No Suction From Skimmer; Suction Side Leak?

[DesiWesi]

Hi Everyone,

We just opened our pool for the first time today (20,500 in ground pool with SWCG). The company that opened had the skimmer valves closed due to low water levels. We filled it up and opened the valves but noticed we’re not getting any suction from the skimmer. I read about possible causes and so far we’ve only been able to confirm that the skimmer door isn’t broken and have replaced the O ring on the pump. My next step today was going to be the drain king; however, after turning the pump off, I noticed there was water leaking at a junction by one of the valves (I’m sorry I don’t know which one to call it by name but am attempting to link a video). Leak Near Valve

Could this be the cause of our problems or is this just a symptom of something else? Is this something we can fix ourselves?

Grateful for all of the expertise on this forum. I can usually get by with lurking on older posts, but my limited knowledge is being tested.

 

[PoolStored]

Post pictures of your equipment pad overall and pictures of the valves and positions...

 

[DesiWesi]

Thanks for taking the time to read and reply! Here’s a link to some photos.Pool Pad

 

[PoolStored]

not getting any suction from the skimmer.

Please help us by explaining this. When I do X, I find Y and it is doing Z.

Examples:
When I look into the skimmer, I do not see water flowing.
When I start the pump, it fails to prime.
When I look into the pump basket, there is no water flowing.
If I take the basket out of the skimmer and put my hand into the pot near the inlet port to the skimmer line at the bottom of the pot, I do not feel water flowing.

 

[PoolStored]

Check the impeller for clogs or a breakage. The impeller that moves the water. Does the motor run?

If you check the impeller make sure that the service disconnect or Breaker to the pump is OFF.

 

[DesiWesi]

Please help us by explaining this. When I do X, I find Y and it is doing Z.

Examples:
When I look into the skimmer, I do not see water flowing.
When I start the pump, it fails to prime.
When I look into the pump basket, there is no water flowing.
If I take the basket out of the skimmer and put my hand into the pot near the inlet port to the skimmer line at the bottom of the pot, I do not feel water flowing.

When I look into the skimmer and pump basket, I do see water flowing.
Taking the basket out of the skimmer and putting my hand, I do feel water flowing (and suction).
When I start the pump, it fails to prime.

 

[DesiWesi]

Check the impeller for clogs or a breakage. The impeller that moves the water. Does the motor run?

If you check the impeller make sure that the service disconnect or Breaker to the pump is OFF.

The motor does run, but I will have to check the impeller tomorrow (I haven’t done this before and will need to look at some tutorials beforehand).

 

[PoolStored]

When I start the pump, it fails to prime.

Does any water get to the pump basket? Also ...When X happens, I'm assuming that the pump fails to prime. <---what is happening or not happening that leads you to believe the pump is not priming...
What does "fail to prime" look like in the pump basket? (can't tell if your basket cover is black or clear).

Where is your MPV positioned? Try it on "recirculate" if you have it.

Back to the leak near the valve. (I missed the video) Might be letting in air. I would remove both unions on the lines coming out of the ground, and the union on the pump. Clean up the faces, and inspect the o-rings (flex them and see if there are cracks. If so, replace. If they are ok, clean (dry rag) and relubricate with Magic Lube II (or some other silicone lubricant (NOT SILCONE SEALANT). Reassemble.

 

[DesiWesi]

Does any water get to the pump basket? Also ...When X happens, I'm assuming that the pump fails to prime. <---what is happening or not happening that leads you to believe the pump is not priming...
What does "fail to prime" look like in the pump basket? (can't tell if your basket cover is black or clear).

Where is your MPV positioned? Try it on "recirculate" if you have it.

Back to the leak near the valve. (I missed the video) Might be letting in air. I would remove both unions on the lines coming out of the ground, and the union on the pump. Clean up the faces, and inspect the o-rings (flex them and see if there are cracks. If so, replace. If they are ok, clean (dry rag) and relubricate with Magic Lube II (or some other silicone lubricant (NOT SILCONE SEALANT). Reassemble.

As far as the pump failing to prime, this looks like no water from the return jets (it also sounds noticeably different). We can only get it to prime after using the water hose to put water in the pump for a few minutes at a time.

I set the MPV to recirculate - still no suction from the skimmer but the jets function as they did before (steady stream but lots of bubbles).

Still have to check the impeller and the unions near the pump.

Edited to add that upon turning the pump on and off a couple of times today, I didn’t see the leak that I recorded in the video. Yesterday when we turned it on and off, we noticed that a bit of water shot out from the other end of the pump (it happened so fast we couldn’t identify exactly where it came from though). That also didn’t happen again today.

 

[PoolStored]

What is the make and model number of the pump?

 

[DesiWesi]

What is the make and model number of the pump?

Unfortunately the label is pretty worn so I can only make out that it is a Hayward pump.

 

[PoolStored]

@1poolman1 @JamesW @ajw22 Any notion on the right go-kit for this pump? Think it would be smart to rebuild the wet end...

 

[1poolman1]

Just some of Hayward's pumps. Which?

 

[DesiWesi]

Just some of Hayward's pumps. Which?

Ours looks the most like the top photo here.

That said, I have an update. After giving up, we had a company come out and help us out. They said our water levels were high, successfully got our pump to backwash (OF COURSE it worked for them) and said we didn’t have any obvious leaks, just some air backed up in the system. They did offer that replumbing may be of help in terms of helping our pump to stay primed, so we are considering that but it’s not a huge priority at the moment.

I appreciate all the help and tips to assist us in diagnosing this issue. I’m thankful it was an easy fix but feeling silly it was something so simple.