New pool owner - Pump loses prime and <1 psi

[Scrumhalf01]

Ahoy hoy!
Just registered to post after looking over countless posts and exhausted all YouTube resources. Looks like this site may be the most help.
So we bought a house last month with a pool or oversized bathtub. I’m estimating it’s 7500-10k gallons. It was a swamp when I got it so I drained and power washed it. The pump was running almost nonstop every time we looked at the house and when we moved in I noticed no water running through the pump. The pump is also very loud but not the rocks churning sound...more like a very loud hum.

When I prime it takes about 60 seconds for water to come back through (I fill it up before I turn pump on) and for 2 seconds or so the psi rises and it operates as I believe it should then it lowers and it pull in a much smalller amount of water than it should. I can constantly release air from the filter so it makes me think there is an intake leak but I’ve done all the tests and can’t locate one.
This leads me to think it’s a pump issue. It’s a 1.5 hp pump for a small pool and since it was running dry for so long I’m thinking it’s leaking somewhere. I did remove the pump to do some diagnostics and also clean out the impeller which was actually clean. I ran it for a moment while I had it disconnected and it sounded a million times more quiet so that makes me think the pump could be on?
Sorry for the long post——-anyone have suggestions on where to begin or if I should start with replacing the pump and downsizing? Intake pipes are 2” and 1.5 out of the filter.
Please let me know what further info you’d like to assist in these desperate times ?.
Thanks!!!

Jared

 

[RDspaguy]

Do you get air in the pump basket?
Can you post a few pics of your equipment?

 

[Scrumhalf01]

Do you get air in the pump basket?
Can you post a few pics of your equipment?

I’ll get some pics and a video. I need to reassemble my pump since I took it apart to diagnose even though I’m clueless with what I’m doing. I don’t know if air is getting into the pump as the water coming in is being sucked out into the filter immediately. It looks nothing like the other videos of pumps in action where you can see air bubbles etc. the pump runs extremely loud but when I removed it and turned it on it ran quiet....which made me think it’s a ca station issue and not a pump issue. But since it had run dry for so long maybe there are leaks in the pump itself causing air to be sucked in the line. ?‍

 

[RDspaguy]

Running it dry can cause a leak, but not a suction leak. It would be wet around the pump.
What kind of filter do you have?

 

[crusemm]

While you have the pump out, run an experiment. Take a water hose, put it in the pipe where the pump suction connects, and run water backward down the separate lines. If you can do this with minimal back pressure on at least one line (bonus if you can see the water going backwards out of that intake) you know you have one good suction path. Start your pump lined up to a known good suction. Slowly valve in the other paths one at a time and see what happens. If you cannot get a good flow path you may find that you have a bunch of leaves caught in a valve blocking all of the suction paths. Try disassembling and cleaning out all of the valves in your suction path. Go to your skimmers, pull the baskets, and try to make sure the paths from the skimmer to the pump are clear.

 

[Scrumhalf01]

 

[Scrumhalf01]

There’s my setup and some pics I’m the impeller and diffuser etc. I likely broke off that piece in the impeller trying to get the screw out. To my untrained eyes everything looked fine with the pump so now I’m leaning back to the intake line or the pump being too many hp for my filter.

 

[Scrumhalf01]

I’ll do this. I only have one intake line. It connects to the skimmer and 2 floor drains....not even sure if the floor drains have suction though.

 

[crusemm]

I'm not familiar with that type of pump in particular, but isn't there supposed to be a mechanical seal in there?

 

[crusemm]

When you back wash from the pump, try getting some rags to stuff in around the hose to seal it up better.

 

[Scrumhalf01]

I'm not familiar with that type of pump in particular, but isn't there supposed to be a mechanical seal in there?

If the mechanical seal is the springy type thing with two orings on either end which goes on the prong on the pump before everything else installs on it then yes.....it was there but I broke it trying toput the pump back together lol. I’m going to buy a new one today.

 

[Scrumhalf01]

When you back wash from the pump, try getting some rags to stuff in around the hose to seal it up better.

So I have one of those bladder things to clear clogs in pipes. I assume this would be ok to use? Should I spray from the pump line or in the slimmer line? Also I have 2 holes in my skimmer (no vacuum line). One on the bottom and one on the back. Does the back line connect to the floor drains? I’ll take a pic.

 

[crusemm]

Not sure how the skimmers are plumbed, someone else might know more. I would disconnect the pump body, and go in that way. that way you can clear a path all the way back to something in the pool.

 

[RDspaguy]

Usually the dead center port is to the pump, the one closer to the pool is main drain or bypass.
Once you have your pump rebuilt, try removing your filter cartridge. If everything works then, get a new one.

 

[Scrumhalf01]

Usually the dead center port is to the pump, the one closer to the pool is main drain or bypass.
Once you have your pump rebuilt, try removing your filter cartridge. If everything works then, get a new one.

Before I took my pump apart I tried it with my cartridge out of the filter. It ran slightly better....maybe 10-20%. Still really loud and about 1psi. Crossing my fingers there is some blockage in the line because the pool locked like a swamp when I got it but though I cleared most of it out ?‍

 

[zea3]

How high is the water level in the pool? Is it at least 1/2 way up the skimmer opening?

 

[Scrumhalf01]

How high is the water level in the pool? Is it at least 1/2 way up the skimmer opening?

Yup.

 

[Scrumhalf01]

So I’m trying to stick my hose down either line...skimmer and pump line and can’t get it down far enough. Found out the back line on the skimmer is blocked off and the bottom line apparently makes a quick turn as I can’t stick anything down it. Tried a long metal hanger just to see since the hose went nowhere. I can’t get the hose past this (pic attached). Should I cut it to test the line?

 

[crusemm]

No, that's a union, it should unscrew, then you can put the hose in that pipe

 

[Scrumhalf01]

Tried multiple attempts and I have a ton of water coming back at me. I’m assuming it should be pushed back into the pool with relative ease if there wasn’t a blockage?