Pool Plumbing Done - No Leaks - Guage Not Registering

[aaronc1976]

Hello all,

The plumbing is complete for the plumbing of my spool. My friend and I did it. We built a testing manifold. We pressurized the system with water and the guage is not registering. We ran water through the system for close to 10 minutes. There is no leaks anywhere. I have attached pics of the testing manifold, have we done anything wrong here. There is clearly no leaks but not sure why guage is not registering. I have a regular 200 PSI water guage connected to a nipple as seen in the pictures. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[aaronc1976]

Hello all,

The plumbing is complete for the plumbing of my spool. My friend and I did it. We built a testing manifold. We pressurized the system with water and the guage is not registering. We ran water through the system for close to 10 minutes. There is no leaks anywhere. I have attached pics of the testing manifold, have we done anything wrong here. There is clearly no leaks but not sure why guage is not registering. I have a regular 200 PSI water guage connected to a nipple as seen in the pictures. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It should be noted, as I forgot to mention that the guage works fine when I connect to a regular hose bib.

 

[HermanTX]

Have you got a way to bleed the air out of the system? Check the reducing nipple the gauge is connected to that it is not plugged. What pressure are you trying to achieve. Most tests would be around 50psi or less. Also, some test solely with air instead of filling it with water.

 

[Poolbreh]

Hi, looks cool man. You said you ran water through. Are the ends of everything capped?

 

[aaronc1976]

Hi, looks cool man. You said you ran water through. Are the ends of everything capped?

Yes, everything is completely capped. Whole system is bone dry. It's about an 80 foot run from pad around pool perimeter with 2 2 inch returns loops housing 6 jets each. 2 sets of main drains for 2 pumps. 2.5 inch suction lines are about 40 foot runs to the area where pad will be. We ran water through system for about 10 minutes. Is that long enough or should I be patient and continue running water? Just a little nervous about over pressurizing.

 

[aaronc1976]

Have you got a way to bleed the air out of the system? Check the reducing nipple the gauge is connected to that it is not plugged. What pressure are you trying to achieve. Most tests would be around 50psi or less. Also, some test solely with air instead of filling it with water.

We did not build a bleeder valve into the testing manifold?

 

[aaronc1976]

Have you got a way to bleed the air out of the system? Check the reducing nipple the gauge is connected to that it is not plugged. What pressure are you trying to achieve. Most tests would be around 50psi or less. Also, some test solely with air instead of filling it with water.

We are trying to pressurize to 35 PSI

 

[Poolbreh]

Psi gauge and spigot look like the same size, can you switch them? I would loosen the female/female connecting to spigot to allow air to escape while still filling pipes. Once full tighten down and open to desired psi.

 

[aaronc1976]

Psi gauge and spigot look like the same size, can you switch them? I would loosen the female/female connecting to spigot to allow air to escape while still filling pipes. Once full tighten down and open to desired psi.

We can certainly flip the hose bib spigot and guage and see if that helps. I will update post in the morning

 

[Charlie Bezzina]

I'm curious. Are you using an air compressor or garden hose to "pressure test" your plumbing?

Connecting your garden hose to a closed system of pipes will only momentarily push water in regardless of how long you leave the tap on. The flow stops once the system becomes pressurised. The pressure at your tap is at the mercy of your water supplier, so make sure it is not too high or you may do damage to your pipes.

If the water has been, as you say "running" for 10 minutes and the pressure gauge reads "0 psi" you have an open pipe! Go find the puddle.

 

[aaronc1976]

I'm curious. Are you using an air compressor or garden hose to "pressure test" your plumbing?

Connecting your garden hose to a closed system of pipes will only momentarily push water in regardless of how long you leave the tap on. The flow stops once the system becomes pressurised. The pressure at your tap is at the mercy of your water supplier, so make sure it is not too high or you may do damage to your pipes.

If the water has been, as you say "running" for 10 minutes and the pressure gauge reads "0 psi" you have an open pipe! Go find the puddle.

I'm curious. Are you using an air compressor or garden hose to "pressure test" your plumbing?

Connecting your garden hose to a closed system of pipes will only momentarily push water in regardless of how long you leave the tap on. The flow stops once the system becomes pressurised. The pressure at your tap is at the mercy of your water supplier, so make sure it is not too high or you may do damage to your pipes.

If the water has been, as you say "running" for 10 minutes and the pressure gauge reads "0 psi" you have an open pipe! Go find the puddle.

Using a garden hose to pressurize the system. We checked every single pipe, joint, connection where there could be a leak and there isn't a single wet spot anywhere in the system. It is completely dry everywhere and heard the water running through all the pipes. Quadruple checked it. Going to try poolbreh's suggestion and swap spigot and guage in the testing manifold to see if that does the trick. I will update this post as soon as we do that.

 

[cowboycasey]

Use air to pressurize and make sure there are no leaks, no way to do it with a water hose..

 

[kimkats]

The water cannot "run though" it. The water has to be stopped from moving completely thus causing the pressure to be built up to show any leaks.

 

[Mike1162]

I'm guessing you meant that water ran into the system not through it. I don't see anything wrong with the way you have it connected. The water will compress the air until the air & water are the same pressure. Maybe you just need to give it more than 10 minutes. If that doesn't work I'd try removing the gauge & turn on the spigot until water comes out then reinstall the gauge & try again.

 

[aaronc1976]

Psi gauge and spigot look like the same size, can you switch them? I would loosen the female/female connecting to spigot to allow air to escape while still filling pipes. Once full tighten down and open to desired psi.

This seems to have done the trick. We flipped the Guage and the hose bib in the manifold and the guage is now registering. Thanks for your help