Main basket not filling with water

Jump to latest Follow Reply
TRUK71

TRUK71

Well-known member
Jul 21, 2020
159
Indianapolis, IN
Pool Size
7000
Surface
Fiberglass
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Jandy Truclear / Ei
Our main basket by pump doesn't fill up to where we see others fill up ( all the way with maybe a little bubble at top). Ours fills up to about 85%. Our pool builder says that's normal when others says it's not. They did find an air leak at the pump yesterday that fixed air coming into the return lines but the basket still doesn't fill up. It will fill up immediately after a backwash but over 24-48 hours it lowers back down to about 85%. What is correct? Should it fill up all the way or is not filling up all the way ok? I'll include 2 pics of after backwash and how it looks a couple days later.20210603_160832.jpg20210526_174905.jpg
 
No that's not normal. A few bubbles okay, but not a drop of 1-2 inches in the pot. Question .... your Poolmath log shows an FC of about 10. Are you doing a SLAM right now? When was the last time you did a backwash, and when you do, does that make a difference?
 
Texas Splash said:
No that's not normal. A few bubbles okay, but not a drop of 1-2 inches in the pot. Question .... your Poolmath log shows an FC of about 10. Are you doing a SLAM right now? When was the last time you did a backwash, and when you do, does that make a difference?
Click to expand...
No slam, still trying to get setting right on swg. Backwash today, yes when I backwash it fills back up to normal then 24-48 hours later it's back down. Going to clean gasket and relube tomorrow to rule that out but 99% sure that's not issue.
 
Pool_Medic said:
If the basket doesn’t fill fully your piping could be restricting the flow.
Click to expand...
"71" that is exactly why I was asking that question above about a SLAM as well. We know that VSPs do have a tendency to retain some air (or small gap) under the lid which is why many VSP owners will kick-up the RPMs once or twice a day to purge that air. However a dirty filter can also cause a similar issue. As PM indicates, try that test above. With he filter out of the equation you should know fairy soon if the gaps is normal for that particular pump or possibly related to a dirty filter. As always, be sure the O-ring under the lid is well lubed as well. Let us know how it goes.
 
Turned filter to recir, bumped VSP to 3400. Ran for about 10 minutes. Pic is of it with these settings. Going to relube and clean gasket but it really looks ok.20210604_082155.jpg
 
Great! Now that you've purged the air gap out of there, leave it in recirculate at normal rpms for a while to see if the water level drops. If it still drops, it's probably just the nature of your pump on a low/normal rpm. If it does not fall, then you might look more at the filter and why it's clogging up so fast (algae).
 
Texas Splash said:
Great! Now that you've purged the air gap out of there, leave it in recirculate at normal rpms for a while to see if the water level drops. If it still drops, it's probably just the nature of your pump on a low/normal rpm. If it does not fall, then you might look more at the filter and why it's clogging up so fast (algae).
Click to expand...
No the air gap is to the edge of the white basket. It's down from top by 2-3 inches. Hard to see in pic I know.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I am waiting on response back from Jandy to see if they say what's occuring in there perspective normal or not. And I'll clean and relube gasket this afternoon.
 
Interesting. With filter and back-pressure out of the equation, clear lid O-ring lubed well, and still a basket drop at an elevated rpm, unless you have a suction leak somewhere it would seem like a pump issue. @Pool_Medic might have another thought.

While waiting for him to return and catch-up with our notes, I would just check all the suction lines leading up to the pump just to ensure there is no air leak. That union O-ring could be one area and any 3-way valves, etc before the pump. Also the pump drain plug(s) O-rings for lube. If you have a main drain, switch between skimmer and drain to ensure good water flow. Let's do all we can to rule-out everything but the pump if we can.
 
Texas Splash said:
Interesting. With filter and back-pressure out of the equation, clear lid O-ring lubed well, and still a basket drop at an elevated rpm, unless you have a suction leak somewhere it would seem like a pump issue. @Pool_Medic might have another thought.

While waiting for him to return and catch-up with our notes, I would just check all the suction lines leading up to the pump just to ensure there is no air leak. That union O-ring could be one area and any 3-way valves, etc before the pump. Also the pump drain plug(s) O-rings for lube. If you have a main drain, switch between skimmer and drain to ensure good water flow. Let's do all we can to rule-out everything but the pump if we can.
Click to expand...
All o rings and gaskets have been checked. Had a air leak at pump that PB fixed. The nuts that connect the 2 halfs of the pump were loose. No main drain. I've tightened plugs at pump but haven't checked for lube. PB said they checked every fitting, oring and gasket on suction side as they were trying to find the air leak (took them a year to find it). I was having air in my return jets. Maybe I shouldn't assume PB checked everything.
 
Sadly not all pool companies do thorough checks. Suspect areas are orings not sealing properly (I replace any that leave a black deposit on hands), unions not tightened enough, pump lids gaskets not seated properly, threaded unions or couplers that loosened up and require more Teflon tape. That pump should fill basket completely on high speed unless it’s oversized hp for size of pipes.
 
Had actually pool shell manufacturer out today to look at something else but we spoke about the air leak issue. He insists that it's because the Jandy pump is too large for what I have. It's creating a back pressure issue resulting in it not letting the basket fill up properly inturn creating air in the return lines. So trying to get Jandy to confirm with piping sizes and current pump information that he is correct. If he is indeed correct then I'll need to convince PB the same and to replace with smaller pump.
 
mknauss said:
You have a VS pump. A VS pump cannot be too 'large'. Just run it at low rpm.
Click to expand...
And it still doesn't fill the basket. Only way the basket fills is immediately after a backwash and/or I open up bubblers. And even with the bubblers open it doesn't fill it entirely
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply