I hear air

[Rocket J Squirrel]

Standing next to my equipment pad, I hear air bubbles in the system, mostly coming from the heater (which has no bypass) but maybe coming from the pump as well. Also, there is more air showing through the pump lid than usual. Filter pressure is unchanged, and opening the relief valve releases no air at all.

This is new this week; equipment has been running perfectly for the last 5 years with no air bubble sounds. I have had some landscapers on site the past few weeks and they may have bumped something, but I can't see anything different.

Do we have a tutorial for tracking down tiny suction-side leaks? Or is it simply "start at the pump lid and work your way back"? Also, is there any issue with letting it run like this until spring? I hate working on the plumbing when the water temperature is in the 40's.

 

[ajw22]

What do air bubbles sound like?

Rattling around a heater can come from a failing check valve or from a broken bypass valve in the MasterTemp.

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

Air bubbles sound like that thing that happens sometimes when you're in the bathtub.

This isn't a "rattling" at all, it's "bubbling". Plus, there's more visible air in the pump basket.

 

[ajw22]

Two techniques for finding suction side air leaks are wrap pipe, valves, and the pump in Saran Wrap. If the bubbles disappear then unwrap areas one by one. Check both the pump lid O ring and the two pump drain screw O rings.

The other is to run water over different areas and look for a change in the bubbles. There is a YouTube video showing that technique.

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

To wrap this up... I failed to detect a suction leak using either saran wrap or a garden hose. So I decided to round up the usual suspects, namely the clear pump lid and the o-ring. I replaced them both and now I don't hear air any more.