I think something froze

[HBrittan]

Pump ran all night and sounded good this morning. I thought it would warm up today and I had the timer go off about 10am. Well it was below freezing all day, and when I go hope about 530, I went to start he pool pump. unfortunately the freeze protection switch does not work. Any way. I fired it up like I always do,, and it would not hold pressure. Seems like it will fill up and then the basket just empties out. I opened the relief valve multiple times to let water flow. Then when I close it, the basket empties again.

I checked the filter, I checked all the pipes I can see, and no visible leaks or breaks. Water does flow to the pool and waterfall.

Do I have a problem with my pump caused by the cold?
It is going to freeze again tonight and get into the high twenties. What should I do? Looks like it is just going to get colder into the weekend and not seeing anything above freezing until next Wednesday.

Thanks.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Dang. I would try all of the basics, like making sure your skimmers are okay, you have enough water in the pool, etc. My guess is there is something going on with your drain or skimmer if your pump is not getting enough water. If you find where it is frozen, then maybe you can thaw it with a hair dryer. If you cant figure that out, then you need a contingency plan to try and protect your equipment and pipes as best you can.

My contingency plan for something going wrong is:
- Flip the breaker so the pump cannot turn on
- Open the drain plugs on your heater, filter, pump, etc. to drain water out of the equipment
- Make sure all of your valves and filter pressure relief is open to allow for any ice expansion
- Cover with a tarp.

 

[HBrittan]

Cleaned the skimmer out and it was full of water. No ice.
The water was a little low, but I added some anyway. Cleaned the basket.
I usually just run the skimmer and vacuume but went ahead and opened the main drain just to allow mor water.

The pump sucks and fills up. Runs for a few seconds and then empties.

 

[mknauss]

Sounds like the weir door in the skimmer is stuck. Check that.

 

[HBrittan]

You gotta laugh!!!! I’ve been messing with this and worrying about it for 2.5 hours!! It was a 6 in twig stuck in the DOOR!

Fired up, kept pressure, and is working great!

Thank you JJ_Tex and Mknauss!