Hi. Long time lurker, first time poster. This is a really weird one ...
Last year we got a brand new Pentair pump for our inGround pool. We never had issues with air in the old pump basket before. However, our old pump was a Hayward super pump and was waaaaay over powered for our pool. It was 3 + HP and one speed, so it ran like heck 100% of the time (and cost a bundle in energy). We switched to the Pentair because it's multi-speed and runs at 2000 rpm mostly, which is much slower and does the job.
Issue is, I almost immediately noticed that as the pump runs on the lower speed, over time little air bubbles start to collect in the pump basket. They almost build up over time. Running the pump on prime (which increases the RPM to 3200) gets rid of them. Then they accumulate again. Example, the pump was full and air free after backwashing on Saturday. It ran that way until yesterday when I noticed a Loonie sized air bubble at the top of the pump basket. I stopped it, ran it on prime, now there is no again.
When you turn the system off, the lines will hold prime. The air bubbles do not get worse. We had a power failure recently that lasted 12 hours, the lines held prime perfectly throughout.
I've noticed the air gets worse when either skimmer basket is clogged or the sand in the filter needs to be backwashed. In fact, if the basket is clean and the sand is backwashed, I can go three or four days before I see the air bubble begin to return in the basket. It would seem to me that should this be an issue with the lines, 1) I wouldn't be able to hold prime, certainly not for 12 hours +. 2) running the pump on a higher speed would introduce more air to the basket, not remove it.
I mentioned this issue to the pool company that installed the pump, they provided a new O-ring for the basket. That didn't do much.
Notes: my sight glass is missing its seal and my pressure gauge is broken. (COVID is hampering my ability to replace either). I can also hear what sounds like sucking / suction / air sound in or around the multi-port. I do have a Jandy valve on the return side of the filter it splits the return into a Y and redirects water to the pool returns, the water falls or both. I suspect that's been leaking for a while (internally, pushing water into the other line, no signs of exterior leakage) but I don't think it's relevant to this, as it's on the return side and I never see air bubbles coming from the return jets (actually I have once, but the filter basket was clogged right up with Spring plant residue).
Could this be a sign of a bad spider seal in the multi-port (which is now 9 years old)? Any other hypothesis about what this may be?
Thanks in advance.
Last year we got a brand new Pentair pump for our inGround pool. We never had issues with air in the old pump basket before. However, our old pump was a Hayward super pump and was waaaaay over powered for our pool. It was 3 + HP and one speed, so it ran like heck 100% of the time (and cost a bundle in energy). We switched to the Pentair because it's multi-speed and runs at 2000 rpm mostly, which is much slower and does the job.
Issue is, I almost immediately noticed that as the pump runs on the lower speed, over time little air bubbles start to collect in the pump basket. They almost build up over time. Running the pump on prime (which increases the RPM to 3200) gets rid of them. Then they accumulate again. Example, the pump was full and air free after backwashing on Saturday. It ran that way until yesterday when I noticed a Loonie sized air bubble at the top of the pump basket. I stopped it, ran it on prime, now there is no again.
When you turn the system off, the lines will hold prime. The air bubbles do not get worse. We had a power failure recently that lasted 12 hours, the lines held prime perfectly throughout.
I've noticed the air gets worse when either skimmer basket is clogged or the sand in the filter needs to be backwashed. In fact, if the basket is clean and the sand is backwashed, I can go three or four days before I see the air bubble begin to return in the basket. It would seem to me that should this be an issue with the lines, 1) I wouldn't be able to hold prime, certainly not for 12 hours +. 2) running the pump on a higher speed would introduce more air to the basket, not remove it.
I mentioned this issue to the pool company that installed the pump, they provided a new O-ring for the basket. That didn't do much.
Notes: my sight glass is missing its seal and my pressure gauge is broken. (COVID is hampering my ability to replace either). I can also hear what sounds like sucking / suction / air sound in or around the multi-port. I do have a Jandy valve on the return side of the filter it splits the return into a Y and redirects water to the pool returns, the water falls or both. I suspect that's been leaking for a while (internally, pushing water into the other line, no signs of exterior leakage) but I don't think it's relevant to this, as it's on the return side and I never see air bubbles coming from the return jets (actually I have once, but the filter basket was clogged right up with Spring plant residue).
Could this be a sign of a bad spider seal in the multi-port (which is now 9 years old)? Any other hypothesis about what this may be?
Thanks in advance.
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