Pump loses prime in spa mode

PoolFrog

Well-known member
Aug 9, 2013
143
Dallas, TX
Hello,

We have a spa that shares the same water as our pool. We really never use the spa, so we haven’t used Spa Mode in probably a year or more. I’ve been working to clean out some fine debris left over from a DE filter issue that we just repaired and decided to try to run the spa in an effort to get the fine debris to go down the spa drain and get filtered out. When I put the system into Spa Mode, the pump lost prime and couldn’t seem to get it back. When I switched back to Pool Mode, the pump regained prime and everything was fine after that. Since then, I’ve been finding hard white chunks (almost like rocks, some as large as a couple of inches) in our pump basket. When I pull them out of the basket, I can squeeze them in my hand and they crumble apart. They’re too large to make it through the pool skimmers or the main drain, so I’m wondering if these are remnants of something clogging the spa drain line. I just tried Spa Mode again today after finding several of these chunks over the last few days, and the pump continues to lose prime in that mode. Any ideas what those white crumbly chunks could be? We do have hard water here, and I also use cal-hypo to shock (I’m getting away from that, switching to liquid chlorine). Could these be hardened calcium deposits? If so, what can I do to break them down if they’re clogging the line?
 
Pushing debris into a main drain can clog it. I would drain the spa (move water to pool) remove the drain covers and see what might be stuck in there.

As for the white chunks, sounds like it might be plaster. Is the pool fairly new or recently replastered?
 
Ok, I will look and see if there are screws. Assuming that I’m able to get the covers off, what’s a good way to remove whatever I find? Is there anything that I can safely pour through that could break down buildup?
 
You probably can't dissolve what ever is in there. The best option is flush from the pump inlet, with the valves set to spa mode, out towards the MD using a garden hose wrapped in a rag and see if anything comes out.
 
More than likely, if there is a clog, it is near the MD grate.

The other possibility is there is a leak in the plumbing somewhere between the pump and the MD. Are you finding that the spa is losing water when the pump is off?
 
Yes, just recently. I assumed that it was a problem with the check valve (been there before). The water loss when the pump is off is inconsistent, though. Sometimes there’s barely any loss, and other days it’s more.
 
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