Hello,
I’m back with my janky pool setup for another summer here in Buffalo and have encountered yet another head scratcher with our now second year-new to us pool. Some may recall my setup from last winter when attempting to close the pool before the snow and the trouble encountered with getting the lines cleared.
This time around, I’m swapping our pool pump before we get the pool opened for the year (ya, I know, it’s late already) because it leaks while off and doesn’t seem to move enough water.
Legend has it (from our neighbor who’s been in the neighborhood since it was built in 1956) that our gunite pool was put in by the original owner of the house, so I’m doubtful we’re entirely up to code and know that we have a setup that’s less than ideal. I’m not here for suggestions to add $5k in equipment or move the equipment, just ideas on how to drain my filter and change the pump, both of which are below the water line and in my basement. Additionally, the current pump sits below the inlets of the sand filter which I’m assuming is part of my issue.
So - the lines into the house from the pool are still closed, but for info, we have the main drain, one suction pipe (literally 1/2 inch pipe nothing more, no skimmer etc), and our single return line. All are still closed.
Then we have our .75 HP Hayward pump that sits about 8-10” below the inlet of the sand filter AND I’m pretty positive our multi-port spider gasket was destroyed by the PO of the home because it will always send water to the waste line unless I close the line itself - oh and that waste line empties into a mess sink in our basement out to the sewer.
I had a very minimal amount of water left in the pump and the flexible lines after blowing them out last year before the winter, so I went to remove the inlet flexible line (swapping to hardlines with the new pump) but as soon as I cracked the seal to the flexible line, water rushed down from the sand filter and back into the pump. I’ve come to find that we don’t have an air relief valve either, so I’m a bit stuck on how to cleanly release the pressure from the sand filter and pump to change out the pump.
I could use the drain plug, but my basement is half finished and while the pool equipment isn’t on that side, I’d really prefer not to have a small pool in my basement. To make things worse, our brand new washer and dryer is about 3 feet from the pump and filter.
I’d like to change that spider gasket as well, and should likely do the sand, but I need to get the water out of the filter to keep my basement dry.
Any thoughts?
The last issue is that the old pump does not have a bonding wire while the new one does, but I think I can use the copper inlet/outlets with an approved clamp for that. It’s always something with this pool, but rarely is it an enjoyment for me.
I’m back with my janky pool setup for another summer here in Buffalo and have encountered yet another head scratcher with our now second year-new to us pool. Some may recall my setup from last winter when attempting to close the pool before the snow and the trouble encountered with getting the lines cleared.
This time around, I’m swapping our pool pump before we get the pool opened for the year (ya, I know, it’s late already) because it leaks while off and doesn’t seem to move enough water.
Legend has it (from our neighbor who’s been in the neighborhood since it was built in 1956) that our gunite pool was put in by the original owner of the house, so I’m doubtful we’re entirely up to code and know that we have a setup that’s less than ideal. I’m not here for suggestions to add $5k in equipment or move the equipment, just ideas on how to drain my filter and change the pump, both of which are below the water line and in my basement. Additionally, the current pump sits below the inlets of the sand filter which I’m assuming is part of my issue.
So - the lines into the house from the pool are still closed, but for info, we have the main drain, one suction pipe (literally 1/2 inch pipe nothing more, no skimmer etc), and our single return line. All are still closed.
Then we have our .75 HP Hayward pump that sits about 8-10” below the inlet of the sand filter AND I’m pretty positive our multi-port spider gasket was destroyed by the PO of the home because it will always send water to the waste line unless I close the line itself - oh and that waste line empties into a mess sink in our basement out to the sewer.
I had a very minimal amount of water left in the pump and the flexible lines after blowing them out last year before the winter, so I went to remove the inlet flexible line (swapping to hardlines with the new pump) but as soon as I cracked the seal to the flexible line, water rushed down from the sand filter and back into the pump. I’ve come to find that we don’t have an air relief valve either, so I’m a bit stuck on how to cleanly release the pressure from the sand filter and pump to change out the pump.
I could use the drain plug, but my basement is half finished and while the pool equipment isn’t on that side, I’d really prefer not to have a small pool in my basement. To make things worse, our brand new washer and dryer is about 3 feet from the pump and filter.
I’d like to change that spider gasket as well, and should likely do the sand, but I need to get the water out of the filter to keep my basement dry.
Any thoughts?
The last issue is that the old pump does not have a bonding wire while the new one does, but I think I can use the copper inlet/outlets with an approved clamp for that. It’s always something with this pool, but rarely is it an enjoyment for me.
