Major Air leak

[tjk65]

Need help. My pool has a major air leak and not sure where to start. Things I have already done.

1) Changed filter o ring and lubricated replacement
2) Changed pump o ring and lid
3) Tried turning off main drain and only left skimmer on
4) Tried turning of skimmers and leaving main drain on

None of these made any difference at all. Pool returns constantly blowing bubbles, no water pressure in pool. I have attached pictures of plumbing and pictures of air in pump and spa return valve. I understand that some of these unions may have o rings, but where do I start? Or any other things I should try? the skimmer and main drain stickers are reversed, so you will see i have skimmers on all the way and main drain partially on. If pool goes in spa mode, tons of air shoots out of the jets. We do not see water leaks anywhere. Also, I find weird my pool runs 24x7 and with all the air my PH is really low only 7.3. I have pool sheers that run an hour a day and still no PH rise.

 

[Texas Splash]

A few preliminary questions:
- Water level good in pool - halfway to 3/4 up the skimmer opening?
- Skimmer weir door not getting stuck closed?
- Do you use a skimmer sock? Any chance something has caused a partial clog?
- How old is your system? It looks quite new.

If nothing else makes obvious sense, you might start with the easy stuff first like removing the 3-way and actuator valves to see if there something stuck or a bad O-ring.

Whatever you consider doing, be sure you can stop in time before the big TX freeze that's about to drop-in on us in a couple days.

 

[Texas Splash]

Oh, and with pump power OFF, consider reaching down into the pump where the impeller is to see if something got past the basket and is interfering with impeller movement.

 

[tjk65]

A few preliminary questions:
- Water level good in pool - halfway to 3/4 up the skimmer opening? Yes 1/2 way
- Skimmer weir door not getting stuck closed? no
- Do you use a skimmer sock? Any chance something has caused a partial clog? Yes use socks, yes possible we get tons of leaves and sticks. What would I do to get a clog out? Blow air thru the skimmer suction??
- How old is your system? It looks quite new. 3years old

If nothing else makes obvious sense, you might start with the easy stuff first like removing the 3-way and actuator valves to see if there something stuck or a bad O-ring.

Whatever you consider doing, be sure you can stop in time before the big TX freeze that's about to drop-in on us in a couple days.

 

[PoolStored]

Air will get in before the pump, not after.

You might check to lubricate or replace the pump drain orings (2).

It is possible your pump will not fully prime because the filter is dirty...
When did you clean the filter, and what is the psi? You might try cleaning the filter.

The three valves below on the suction side each have 3 oring. You can get a rebuild kit and rebuild them. Search for "Neverlube diverter valve kit" on google. I would also lubricate the union on the suction side of the pump. For ALL these orings...lubricate with Silicone Lubricant like Magic Lube II (not magic lube I, and not PTFE/Teflon). Only use a screwdriver...don't use a drill driver on the screws.



If those two above don't fix it (clean filter, and rebuild lube suction side, you can put shaving cream on the joints of the PVC on the suction side and see if one of the joints have failed. You can also take a hose, with pump running, and run water over lid of pump, union, valves, joints...when you get water flowing into whatever is sucking water, the pump will prime.

 

[tjk65]

We clean our filter about every three months. We had just cleaned as we replaced the o ring in the filter and the pump hoping one of them was the issue. The issue seems to be with the spa suction and this auto value. If we turn it 90 degrees then back you can hear the big swish and then see a ton of bubbles in the pump lid. So, I am guessing we should change the o rings in this. Is it the same o rings as in the manual ones?

 

[tjk65]

Ok back at this. We have narrowed down where air leak is at. It is at the spa/pool return. If we turn spa return or pool return completely off the air goes away. But if we set that both are open tons of air in the system. Pictures of value. Why does the pool return have a value and the spa return does not?