it will prime for 3 minutes and reduce any air in lid.

 

[jhalpinjr]

The issue I have with the 3 minute Prime on mine is everytime you shut it off its 3 minutes........Backwashing and rinsing with so much pressre it seems. If I lower the prime max speed it seems to be the same as the auto prime as far as the gap of air/water.

What are you doing when using the 3 minute prime as far as back washing and rinse, and if you have a pool cleaner (boost pump)?

Hope I am making sense!