Polaris Pressure Relief Valve Broken?

[DIYconvert]

My polaris is not working well. The RPMs are only 21. I have a couple of issues so I'm not sure where the major loss of power is from. The booster pump is leaking a little and I already ordered a new seal. The pressure relief valve on the Quick Connect is leaking water from the valve (I can feel it coming from the black valve head). I've tightened it as much as possible; however there is still some water coming out. How do I know if the valve is broken or working as designed and releasing pressure as it should? It looks OK when I take it out and inspect it. How would it break? It looks like a pretty simple mechanism. I don't want to order a new one if it isn't broken. Should I replace the seal on the booster pump first and see what happens or do I definitely need to go ahead and get a new valve?

BTW, my booster pump ran a few hours without the benefit of the filter pump. I think that caused the leak. Hopefully it's only the seal that needs replacing. I don't want to open it up until I have the new seal; however it may have overheated and warped the impeller too.

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

Get an impeller too. If it ran dry, the seal gets hot and melts the seat.

How far is the run from the PB4 booster to the wall fitting?

Sounds like the quick connect assembly is doing its thing. Is the finger screen clean?

How old is the unit?

Does the backup valve seem to be bringing the sweep up and moving it away regularly?

Any hose leaks?

How hard is the tail swinging?

Scott

 

[DIYconvert]

The booster pump is about 20-25 feet from the wall fitting.
The screen is clean.
The booster pump is about one year old. The Polaris was here when we bought the house about 5 years ago. I've been maintaining by replacing the parts internally as needed (recently replaced all the drive belts).
The backup valve is working properly and there are no hose leaks. The tail swings as hard as it should based on the valve setting I have it on.
I'm perplexed as to the problem; however I have a few know problems that I guess I have to fix first. Maybe I should open up the Polaris and see what's going on inside. The wheels really seem to have no power but the three jets are going strong.

 

[cleaner designer]

If there is water coming out of the black pressure relief you most likely have enough flow through the booster pump. In rare cases the valve releases too much pressure if the valve is damaged or worn. Let me know which Polaris cleaner you own and I may be able to help you a little more. Have you called Polaris customer service? They can also help you identify the problem. The product manual which can be downloaded from the website www.polarispool.com also contains useful info. Polaris also makes a pressure stick for certain cleaners which can be mounted at the end of the hose where it attaches to the cleaner to measure flow delivery to the cleaner and help diagnose if it is the cleaner or the system.

 

[DIYconvert]

So, a little water coming out of the black pressure relief valve is OK and maybe even normal? All the specs of my pool equipment are in my signature; I have a Polaris 380. I have the manual and, yes, there are some good tips in there. Thanks for the tip on the pressure stick, I may look for one of those as I always seem to have some problem with the Polaris each year.