That is because your valve is leaking. When the pump is on, water goes out. When the pump is off, air goes in and water goes back to the pool. Fix the valve and your pump will remain full.
Need some (lots of) help diagramming my plumbing, backwashing DE filter, and troubleshooting Polaris
- Thread starter reefpool
- Start date
Thank you Allen, and thanks to all for the very fast help on what seemed really foreign a week ago, and as though it were tumbling downhill fast. Seems like I'm best off to just replace the o-ring on the push/pull and then do the multiport valve shortly behind. I'll look up on Youtube how to do the o-ring. Thanks again everyone. My oldest is very excited about swimming tomorrow!
RD I was afraid that was the case. Glad to know I'm not losing DE over it, but looking forward to getting the valve patched up. 
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,271
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
I love the "??" designation for that odd little loop. Bet that's how it was labeled on the builders drawings, too.
It honestly bothers me to not know what they are. I want to go over there and track it down myself! This fixing via the internet stuff is tough. I never really realized just how much info I gathered from a quick look around. It takes days to learn what I would normally know in the first five minutes of being there.
It honestly bothers me to not know what they are. I want to go over there and track it down myself! This fixing via the internet stuff is tough. I never really realized just how much info I gathered from a quick look around. It takes days to learn what I would normally know in the first five minutes of being there.
RD,
Troubleshooting is a logic skill set that not everyone has... Troubleshooting over the internet is more guess-work than a skill...
Thanks,
Jim R.
Yeah, I used to be on a reef aquarium forum and helping people on there was definitely a challenge also. Thanks again for all of the help. Luckily the valve stopped flooding out and is back to drip. I ordered the multivalve and hopefully I'll have it for next weekend and I'll rip up the plumbing then. Hey, on that note, any other thoughts on the plumbing opportunities here? A lot of the joins are leaking so it's a good time to re-do. My thinking:
1) Polaris line maybe flex PVC?
2) Maybe 45 degree elbows from the pump to the filter instead of the 90s
I think the ?? line used to have a heater.
Thanks!
1) Polaris line maybe flex PVC?
2) Maybe 45 degree elbows from the pump to the filter instead of the 90s
I think the ?? line used to have a heater.
Thanks!
rp,
You can use 45's if you want, but it will not make any real difference in the water flow. You would think it would, but in real life you will never be able to tell the diffference.
Thanks,
Jim R.
You can use 45's if you want, but it will not make any real difference in the water flow. You would think it would, but in real life you will never be able to tell the diffference.
Thanks,
Jim R.
DeanP66
0
You might want to unscrew the collar on that backwash valve and pull the entire inner valve assembly out. You can check the o-rings and and the inside of the valve and even lube them with silicon lube to help them slide better and maybe even take care of that leak.
If you're gonna be ripping things out, you might want to get a longer run of straight pipe in front of your pump. You could move that valve much closer to where the two pipes come out of the ground with a couple of cuts and couplers. The only issue may be, do you have enough pipe in front of the union to add another coupler.
If you're gonna be ripping things out, you might want to get a longer run of straight pipe in front of your pump. You could move that valve much closer to where the two pipes come out of the ground with a couple of cuts and couplers. The only issue may be, do you have enough pipe in front of the union to add another coupler.
Jim, thanks for that info on what is practical. From what I read the two 90s would have a friction equivalent of about 4.4 feet of pipe and the two 45s would be about 1.4 feet. so it's not much savings, just like having 3' less of pipe. But in a system as big as this I can see where that wouldn't make a lick of difference. hahaha
Dean, I'm thinking what you're saying is to install the valve further away from the filter. Perhaps due to vibrations, etc, or just ease of working. I think that seems reasonable. Yes, there are a ton of extra joins on here. I can probably just cut the return line below the Tee to get some of those straight joins above there replumbed. I wanted to put a flex pipe on the polaris feed line anyhow. Would you plumb in a short of polycarbonate into the return line as your "viewing window" to track DE flushing? What is normal to do there?
On the feed to the main pump those glues have failed and there is air getting into the line. There has been some prior effort to correct with silicone but that's failing now. I'll probably just redo that line also. Will I lose any water flow if I get some unions in this setup close to the ground. That way next time it needs replumbing I don't have to cut any closer to the earth. Thoughts there?
Thank you!
Angela
Dean, I'm thinking what you're saying is to install the valve further away from the filter. Perhaps due to vibrations, etc, or just ease of working. I think that seems reasonable. Yes, there are a ton of extra joins on here. I can probably just cut the return line below the Tee to get some of those straight joins above there replumbed. I wanted to put a flex pipe on the polaris feed line anyhow. Would you plumb in a short of polycarbonate into the return line as your "viewing window" to track DE flushing? What is normal to do there?
On the feed to the main pump those glues have failed and there is air getting into the line. There has been some prior effort to correct with silicone but that's failing now. I'll probably just redo that line also. Will I lose any water flow if I get some unions in this setup close to the ground. That way next time it needs replumbing I don't have to cut any closer to the earth. Thoughts there?
Thank you!
Angela
A new question on my pool... the old pool company had listed my pool as gunite/marcite. How can I tell what my liner is and then should I really buy a stainless steel brush? I'm very nervous to damage the pool. Thank you!
Gunite is concrete, marcite is plaster. I am not sure why you would have a liner in a marcite pool unless it was leaking from the vessel.
You want a steel brush for plaster, plastic for a liner.
You want a steel brush for plaster, plastic for a liner.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,271
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
A new question on my pool... the old pool company had listed my pool as gunite/marcite. How can I tell what my liner is and then should I really buy a stainless steel brush? I'm very nervous to damage the pool. Thank you!
Why do you want to use a SS brush? You should not need metal bristles for routine brushing.
Pool Brushing - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
DeanP66
0
Angela, if you've got suction leaks in front of the pumps, then you should definitely redo that whole section in front of the pump. Not sure if you'll be able to save the valve or not, but, that should definitely fix the air leaks. I suggest you use a male fitting made from schedule 80. It's gray and can withstand higher heat and not warp in case your pump ever runs dry. They sell the pipe with threads on both ends, so you could cut it in half and use the other half on the discharge side of the pump if you need to.
Ideally, you want as much straight pipe in front of that pump. You could put your union a few inches after the valve. I typically like to leave at least enough pipe just in case I have to make another cut down the road. If you put the union right up against the valve, you really don't have any way to make any adjustments in the future short of replacing the valve again.
Ideally, you want as much straight pipe in front of that pump. You could put your union a few inches after the valve. I typically like to leave at least enough pipe just in case I have to make another cut down the road. If you put the union right up against the valve, you really don't have any way to make any adjustments in the future short of replacing the valve again.
Dean, thank you for helping with the plumbing planning. So if I'm understanding the suggestion here, it is to have the Schedule 80 pipe instead of Schedule 40 for the attachment to the feed side on the main pool pump, and also to make that run longer. So I'll shorten the line on the from side of the Jandy valve and I'll lengthen after that. On the union between the valve and the pump, I'm not sure if I understood well the rationale. For unions can you always just buy the opposing piece or change the o-ring, or do you need to sometimes scrap the whole thing. Were you saying to place it closer to the pump, or just in the middle between the pump in valve?
Allen and RD, I had read somewhere to get a SS brush. The pool doesn't seem to need it. And to be clear, it seems to be just concrete/plaster no additional liner. So we'll stick with the nylon brush then, but safely we could go to SS if we needed it I guess?
Thanks!
Allen and RD, I had read somewhere to get a SS brush. The pool doesn't seem to need it. And to be clear, it seems to be just concrete/plaster no additional liner. So we'll stick with the nylon brush then, but safely we could go to SS if we needed it I guess?
Thanks!
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,271
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
I carried a plastic brush for liner pools and a ss for plaster, but I was a repair tech, not a maintenance tech, so if I was there it was bad enough for the weekly guy to be asking for help. In 25 years, I have never been a weekly maintenance tech. Which is not to say I don't do maintenance, I just missed the zen of scheduled service on well maintained pools. I didn't get involved until someone else had an "oh ****" moment.
Hi everyone! I just wanted to update on this project. I have successfully installed the multivalve (yay!) and tee'd off to a new soft line kit for the Polaris booster pump. I want to say that plumbing in this valve was a humbling and harrowing experience. I have not yet attacked the Jandy valve because it appears to be hard plumbed at the valve if I'm not mistaken, so I'm not sure I can recover the valve. I will need to do that at some point, perhaps I need to buy a new valve? Those joins are leaking air so I might throw some silicone until I figure it out.
This is a job that if I could go back and pay someone I would, even in hindsight. My body is sore and I've spent an extraordinary amount of time working on this to get it together. So, yeah, I learned a lot but this was very hard work for me given my experience level. Thank you all for the help!!
This is a job that if I could go back and pay someone I would, even in hindsight. My body is sore and I've spent an extraordinary amount of time working on this to get it together. So, yeah, I learned a lot but this was very hard work for me given my experience level. Thank you all for the help!!
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