Paramount PCC Debris Canister Fills With Air

[franks59]

I have a PCC 2000 pool with a debris canister tied to both the main drain and skimmer. It has a single pump, a Challenger High Flow, located about 25 ft away and about 2 ft above the pool deck. The pool was built around 2000. I am not the original owner but I believe the pump is original equipment.

Since I bought the house in 2003, I've had an ongoing problem with air in the canister. Sometimes it can drain completely in a matter of minutes after starting the pump. Sometimes the air gradually increases over days or weeks.There are somethings that make the problem worse and some that make it better. These are not entirely reliable though - sometimes they work sometimes not. There may be a combination of factors at work.

1. Reducing the flow from the skimmer seems to be the most reliable way to make it worse.
2. Extremely dry conditions seem to make it worse.
3. Conversely extremely wet conditions (saturated ground) seem to make it better.
4. Overfilling the pool also seems to make it better.

I've also noticed when opening the pool at first it may seem ok but then the air increases. Several cycles of shutting off the pump and turning it back on seems to make it go away especially if I dump the air in between each cycle.

I suspected for years that there was a crack somewhere that allowed air to get in and water to get out because I was also losing pool water. I know there was one or more leaks in the canister. At one point last year I was losing 1 1/2" pool water every day. I had been epoxying the canister over the years which was helping. Last year I called in American Leak Detectors who found a single leak at the bottom fitting. I epoxied that and the leak completely stopped.

But this year the air problem is there again. I'm not losing any water but after 3 days, there is enough air in the canister for me to see both the main drain and skimmer pouring into the canister. So I'm not so sure about the crack theory.

I have seen suggestions that pump cavitation is the source of the problem but I don't see how air could travel backwards and downhill 25 feet. I've had the main drain checked and it's not blocked.Any ideas or similar experiences?

Thanks,
Frank

 

[kadavis]

There should be a line that runs from the canister out into pool. It enters the canister just above the clear lid, this is what keeps water above the lid so it doesn't pull in air. The lids are not vacuum tight like a pump lid with a o ring

 

[franks59]

There should be a line that runs from the canister out into pool. It enters the canister just above the clear lid, this is what keeps water above the lid so it doesn't pull in air. The lids are not vacuum tight like a pump lid with a o ring

Thanks.

Yes, there is an equalizer line. There has always been several inches of water above the lid so I'm certain no air was getting in that way.

Frank