High water pressure and low suction

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J

Johnsmith123

Member
Jul 9, 2021
10
Minneapolis
Hi. I have a inground 16 X 32 kidney shape pool. Hayward pump and filter. I have attached the pic of the pool mechanical ( picture is taken when vavlve were closed ) . Pump motor will not start this year when we opened the pool in June. So I got a new motor ( Century 1.0 HP Up rate motor )from inypool and replaced it based on the original hayward motor model ( SP3207z1BER). Before the motor replacement pressure would be 10 -15 PSI.

Since motor replacement the filter pressure is 20 ish and then it went to 30.
I read some threads and to rule out cartridge's already put in new filter cartridge since they were 5 years old. The pressure went back to around 22 PSI. However, after 24 hours pressure is back to 30 PSI. I have washed the new filters as well but its still 30 PSI.

It seems there is less suction from both the skimmers now and couple of returns ( I have 5 ) have very low pressure. I also check the breather tube in the filter and it is not clogged. I have already asked inypool people to confirm that they did not sell me a wrong motor which is creating more pressure than the filter and plumbing supposed to handle and they think the replacement motor is correct

Could it be a return line clogged or a skimmer lines clogged or something else is happening. There is no visible air leak on the suction side of the pump. Pump bucket is not completely full ( may 90 - 95 % ) like it used to be when everything was normal

I will greatly appreciate any input
 

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Welcome to TFP!

High pressure indicates a flow restriction in the filter or the return plumbing. Such a restriction will cause poor suction and low flow from the returns. What does your water look like? Can your filter be operated without the cartridge to isolate issues and determine if the problem is with the filter or the plumbing?
 
Is this justa picture you used or is this the way the valves are adjusted now?

1625828081083.png

If this is the way the valves are adjusted now you must turn them 90 degrees to the left or right as you are blocking the flow now..

Looks like on the suction side you only have the middle pipe open and the 2 on the sides closed?? those should all also be opened..

If not try taking your filters out and run the pump, what is your pressure at.. :)
 
cowboycasey said:
Is this justa picture you used or is this the way the valves are adjusted now?

View attachment 353392

If this is the way the valves are adjusted now you must turn them 90 degrees to the left or right as you are blocking the flow now..

Looks like on the suction side you only have the middle pipe open and the 2 on the sides closed?? those should all also be opened..

If not try taking your filters out and run the pump, what is your pressure at.. :)
Click to expand...
Hi Casey/JohnT, I have attached the latest pic of the pool mechanical setup. All valves are at 90

I have not been running the pump regularly because I just think 29 PSI is too high. But the water is ok. I have attached the pic as well
07/09 update : - I turned on the pump and the reading was 25 PSI ( not 28 when I turned on 07/08 after cleaning the cartridge's ). I opened the pool water draining valve ( marked with blue line ) which is essentially bypassing the filter. Reading went down to 13 PSI :)

So it seems something is going on with the filter? I have never run the pump without filter cartridges. Should I try that as well?
 

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Johnsmith123 said:
Could it be a return line clogged or a skimmer lines clogged or something else is happening. There is no visible air leak on the suction side of the pump. Pump bucket is not completely full ( may 90 - 95 % ) like it used to be when everything was normal
Click to expand...

If your pump strainer pot is not full of water without an air bubble then there is a suction side air leak you need to find. Check that the pump strainer pot plug is hand tight, and use silicon pool lube on the o-ring for the pump pot lid.
 
cowboycasey said:
the problem is your pressure gauge, it has died... get another one.. If the filter was bypassed it should have went to 0 psi not 13.. :)

I bought this one 4 years ago and it is still working great :)

Amazon.com: Zenport LPG30 Zen-Tek Glycerin Liquid Filled Pressure Gauge, 30 PSI: Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com: Zenport LPG30 Zen-Tek Glycerin Liquid Filled Pressure Gauge, 30 PSI: Garden & Outdoor
smile.amazon.com
Click to expand...
It would only go to 0 if there was no restriction in the return plumbing. If the gauge goes to 0 when the pump is off, it's probably okay. I'd try running water backwards through the returns to see if it can flow freely.
 
"123", while you review all the advice above, I would also recommend when you get a moment to post a full set of water test results. That might be helpful in our evaluation process.

And just to be clear about the pressure gauge, you said the needle dropped to 13 when you bypassed the filter (water to waste) right? So that would seem to indicate that even if the pump was completely off, the needle probably only drops to 13 as well correct?
 
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Texas Splash said:
"123", while you review all the advice above, I would also recommend when you get a moment to post a full set of water test results. That might be helpful in our evaluation process.

