Filter capacity?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Does the vacuum gauge go to zero when the pump is off?

If yes, you have a problem with the suction side being restricted.

Are all suction lines open?

You need to get the vacuum pressure down to 15" Hg or lower.
 
Here are pics of the various gauges after removing the 1/2" eyeballs. Vacuum gauge (at front of the pump) drops to 15 when I turn off the pump and rises to 25 with pump running. Filters pressures are about 23 and 24 psi now. Gauges on the discharge side of the filters read about 22 and 20 psi. Flow rate remains around 130. I searched records going back 2-3 years and see no flow rates higher than 100 recorded. Mostly they are not even recorded. Thoughts?.... (Other than firing the pool company that has allowed this to go on for this long without ever raising or addressing the issue.)
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5145 - Copy.jpg
    IMG_5145 - Copy.jpg
    288.8 KB · Views: 5
  • IMG_5146 - Copy.jpg
    IMG_5146 - Copy.jpg
    276.2 KB · Views: 4
  • IMG_5147 - Copy.jpg
    IMG_5147 - Copy.jpg
    373.1 KB · Views: 4
  • IMG_5148 - Copy.jpg
    IMG_5148 - Copy.jpg
    290.1 KB · Views: 4
  • IMG_5149 - Copy.jpg
    IMG_5149 - Copy.jpg
    254.2 KB · Views: 3
  • IMG_5150 - Copy.jpg
    IMG_5150 - Copy.jpg
    234.6 KB · Views: 4
JamesW said:
Does the vacuum gauge go to zero when the pump is off?

If yes, you have a problem with the suction side being restricted.

Are all suction lines open?

You need to get the vacuum pressure down to 15" Hg or lower.
Click to expand...
No... the vacuum gauge goes to 15 with the pump off.

I believe all suction lines are open. There is a "pit" below the pool equipment room where a lot of the plumbing is located. The pool company went down there yesterday to check the plumbing, valves, etc. and said everything looked okay.
 
The vacuum gauge is bad. Should go to "0" when pump is off.

Can you double check the vault? Maybe take pics from different angles and post them here?
 
  • Like
Reactions: JamesW
So, 10” of mercury is about 11.3 feet of head loss on the suction.

24 psi is 55.4 feet of head.

So, that is a total of 66.7 feet of head.

That should put the flow close to about 195 GPM.

Replace the vacuum gauge and the flow meter to see if the new numbers look better.

The motor sounds off.

Have the power checked to see if the power, voltage, frequency and current are correct.

Make sure that the person understands 3 phase power.


1694047468155.png
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1694047533570.png
 
We will probably be closing the pool soon. Would there be any harm in just leaving things as they are for the remaining week or so of the season and then re-visiting these needed repairs when we open next season (i.e., change flow meter, change vacuum gauge, change MP gasket and valve cover, etc.)?

Also. should I replace those two 1/2" eyeballs I removed with 1" eyeballs.... or just leave them out?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Leaving things as they are for the next week or so until the end of the season should be fine.

But, do NOT wait until you open next season. There will still be several weeks after your "season" is over to start addressing things. If you wait to start addressing items until you open in the spring, you'll be starting a new season behind the power curve.

Post some pics of the vault.
 
Are you required to have periodic inspections and a permit to operate from the city?

Public pools need to be operated according to the local codes.

If you are not code compliant, you should shut down until you can get everything code compliant.
 
JPMorgan said:
Like an electrician? If I contact one, what do I say is needed.... just check the electrical supply?
Click to expand...
The motor sounds off to me.

Based on the available data, there might be an issue with the motor or the electrical supply.

You can take the motor to a local motor repair shop for evaluation or you can have someone check the motor in place to see if the voltage, current, power, power factor and frequency are correct.

You need to find a competent person who can do this.

Maybe an HVAC/Mechanical contractor or an electrician with commercial three phase experience.
 
Verify with Pentair what the readings should be for your pump on your system before you have someone come out so that they know what the measurements should be.

Make sure that the person gives you a report with the readings and an analysis of the readings.

Do not accept anything like "Ok, it looks fine to me".
 
Whenever you see problems reported about public pools and someone getting hurt, there are always a bunch of reports about problems that were ignored.

"Oh, the water is too cloudy to see the bottom, it should be fine, don't worry".

"Oh, the chlorine feeder is malfunctioning, don't worry, it will probably be fine".

Oh, there are sparks shooting out of the doohickey on the wall, don't worry, it has been doing that for years.
 
Last edited:
Do you have any records of the operation of the pool equipment to show the measurements over time?

Do you know if the pump ever worked correctly?

Do you have records of the pressures and flow rates at an earlier time that were good?

If yes, what were the numbers?

If no, what happened to the records?

When did the numbers go from good to bad?

Was the change sudden or gradual?
 
Last edited:
JamesW said:
Are you required to have periodic inspections and a permit to operate from the city?

Public pools need to be operated according to the local codes.

If you are not code compliant, you should shut down until you can get everything code compliant.
Click to expand...
Yes, we are subject to inspections. However, I moved here 2 years ago and have never seen an inspector.

Yes, I understand that we must follow local codes. Shutting down the pool is ultimately a Board decision, but I can certainly give them my written recommendation to shut down. If they decide to ignore that, then it's on them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JamesW
JamesW said:
We have a 3-phase pool pump and we want to verify that it operating correctly.

Can you check the power to make sure that the voltage, current, power, power factor and frequency are correct?
Click to expand...
The pool company that replaced the impeller has suggested installing some gauges that are missing (or not working) on our system to help them further diagnose the problem....and then also change the MP gaskets and valve covers on both filters. This was based on what they were seeing after the impeller was installed and they did not get the expected flow rate from that repair. The technician did take the MP valve cover off and inspected it and the gasket (while I was there) and recommended replacement. (We knew the gaskets were leaking water out of the discharge line and had installed a valve in that line as a "fail safe" stop gap measure, so I don't question his recommendation.

Would it make sense to go ahead with these next steps and then delve into the motor/ electrical supply issue after that if this doesn't give us the flow rate and pressure readings we should be getting?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply