We had an auto fill installed when we had our pool replastered 4 months ago, and whenever there is no additional water added to the pool (like rain or the hose) the auto fill is on all the time. It is the type with a white floater like a toilet. We can hear it "hissing" and we can see and feel that it's BARELY on - a tiny bit of water is coming into the pool continuously. If we adjust the auto fill a tiny bit, or if we use a hose and add water to the pool for about 3 minutes, the auto fill is silent and no water is entering, but after a few hours it's hissing again and doesn't stop until water is added. We have manually turned the auto fill off at the valve and the pool is not leaking, so we assume the auto fill is doing it's job by keeping the water level where it's set to with normal evaporation being the reason it's on all the time. But we know other people with auto fills that do not hiss all the time, and so does our pool maintenance person. A pool owner 2 houses from ours has an auto fill just like ours and the same age that does not constantly hiss. Theirs comes on occasionally then stops. Does anyone know why ours continuously runs? Is it too sensitive? Is a part too loose or is there better quality or brand of floater we should replace it with? Or is it just normal and we shouldn't care as long as there isn't a leak?
New auto fill too sensitive?
- Thread starter BB_Sacramento
- Start date
Toxophilite
Silver Supporter
That's what I'm trying to accomplish on mine. If mine runs normal, open full then close full, it's constantly filling the pool 1/2 gallon each cycle due to the outlet to pool from reservoir being gravity feed while the feed is full volume and pressure. If it's a white float assembly, it's probably a Korky like mine. I recently asked here about how to slow mine down, and seems there's a restriction washer that goes beneath thread shaft which I am apparently missing.
Yes, it's a white elongated bulb assembly. I don't know the amount of water being added in mine. What do you mean "each cycle"?
Toxophilite
Silver Supporter
If set up like mine, it's not positive fill. Water fills the bucket, the bucket gravity-drains to pool. You can't run the water full time till pool is full unless the bucket is filling at a very slow pace - not full volume and pressure. Otherwise, the bucket fill rate is much faster than gravity drain rate to pool and bucket will overflow. So, mine cycles probably many, many hundreds of times for a single refill of pool. I want it to do like yours, fill slower than it's draining and just run till finished filling pool.
- May 3, 2014
- 62,672
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Your pool is evaporating water. So the autofill dribbles in water all the time unless you fill it well above the shut off point. Then, when the water evaporates down to the auto fill point, it will start to dribble in again.
- May 3, 2014
- 62,672
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
To reduce the sound, install a pressure reducing valve on the autofill line. That way you can reduce the water pressure at the auto fill valve.
Toxophilite
Silver Supporter
I'm playing with my spigot setting over a regulator, but in the end, you are gonna be right!
When you say there is a restriction washer that goes beneath the thread shaft, are you talking about the valve itself near the house, or are you talking about a part inside the auto fill next to the pool? Are you describing the same thing that MKNAUSS described - a "pressure reducing valve"? Or something different?
Toxophilite
Silver Supporter
The restriction washer I'm talking about was shown on a diagram for the canister assembly, whereas mine's missing, and was just a plastic washer with a small hole in center that went into to base of the threaded bore that the float assemble screws into. It just restricts the amount of water to the float assembly. In my case, I need to reduce pressure and volume.
What Mknauss proposed is more sophisticated, in that would be a pressure regulator that goes inline with your water feed line. With it, you can tailor-adjust the pressure to whatever you want, or, till it solved your issue of fill. If you are needing to reduce your pressure to make the noise go away, that would do it.
- Feb 6, 2015
- 7,807
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
OP may wish to post a picture of their autofill valve as it may be different from a Korky or toilet fill valve. Many are also the same type of fill valve used in evaporative coolers - and these usually don't have a restrictive washer like the larger canister autofills that use a Korky or other type toilet fill valve.
Just wanted to share my experience with an autofill valve that would not stop running. We had an autofill installed when we had our pool remodeled/replastered/new deck installed. We noticed the autofill running constantly whenever the water level got low from evaporation. The water level was not getting higher, the pool was not over-filling, and the autofill was barely on but we could hear and feel it. We had the pool company check it and they said it was working correctly and we also had a pool maintenance person check it, and they agreed. If we added water with a hose, and the level got high enough, the autofill would stop running but as soon as the water evaporated enough the autofill would be on constantly until it rained or we added hose water. We got two notices from our city saying we had a water leak because our meter showed constant water usage. We ended up buying a more expensive float for the new autofill and swapped it out and since then it's been working perfectly. Also it's easier to adjust the pool water level on the new float. The one I bought is Float-Tec EZ Adjust and it was about $40 on Amazon.
i have same issue, i have the basic cheap float, no matter how i adjust once evap happens and its right at the mark, its a very small hissing sound barely anywater. its exactly what people mentioned here.
i think a better float is in order
i think a better float is in order
Our new one has been working great ever since we put it in a month ago - the Float-Tec EZ brand we bought.
Toxophilite
Silver Supporter
Update to this! After dissecting my Korky, it is even more apparent how cheap these things are. I was going to spend all of $15 on another, but ain't worth that. Looking at the other vertical mount ones, like Pool Miser.
Anyway, one main issue with these is that the float is not really a float. It's just an inverted cup! Water-log it, which I can see easily happening in a splashy pool or bucket rinse, and you have little to no float pressure left to make it seal off good when it's trying to fully close.
Anyway, one main issue with these is that the float is not really a float. It's just an inverted cup! Water-log it, which I can see easily happening in a splashy pool or bucket rinse, and you have little to no float pressure left to make it seal off good when it's trying to fully close.
Last edited:
darkrider
Well-known member
- Jun 14, 2021
- 289
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
I just went through this drama with my brand new Pentair autofill. The stock valve just didn't apply enough pressure to stop the autofill from hissing regardless of float setting. It would stop for a few minutes when I applied pressure by hand but would always start hissing again. I also went with the Float-Tec EZ Adjust and it works perfectly! If you have high water pressure, I highly recommend it.
I have the fill-o-magic one and have been happy so far. It shuts off but does make a hissing sound when it runs. Doesn’t bother me but the dog barks at it 
I did have a problem at first until
I realized I left off the washer that limits flow.
I did have a problem at first until
I realized I left off the washer that limits flow.
darkrider
Well-known member
- Jun 14, 2021
- 289
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
I have the Pentair T40BW autofill, and got the brass bodied version for 8" cannisters, since it has the bigger float: https://www.amazon.com/Float-Tec-Re...t=&hvlocphy=1015249&hvtargid=pla-793470291492 Note, there is also a smaller 6" version for smaller cannisters as well: https://www.amazon.com/Float-Tec-Pe...prefix=pentair+t26+bras,lawngarden,240&sr=1-2
Toxophilite
Silver Supporter
I'm going to assume your fill line comes in horizontal? I really like these brass assemblies, but my fill line is center bottom, so have to use vertical unit, which all are cheap plastic.
darkrider
Well-known member
- Jun 14, 2021
- 289
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
The fill line does run horizontally into the back of the unit. On the brass units, it is also nice that the water rushes out downward out of the bottom spigot, so you also get less of a hissing noise when it fills. I noticed that the vertical arrangement does not have as many options beyond the traditional toilet float setup.