And just to be clear about the pressure gauge, you said the needle dropped to 13 when you bypassed the filter (water to waste) right? So that would seem to indicate that even if the pump was completely off, the needle probably only drops to 13 as well correct?
Click to expand...
To clarify when
- Pump is completely shut off. pressure drops to zero
- Pump running - water goes through the filter with cartridges' inside then pressure is 25 - 28 PSI
- Pump running - filter is bypassed and water is drained out ( backwash if I can use this word, even though its not sand filer ) Pressure is 13 PSI

I will post the water test results soon

I have ordered the new pressure gauge, it should be delivered tomorrow so I can rule out anything related to guage

@JohnT --- How can I try running the water backwards through the returns?
JohnT said:
I'd try running water backwards through the returns to see if it can flow freely
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Johnsmith123 said:
Pump running - filter is bypassed and water is drained out ( backwash if I can use this word, even though its not sand filer ) Pressure is 13 PSI
Click to expand...
That one puzzles me. With that 3-way turned to waste, and no water entering the filter, I would expect that pressure to fall to zero as well. :scratch:

For pushing water backwards, do you have a pressure bladder like a Drain King or the one below as an example? If not, perhaps insert a garden hose into the return jet(s) and push water backwards. John may have another suggestion.

full
 
07/10 . New Pressure Guage Results

Pump Running : - Regular flow and the pressure is still 24 and going up to 28 PSI. So I think Old pressure guage is ok
Pump Running with Backwash : - the pressure drops to 0 which solves one mystery and the reason is not the pressure guage. I had a drain pipe attached to the pool plumbing backwash PVC pipe to drain the water to the driveway. Probably pipe is not big enough and needs to travel some distance & creating the extra pressure, when I remove plastic pipe and let water drain next to pool mechanical the pressure goes to zero

Skimmer Suctions

2 skimmer and main drain valve on : - suction at the deep end is ok ( below average I would say but its there ) , but no suction at shallow end skimmer ( I tried to attach the videos but having hard time )
Only Shallow end skimmer on : - suction looks good and pressure is 22 PSI. when I turn on the main drain with it suction still stay ok and pressure goes to 26 PSI
Only Deep end skimmer on : - suction is good and pressure is 22 PSI. when I turn on the main drain with it, suction is ok as well
Only Main drain on : - Pressure is still 22 PSI

Returns

One of the shallow end returns which did not have any pressure on 07/08 is little better now. I ran my second pump which I believe is meant for manual robo vacuum cleaners. It spit out air for quite some time and some pollen. Pressure was good then. When I trun off the pump, pressure drop but not as bad as on 07/08 but not up to par as it used to be

with new information, what do you guys think is causing this extra pressure and low skimmer suction ( especially no suction on the shallow end ). If the skimmer lines would have completely clogged then there will not be any suction when run individually. But I get pretty good suction on both when run individually
 
Johnsmith123 said:
07/10 . New Pressure Guage Results

Pump Running : - Regular flow and the pressure is still 24 and going up to 28 PSI. So I think Old pressure guage is ok
Pump Running with Backwash : - the pressure drops to 0 which solves one mystery and the reason is not the pressure guage. I had a drain pipe attached to the pool plumbing backwash PVC pipe to drain the water to the driveway. Probably pipe is not big enough and needs to travel some distance & creating the extra pressure, when I remove plastic pipe and let water drain next to pool mechanical the pressure goes to zero

Skimmer Suctions

2 skimmer and main drain valve on : - suction at the deep end is ok ( below average I would say but its there ) , but no suction at shallow end skimmer ( I tried to attach the videos but having hard time )
Only Shallow end skimmer on : - suction looks good and pressure is 22 PSI. when I turn on the main drain with it suction still stay ok and pressure goes to 26 PSI
Only Deep end skimmer on : - suction is good and pressure is 22 PSI. when I turn on the main drain with it, suction is ok as well
Only Main drain on : - Pressure is still 22 PSI

Returns

One of the shallow end returns which did not have any pressure on 07/08 is little better now. I ran my second pump which I believe is meant for manual robo vacuum cleaners. It spit out air for quite some time and some pollen. Pressure was good then. When I trun off the pump, pressure drop but not as bad as on 07/08 but not up to par as it used to be

with new information, what do you guys think is causing this extra pressure and low skimmer suction ( especially no suction on the shallow end ). If the skimmer lines would have completely clogged then there will not be any suction when run individually. But I get pretty good suction on both when run individually
Click to expand...
The low suction is a symptom of the restriction from the pump or filter as evidenced by the high gauge reading. A suction restriction will result in low filter pressure and reduced return flow. High filter pressure will cause reduced suction and reduced return flow.

You need to determine if your restriction is in the filter or return plumbing. Running the system without the cartridge in the housing would do this.
 
I was finally able to figure out the root cause of the high pressure. Culprit was very small debris in the salt dispensing equipment ( I don't use it so never paid attention to it .......attached the pic ). Now the suction is good.

4 Returns have very good flow ( except one has decent flow comparatively, I will have to figure this one out eventually ) Actually too good from the past that I am bit worried if its is too much pressure .......... but filter is at 10 PSI :) so I am assuming all is good

Appreciate everybody's ( especially big thanks to JohnT ) advice
 

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