Jacuzzi VSP 165

[Sheenaqj]

With the pump off the basket will slowly fill with air? With the pump running at a low speed (less than 1000 rpm) it also slowly gets more air in it till it loses prime?

Do a pressure check on the suction side and use a soapy solution to look for bubbles on glue joints and the valves on the suction side. Maybe swapping the pump cause a glue joint to fail or a seal is failing on one of the valves.

Silly question, is you water level low or the skimmer door stuck?

Skimmer door not stuck, and water level is not low, so he’s going to do a pressure test he thinks it’s one of the valves so he’s going to change O rings out on all the valves.

 

[Sheenaqj]

That tiny amount of bubbles is nothing to be concerned about. You have an older filter and that tablet feeder that could easily allow air into the system each time the pump shuts down, but not leak water when it is on, that is not completely removed. It’s normal for a system that age. Since the valves in front of the pump are older, I would change all the O rings, 2-stem and one lid, in all of them if it gives peace of mind. Don't worry about getting Pentair O rings, all brands use the same O ring now. DO NOT use a power screw driver to reassemble the valves.

He’s going to change out all the valves the air isn’t back flowing from the chlorinator or the filter that’s impossible. It’s on the suction side for sure. So he’s going to change out all the valves. He believes he may have isolated it to one specific valve but he’s going to change them all while he’s at it. Thank you for your help

 

[Sheenaqj]

Skimmer door not stuck, and water level is not low, so he’s going to do a pressure test he thinks it’s one of the valves so he’s going to change O rings out on all the valves.

 

[Sheenaqj]

Okay so we have ran the pump at 2500 for a couple days for 20 hours a day and the pump has worked fine at this speed. In the morning before it turns on pot still full of water BUT this morning before pump turned on the pot was empty? Is this normal? Or should it have maintained the water?

 

[Sheenaqj]

And then one of these days, at a higher speed, the bubble will disappear and you will start asking the question, "Why isn't my pump having a bubble like it did before?" It will, virtually always be there at low speed and probably isn't air, but an area of low pressure.
My EcoStar, the first version of your pump, has been doing it for nearly 15 years. Its also seen in the TriStar single-speed pumps as well, no longer available. Your pump is a Hayward TriStar VS made with a Jacuzzi label for Leslie's.

So pump has been running good at a higher speed 2600 and the pot stays full even after the pump turns off, for 2 days it did BUT this morning before the timer kicked in the pot was completely empty, had no water…is this normal? Or should the pot have and maintain water when pump turns off and the end of the cycle?

 

[wireform]

If it would be a suction side issue the water should only empty out till the bottom of the inlet side from the inside of the pot there still should be water below the inlet pipe of the pump. If as you say the water was no water in the pot at all that is a leak possibly in your one of the seals in the pump and it's leaking out. Is there a wetspot around the base at a pump.

 

[Sheenaqj]

If it would be a suction side issue the water should only empty out till the bottom of the inlet side from the inside of the pot there still should be water below the inlet pipe of the pump. If as you say the water was no water in the pot at all that is a leak possibly in your one of the seals in the pump and it's leaking out. Is there a wetspot around the base at a pump.

No leaks at all around pump. It’s an air leak but we can’t find it.

 

[wireform]

The water below the inlet pipe in the pump crock could not go back to the suction side of the plumbing it needs to go somewhere the only place it can go is into the impeller so ?

 

[Sheenaqj]

The water below the inlet pipe in the pump crock could not go back to the suction side of the plumbing it needs to go somewhere the only place it can go is into the impeller so ?

The water is in the inlet the pot it empty if that makes sense. There’s no leaks that we can find from the pump itself or any of the pvc.

 

[Bill1974]

If the basket is full at times and empty at others, I would suspect a seal in the pump is on its way out. It doesn't take much to damage the dynamic seal in the pump, a couple of minutes of dry running can ruin them. It's possible that water isn't leaking out at the seal or is slow enough that you does see anything. When the pump is off air could be leaking in. Air leaks much easier than water.

When the pump basket is empty, is all the equipment and plumbing above grade empty as well?

If there were a leak down stream of the pump outlet, the filter would need to empty before air would start getting into the pump from the pump outlet line.