Hello and priming question....

[Kat5763]

Hi there!

My first in what I'm guessing will be a long list of questions.....We had the pool installed very late last year so only used it a bit. Even with the heater cranked up, swimming in November in Connecticut was novel yet uncomfortable.

My arch enemy seems to be the filter pump where the priming is supposed to take place. I had some issues but had come to terms with it last year but that was before the slide was hooked up so I'm thinking that might be adding to my troubles. Everything has been running fine since it was opened a week or so ago until yesterday when I noticed a lot of debris in the pump filter. I turned everything off, took out the debris, cleaned the little basket, poured a bucket of water in, sealed it up tight and turned on the filter...now we can see air in the hose going from the pump to the filter, the pressure rises just a little bit and we have no suction in the skimmer and nothing coming out of the jets. I mention the slide because now there are 2 valves that we turn on and off if we want the water coming down the slide and I am worried that we've messed with them so the the water is not flowing correctly. We do have a service call but not sure when they will get to us. Is anyone able to tell by looking at these photos how the 2 red valves should be set when we do not want to use the slide? I "think" that the top one is supposed to be closed and the bottom one is supposed to be open but there are differing opinions within the fam . And if these are or were set incorrectly, would that have had any impact on the pump not priming?
If not, then does it seem realistic that everything was running without issues and once I opened the filter it would suddenly have a leak or need a new seal? I really wish I had just left the debris in there!

So, nice to meet everyone and hopefully someday I will get to a point where I can help others instead of asking for help. I grew up always having a pool and some things are so much more complicated these days and other things are so much easier!

Have a great day! Kat

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! So first you need to ensure a full pump strainer pot under the clear lid. With pump off, make sure to check the O-ring under that clear lid to ensure it has a good coating of pool silicone. Without silicone, it will let air under the lid (like a cracked drinking straw) and you won't get good suction. Also make sure the water level is high enough at the poolside skimmer and that the skimmer weir flap/door isn't stuck closed. The only thing you have before the pump is that pipe connection, so if you are still seeing air in the pump basket, check that fitting for an air leak. When you turn off the pump, watch for water that may spit out or any hissing sounds. indicating an air leak

As for the waterfall, you can leave that on or off, either way is fine, although I probably would have it off most of the time unless I'm actually going to use it. Let's start there and let us know how it goes.

 

[Kat5763]

Ahhh, silicone you say? That was not mentioned in the 2.5 minutes of "how to maintain all of these moving parts" instructions that we received. So, that kind of makes sense that when they sealed it up after opening the pool, they used some kind of silicone. Now that have been super vigilant in cleaning probably every last bit of silicone OFF the gasket that might be why it's not sealing? Honestly I don't recall seeing any silicone residue but there might have been just enough on there to form the seal.

I wonder if I should send hubby over to the pool store to get some?

Regarding the slide, we do only turn it on when we're using it but we've gotten kind of turned around about which valves needs to be on or off. My assumption is that when the slide is OFF, the valve a the top should be set to Closed so that no water goes to the small hose like tube but rather all into the heater and that the other red valve at the bottom needs to be Open so that the water goes to the jets in the pool after it comes out of the heater. Does that seem right?

Thank you so much for your help!!! Kat

 

[Texas Splash]

Does that seem right?

It does. I too would prefer to have most water return to the jets for good pool circulation. For the silicone lube, you can get some locally or order online. There are various brands, but Magic Lube is one popular brand at the local pool store. Just be sure to grab it and leave before they try to talk you into some expensive snake oils.

 

[Kat5763]

Thank you so much! I'll let you know how it turns out!

 

[Kat5763]

As expected, you were right! A $3.00 tube of pool lube has it running perfectly! I wish that they had suggested that when we had them on the phone trying to troubleshoot the problem. But since we avoided a service call and everything is running nicely, I'll put it in the win column. Thanks for your help!!
"til next time . Kat

 

[Texas Splash]