New Pentair Pump and Plumbing, Pump Primes and looks to be Full Then Abruptly Slows

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J

jrglenni

0
Aug 11, 2017
36
Chelmsford MA
I'm really confused as to what this could be. I'm not sure if the brand new pump is having issues or if there is somehow a clog somewhere in the plumbing. I just got done running new solid 2" pvc pipes for my return and skimmer, and hooked up the pump today. It's a Pentair Intelliflow VS running on 110v. It starts to run, seemingly fine, and I can see water slowly start to fill the basket and then eventually come in a rush, but all of a sudden it will slow way down and the water stops flowing. Then it will start to ramp back up and repeat the process.

I don't have anything in line besides my filter, no heaters or anything like that. Just to eliminate the possibly of it being somewhere in the return, I changed my filter to waste, but no joy. I was very careful not the get any dirt/rocks in the lines when I was running them, although I did notice some small bits in the pump filter basket when I first started it up. I can't imagine it would be some sort of clog in the line but I guess I can't completely rule it out either. If it were though, I don't think I would see the water flowing into the pump at full speed at all.

Anyone have any ideas?
 
jr,

Please tell us exactly which model of the IntelliFlo pump you have...

99% of them run off of 220 volts, so if yours is running off of 110 volts it is a special pump.

It would be important to know if your pump has the SVRS safety option.

If the pump can't prime, it will shut itself off...

The simplest thing could be that the water level in you pool is low and/or your skimmer weir door is stuck in the up position.

If it won't run with the multiport in the waste position, you have eliminated the filter and return plumbing.

More info would be helpful.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Pentair 342001. Advertised as one of the only pumps that can run either 110 or 220. I have the hot (black) connected to lead 2 and neutral (white) connected to lead 1 on the pump.

Not sure on the SVRS as I'm not sure what it is. It has a 5 min countdown on the prime cycle duration, and I did let it run through that and switch itself to "normal" operation, but it still did the same thing.

Water is on the low side but I don't think it's too low. Then again now that you say that, that could indeed be the problem. I didn't keep an eye on the skimmer while it was running (different locations) but that reminds me of the end of the season last year when I let my old pump drain as much of the pool as possible through the skimmer, and it would behave in a similar fashion once the water got so low that the water flowing into the skimmer mouth couldn't keep up. I will let the water continue filling up to optimal level and try again tomorrow. Thanks for the tip!
 
jr,

What you have is the SuperFlo VS pump... It is a great pump... I don't believe they make the SuperFlo with the SVRS options. At least I could not find one... :p

I still suspect that your water is too low, OR your weir door is stuck up.. Have someone turn the pump on for you while you look at the skimmer... If the water is being sucked out of the skimmer, and it looks like a toilet when flushed, then the problem is not the pump, it is the water level or the skimmer weir door..

It is possible that you have some blockage, but let's check the easy stuff first...

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Ahh yes. It's funny, I never noticed the Superflo vs. Intelliflo thing, thought they were the same thing or something like "Intelliflow Superflo 342001".

Anyway, it looks like it was just the water level. I had it up to a point where my old pump would run just fine, which is why it didn't even occur to me. I guess with the new more powerful pump and the larger plumbing, it makes sense that it needs to be more full.

Thanks a ton! You saved me a lot of heartburn and worry that something was wrong with the pump and/or plumbing!
 
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