Krystal Clear 603 Pump has Weak Flow, Regular Troubleshooting Ineffective

[RicOct0811]

First post, new owner, etc.

I have a Krystal Clear 603 pump for my Intex 15’x33” pool, which I acquired in late May. I was due for a filter change, and once I changed the filter as I always do, the water was flowing, but poorly. I noticed air in the tubes, so I cut off the filter, bled out the air, and turned it back on. That usually works in this situation, but not this time. I can feel water going into the pool, but it’s far weaker than the usual rushing water and bubbles that I get. Nothing is blocking the inlets and I can’t find any leaks. Water is reasonably clean. If anyone of you far more seasoned folks have some ideas, I’d greatly appreciate them. Thank you for this forum!

 

[Jimrahbe]

Ric,

The number one reason for low flow is a dirty filter.. Assuming you have a cartridge filter and your water is green or cloudy, then that can clog a cartridge filter is a matter of hours.

Rarely is this a pump or plumbing issue..

As a test, you can take the cartridge out and run the system and see if the flow goes back to normal..

Green or cloudy is a chemical issue and not a filter issue.. The filters job is to capture what falls into the pool and not to remove algae.

You should read through our pool school.. I would start here.. ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[RicOct0811]

Ric,

The number one reason for low flow is a dirty filter.. Assuming you have a cartridge filter and your water is green or cloudy, then that can clog a cartridge filter is a matter of hours.

Rarely is this a pump or plumbing issue..

As a test, you can take the cartridge out and run the system and see if the flow goes back to normal..

Green or cloudy is a chemical issue and not a filter issue.. The filters job is to capture what falls into the pool and not to remove algae.

You should read through our pool school.. I would start here.. ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Thanks,

Jim R.

Hi, Jim,

Thanks for your reply! The filter cartridge I dropped in was brand new, and as I stated, the water wasn't green or cloudy: it was clean, with some leaves/grass in it, but not enough to cause a major issue. I'll try it without the filter cartridge to see what happens. I will say the dirty filter cartridge I removed was rather filthy, including some white mold. So, while the water wasn't green or cloudy, I do need to shock the water (which I do weekly) and skim out the little bit of leaves in there, and grass that found its way in under the solar cover as I was mowing. Since you mentioned the filter's job isn't to remove algae, it may be that I need to revisit how much chlorination is getting into the pool. Then again, I have had white mold in the filter before, and replacing the filter cartridge and cleaning the water resulted in normal pump flow almost immediately.

I'll review the Pool School documents; no doubt they are rich in helpful information.

What I still don't understand (and maybe Pool School will tell me) is why the water wouldn't flow through as per usual after I changed out the filter. I've done this many times under the same conditions, and there's never been an issue. And as I stated before, bleeding the air out didn't have any effect.

Thanks,
Jeff