Hi.
I've been lurking around TFP for a few months as for the last two years maintaining my pool was torture. Clear then cloudy, then clear then green. Chlorine up, chlorine down. pH up, pH down. Always green the night before a kids party - like it knew! Have been following the TFP rules and happy to say that 3 months into this season and nothing but crystal clear 'blue' water. Learning and understanding the need for CYA and the correct level was the important step. The CYA/FC chart is genius. The pool calculator is easy and pretty much spot on. A big thanks to everyone who generously gives their time to educate people like me.
But I need some advice, please. I run the pool pump at only 1700 rpm (max 2850) but run it continuously. Seems less stressful on the whole system and keeps and the water moving. Obviously, it is at a lower pressure (reads 5 psi at 1700rpm and 11-12 psi at 2850rpm) and uses far less power. But the pump pot seems to collect air. If I backwash it disappears quickly and then reappears over a few days. The pipes in the system are very long from the pump to the pool; they go up and down and have lots of bends. Nature of the garden. Nothing I can do about it. I think the lower flow/pressure state means that there is quite a bit of air in the pipes, especially the bends above the pump level, that doesn't get completely purged and then ends up recollecting in the pot. It's not much but the water in the pot looks like fast bubbling soup - if you know what I mean. I really don't think there is an air leak in the system on the suction side but maybe there is.
Is there a good way to purge all the air from the system completely. Then if it reappears I know there must be a leak somewhere. It is a sand filter with a handle at the top that goes to various positions ie backwash, rinse etc. There is no air release valve on the filter.
Thanks.
I've been lurking around TFP for a few months as for the last two years maintaining my pool was torture. Clear then cloudy, then clear then green. Chlorine up, chlorine down. pH up, pH down. Always green the night before a kids party - like it knew! Have been following the TFP rules and happy to say that 3 months into this season and nothing but crystal clear 'blue' water. Learning and understanding the need for CYA and the correct level was the important step. The CYA/FC chart is genius. The pool calculator is easy and pretty much spot on. A big thanks to everyone who generously gives their time to educate people like me.
But I need some advice, please. I run the pool pump at only 1700 rpm (max 2850) but run it continuously. Seems less stressful on the whole system and keeps and the water moving. Obviously, it is at a lower pressure (reads 5 psi at 1700rpm and 11-12 psi at 2850rpm) and uses far less power. But the pump pot seems to collect air. If I backwash it disappears quickly and then reappears over a few days. The pipes in the system are very long from the pump to the pool; they go up and down and have lots of bends. Nature of the garden. Nothing I can do about it. I think the lower flow/pressure state means that there is quite a bit of air in the pipes, especially the bends above the pump level, that doesn't get completely purged and then ends up recollecting in the pot. It's not much but the water in the pot looks like fast bubbling soup - if you know what I mean. I really don't think there is an air leak in the system on the suction side but maybe there is.
Is there a good way to purge all the air from the system completely. Then if it reappears I know there must be a leak somewhere. It is a sand filter with a handle at the top that goes to various positions ie backwash, rinse etc. There is no air release valve on the filter.
Thanks.
What you are describing with your VSP strainer pot is quite common. Many VSP owners do just what you are and program their pump to kick on high at a certain each day just to push that small amount of air out of the pot. VSPs are good at what they do, but at the low rpm they can generate those air pockets from low churning or perhaps outgassing and there simply isn't enough pressure to move them forward. I think you're okay as long as the water level in the pot doesn't drop drastically or you lose prime. Just bump it up once a day or so and you should be fine. If you do a search on the site, you'll see many other such threads about the same issue.
