Filter Not Filling

[WilliamGarner]

Greetings,
I have an in-ground pool exhibiting an interesting problem. My pump draws water from the pool, but it does not go into the filter. the filter is empty. When the pump is running, a small amount of pressure will build in the filter. I can bleed air from the filter by activating the relief valve. occasionally air will 'burp' from jets in the pool, but no water emerges.

If I turn the pump motor off and open the box, the box is full of water. If I have not bled the pressure our via the relief valve, it 'burps' some when I open the box.

All of the cartridges in the filter are less than 6 months old. It is a lightly used pool with few trees nearby.

To summarize, the pump primes but does not fill the filter. It is a straight shot from the pump to the filter. On the other side of the filter is a spa heater, but there is a bypass.

Any thoughts?

-Bill

 

[Jimrahbe]

Bill,

Sounds to me like you have a clogged impeller... The motor runs but it has very little suction and can't push water through the filter..

What were you doing just before you had the problem? Vacuuming by chance??

Show us a couple of pics of your equipment pad... And maybe we can suggest a couple of troubleshooting tips.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[WilliamGarner]

Hi Jim,
I tested the performance of pump by using the by-pass and it moved water well for a minute or two, and then output dropped dramatically. Please see attached photos.

 

[WilliamGarner]

oh and to answer your question, no. I was not vacuuming. The pool was operating in normal 'cold weather' mode. the motor turns on every ten minutes or so to circulate water so the lines don't freeze. This morning it had failed. The lines were not frozen, and are not frozen now.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Bill,

If water pumps out of the pump through the by-pass then it has to go some where when not in by-pass..

Looking at the pics I would remove the SWCG and see if you have a lot of water coming into the SWCG. If you do, I would look for a problem going back to the pool.. If you do not have good flow into the SWCG, I would remove the top pipe on the filter and confirm I had a large volume of water entering the filter.. etc.

Yes it will make a small mess, but you have go to start somewhere.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[WilliamGarner]

Howdy,
Here's an update. I threw the breaker to shutdown the pump, and then I drained the pump and above ground lines because we were expecting temps in the 20s. I let the pump sit from Thursday until Sunday. Sunday was a warm day...in the 60s. I put the plug back in the pump, primed it, and turned on the breaker.

The Dang thing begins moving water properly. It shutdown last night on the main pool as is usual, and ran the hot tub for an hour before shutting down for the night. This morning at 6:00AM I was watching with a cup of coffee when it started up normally. It is still functioning properly.

Prior to the malfunction, it had been cold. I believe this is a temperature related failure. Your thoughts?:

-bill

 

[Jimrahbe]

Bill,

I think you are correct.. Only time will tell for sure...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[WilliamGarner]

Jim, thanks for the help. I'll update when I find out the root cause.

I rebuilt two valves today and the pump for the pool sweep. I'm ready for spring!

-bill