Rebuilding the pad - advice welcome

[HermanTX]

View attachment 502746Well I went ahead and redid it with the proper fittings, just couldn’t let it be. There were 3 leaks anyway. Let this be a warning to anyone thinking of doing their own plumbing, avoid the dwv fittings. Expensive mistake and cost me a whole Sunday too. Fingers crossed there are no leaks this time. I won’t test it until the morning.

Another psa I learned the hard way, when converting to salt water test your water before adding salt! There’s already some in there

Nice Job!!!!!

 

[Bengi010]

Pump not priming

I’m at the end of my rope here. After rebuilding the whole pad yesterday I tested for leaks this morning and found I had missed gluing a fitting. The pump primed fine and sprayed water everywhere.

After work I fixed the missed joint and went to test again and now the pump won’t prime. Tried everything I can think of and nothing.

When I fill the basket with water and turn on the pump it sucks it right down so I don’t believe the issue is the impeller. I’ve tried setting the filter on waste, recirculate, and filter, that didn’t make any difference.

Tomorrow I’ll spray down all the joints with soapy water and look for leaks but I don’t believe that’s the problem, if it could prime with a pipe completely unglued it can prime with a small leak. I’ll probably disassemble the pump and look at the impeller too.

Any ideas what is going on?

 

[HermanTX]

If a pump will not prime then there is an issue on the suction side. Based on your comment "sprayed water everywhere" the unglued fittting was downstream of the pump so that has nothing to do with priming

So if it primed earlier today, then check your skimmer baskets if they are blocked up.
You have 2 pipes supplying water to the pump. Close one so all suction is from only 1 pipe. Then reverse that and see if there is any difference in the pump being able to prime. Is one suction a main drain and the other a skimmer or do you have 2 skimmers?
Also, when you fill your pump basket with water, put the hose down the suction pipes leading to the pool Try to fill them up.

 

[Bengi010]

Tried again this morning with no luck. Here are the details

Pool has 1 skimmer and a main drain

Water level is halfway up skimmer

I ran the hose in the strainer basket down the inlet for about 5 minutes this morning. I assume the water just goes into the pool because it never fills to the point of overflow.

Tried priming with just the Main drain and just the skimmer open. Same result for both.

All other valves are open

All the manuals say to open the air pressure relief valve on the filter but I have a Hayward sand filter and there is no air pressure relief valve. I think that is normal

Is airlock a possibility?

Yesterday I took the multiport valve off the filter and ran the hose in there to try to fill the return lines. It didn’t help.

I don’t know how any lines could be blocked but it’s either that of an issue with the pump itself.

 

[HermanTX]

All the manuals say to open the air pressure relief valve on the filter but I have a Hayward sand filter and there is no air pressure relief valve. I think that is normal

Is airlock a possibility?

Yesterday I took the multiport valve off the filter and ran the hose in there to try to fill the return lines. It didn’t help.

You stated earlier that you had the MPV set on waste and the pump did not prime. So your filter was bypassed and not a factor.
I am trying to think what changed from the morning the pump primed and you found the leak and the afternoon after you repaired the leak and the pump did not prime. I think the leak was downstream of the pump because it was spraying water.

 

[Bengi010]

You stated earlier that you had the MPV set on waste and the pump did not prime. So your filter was bypassed and not a factor.
I am trying to think what changed from the morning the pump primed and you found the leak and the afternoon after you repaired the leak and the pump did not prime. I think the leak was downstream of the pump because it was spraying water.

Yes the leak was on the pressure side just before the heater. I also redid the pipes going from the intake valves to the pump and from the pump to the filter, just to change the lengths a little bit so that things fit together better. So there was a small bit of work on the suction side but I don’t see how it could have affected anything.

This afternoon I took everything apart that I could think of. I disassembled the pump to the impeller to make sure it spun freely, I checked all the valves, scoped down the pipes looking for blockages. Everything checks out.

I am currently calling Pentair. 40 minutes on hold so far. At this point I’m pretty sure it’s a pump issue but then again I don’t know much about anything

 

[Andrew_D]

In the pic of the pad rebuild, both suction valves are closed. I'm hoping that when you have been testing, you tried opening one suction valve - water? Then close it and open other suction valve - water?

Next idea: Got a shop vac? Use the blower side of the shop vac to blow air into each suction pipe at the pad. Do you see bubbles in the pool? (You can do this with an air compressor as well, but be VERY careful of the pressure!) Check both suction lines and see if bubbles are in the pool.

Double check the rest of the suction side plumbing. Did something get sucked up when the pump worked originally? Kids pool toy? Leaves? I once found 2 kids hackie sacks in the basket of the pump! Kids take toys in the pool and forget them, lose them, etc.

Can you disassemble the outlet of the pump right at the pump? Then try the pump with zero plumbing on the outlet? Makes a mess, but verifies the suction plumbing and pump.

Andrew

 

[Bengi010]

The valves are all open in the pictures. The handle aligns with the gate/flap so it’s closed when it is in line with the plumbing, perpendicular is open.
I like your idea about the shop vac I will try that tomorrow.

The last thing I did this evening was disassembled all the valves to make sure they were clear. While I had one of the supply valves apart I closed the other and started the pump to see if I could feel suction. It was there but much weaker than I expected. I don’t know what is typical but I expected something more akin to a vacuum cleaner but it was no where near that powerful.

 

[Bengi010]

Everything is working again. I wish I knew what did it but I can’t say for sure. Anyway pump is running, SWG is producing chlorine, levels are balanced and water is still clear. Got to say I was worried that after not running the pump for 5 days and not adding chlorine my pool would be turning green but it stayed really clear.

 

[HermanTX]

Everything is working again. I wish I knew what did it but I can’t say for sure. Anyway pump is running, SWG is producing chlorine, levels are balanced and water is still clear. Got to say I was worried that after not running the pump for 5 days and not adding chlorine my pool would be turning green but it stayed really clear.

Great news. Just go with it. Suggest you test in the morning, and I would bring up the FC to the top of the target range for your CYA level. Use liquid chlorine to bring it up quickly. This just ensures you stop anything that was lingering.
Good Luck and great job once again on the pad replumbing.

 

[pawsbrake]

...Apply heat to the fitting that you plan to remove. It will be damaged so ensure the one you are heating is the correct one. If it is inside a fitting or valve then heat the ID of it until it softens, then take a screwdriver and/or needle nose pliers and start to twist it. Once it softens the it will roll right out....If it is over a fitting you want to keep, then heat the OD of it and use screwdriver to pry it off.

I have been doing this the very very hard way for years with the assumption that heating the PVC to that temp would irreversibly damage any fitting it was in/around. Yet again, my cheapness bites me because I don't want to risk having to buy something twice.