Pump can not priming after I clean the basket yesterday

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R

Rex2017

0
May 18, 2017
4
fremont
Hi,

I am having an issue of priming the pump. The following is the detail, and I need some help to resolve this issue.

1. Yesterday, I did a clean up for the pump basket. Before that, the pump ruining everyday.
After the clean up, I full fill the basket with water, and put the lid on. Turn on the pump, I can not get the pump priming.

2. My pump position is about 2 feet higher than the pool surface, and long distance, around 100 ft.

3. Today, I bought a 1.5"~3" Drain Bladder from Homedepot, and connected it to my garden hose, try to push water from the skimmer to the pump with lid open. (Try to help pump to priming).
husky-plumbing-snakes-augers-82-976-111-64_1000.jpg

I found I can not push water from skimmer to pump, seems like stuck.

Since the pump was running well before yesterday, I feel surprise why I can not push water from skimmer to pump.

I need help for this issue.
a. Is there anything I did wrong?
b. Anything else I can do to check what is the problem?

I try to get pump working properly and check is there any air leak.

Thanks,
Rex
 
Hey Rex, welcome to TFP!

Maybe you just didn't seat the o-ring on the pump lid well enough. Clean and lube the o-ring, and clean both surfaces it seals to (on the pump housing, and on the lid). Use a lint-free cloth for cleaning. Use the proper lube. Then try again.

This stuff:

Amazon.com: Magic Lube II Silicone Lubricant, Sealant for Pool Valves O Rings 1 oz # 650: Kitchen Dining

You can check the pump lid seal with this trick:

Find an air leak in your swimming pool. - YouTube

Earlier today I wrote out a method for taking good care of an o-ring. I was referring to a filter o-ring, but the tips apply to any o-ring:

Filter Leaking
 
Rex, if you can't get ANY water to flow to the pump, perhaps something got stuck in there. Have you tried pushing water backwards from the pump basket to the skimmer? Also, do you have a check valve before the pump? Last but most simple ..... are all valves back to their original position? If one valve is closed, on either side, water simply can't go anywhere. We've all done it.
 
Rex:

The slightest air in the system will cause the unit not to prime. As Pat and Dirk mentioned, first check for clogs and to make sure the lid gasket is seated properly as well. If you are unsuccessful, then shut the pump off and do the following:

1) Pump is turned off.

2) If you have a main drain, close it completely with the shut off valve.

3)Close off the skimmers with black plugs and fill the skimmer lines with water in the pump basket until water comes back and fills the basket. Make sure you have a tight seal and all the valves for the skimmers are open, but keep the main drain closed. Go back (if you have 2 skimmers) and only remove one plug. Turn the pump back on and allow it to prime as this should do the trick. Once the system is up and running, then remove the second skimmer plug, and lastly open the main drain. If you find that you are losing prime through the MD, then close and slowly open. Go back and forth until everything is moving.

A total of 2' higher of the pump will not give you problems, under normal circumstances. What I explained to you is what I do in the spring at start up. The main drain is already closed and the skimmers have Gizzmo's, so basically I start filling everything up, then open one skimmer line and turn on the pump. Works great.
 
Also make sure you put the basket in correctly. It is usually notched and if not seated in the notch, the lid will not seal.
 
Thanks for for Dirk, Texas Splash, Catanzaro ,
PoolGate 's help and the detail instruction!

Continued trying to figure out what is the problem today, still can not figure out, end up calling the pool service who installed my pump, find out the leak place, it located at the pipe connect to the pump. The service people helped replaced that pipe and seal it, now pump running good.

Also after I talked to the service people about how I can not push the water back from skimmer to pump, he showed me another brand drain bladder, looks like I didn't use my drain bladder well.

After all, problem resolved, and I learned, thanks everyone!

Rex
 
Catanzaro said:
Are you telling me that you could not visually see any water leaking under normal operation? It should be very evident as the equipment base would be wet during dry weather.
Click to expand...

I think the leak was on the suction side, which is why he was losing prime. It must have been of the nature that would suck air, but not drip water when the pump was off...
 

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