- Jun 22, 2014
- 48,865
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
DISCLAIMER: Safety First! Our pool is still CLOSED. The water is too cold so there are no swimmers, no risk to life or limb due to exposed suction pipe in the water. This was my own personal test conducted in a fenced/controlled environment for less than a 24 hr period. This was a temporary test only. If you attempt such a test, take necessary precautions. Safety is always a priority.
So over time we all inevitably wonder, "Do I have a leak, and if so, where?" Several years ago when I was TFP newbie, I created such a thread HERE. I came to the realization all was fine and I simply had a bit of OCD believing I should see a pump pot with absolutely zero air bubbles in it. Over the past few months however, the water level in my pump pot would fall by about 1-2 inches over the course of a couple days, then it would stay there. This was much different than years past. I never completely lost prime or went dry, but there was more air in the pot than back in 2015 when my system was new.
Last season I was trying to find a pressure side leak which you can read about HERE. During that adventure, it seemed as though my skimmer may have tilted with our horrible shifting/clay soil in the San Antonio area. You can see why I thought about the skimmer tilting by the angle of that pole sticking out of my skimmer in the pic below. That made me wonder if my skimmer line/connection may have cracked a tiny bit. I have a check valve and a 3-way valve ahead of the pump. I had already disassembled each, cleaned them up, and replaced all the O-rings. Last season I also disassembled my pump, replaced the shaft seal, and lubed all volute seals. The only thing left was the PVC suction line itself.
This brings me to the purpose of this thread. What other option do you have before getting out the pick & shovel? How about creating a new suction line? By bypassing your existing suction line, you can see if a new (temporary) line will result in an air-free pump pot, or if it stays the same. Basically a big straw. Yeah, it costs a few bucks for PVC and some fittings, but better than digging for hours only to find the line is fine right? So that's exactly what I did. Below are some pics of my test yesterday.
This pic shows the test suction pipe down in the water serving as a big straw. That PVC sticking out of the skimmer (tilted) was something I created last year to do a water pressure test on the line. Its angle is what gave me alarm to worry about sinking/shifting soil.
Nothing fancy here. Just 40' of pipe going back to the pad. A big straw.
Got myself a new union to connect to the pump. Loosened the fittings so that I could turn my pump a bit and connect the test line.
A final view looking back towards the pool.
So what were the results? Did the new test line result in an air-free pump pot confirming my original (ground) suction line was cracked, or did air still get in the pump? The result - no change! Air was still getting in the pump pot. This was good & bad. The good was now I see no need to dig-up the ground to get to my skimmer connections which would've been an exhausting job to say the least. The bad part is I still seem to get air in the pump pot. A bit more than I would like perhaps, but I'm not losing prime. My pump is going on 9 years now, so perhaps something warped a tiny bit over time that an O-ring or pool lube can't seal. Regardless, I go out to the pad at least once a day anyways to purge air, so it's no big deal.
Best part about this test project is that it kept me from chasing something that wasn't there. So if you have doubt about a suction side air leak and have ruled-out everything but the line itself, you might create a test line ....... basically a big straw. Good luck.
So over time we all inevitably wonder, "Do I have a leak, and if so, where?" Several years ago when I was TFP newbie, I created such a thread HERE. I came to the realization all was fine and I simply had a bit of OCD believing I should see a pump pot with absolutely zero air bubbles in it. Over the past few months however, the water level in my pump pot would fall by about 1-2 inches over the course of a couple days, then it would stay there. This was much different than years past. I never completely lost prime or went dry, but there was more air in the pot than back in 2015 when my system was new.
Last season I was trying to find a pressure side leak which you can read about HERE. During that adventure, it seemed as though my skimmer may have tilted with our horrible shifting/clay soil in the San Antonio area. You can see why I thought about the skimmer tilting by the angle of that pole sticking out of my skimmer in the pic below. That made me wonder if my skimmer line/connection may have cracked a tiny bit. I have a check valve and a 3-way valve ahead of the pump. I had already disassembled each, cleaned them up, and replaced all the O-rings. Last season I also disassembled my pump, replaced the shaft seal, and lubed all volute seals. The only thing left was the PVC suction line itself.
This brings me to the purpose of this thread. What other option do you have before getting out the pick & shovel? How about creating a new suction line? By bypassing your existing suction line, you can see if a new (temporary) line will result in an air-free pump pot, or if it stays the same. Basically a big straw. Yeah, it costs a few bucks for PVC and some fittings, but better than digging for hours only to find the line is fine right? So that's exactly what I did. Below are some pics of my test yesterday.
This pic shows the test suction pipe down in the water serving as a big straw. That PVC sticking out of the skimmer (tilted) was something I created last year to do a water pressure test on the line. Its angle is what gave me alarm to worry about sinking/shifting soil.
Nothing fancy here. Just 40' of pipe going back to the pad. A big straw.
Got myself a new union to connect to the pump. Loosened the fittings so that I could turn my pump a bit and connect the test line.
A final view looking back towards the pool.
So what were the results? Did the new test line result in an air-free pump pot confirming my original (ground) suction line was cracked, or did air still get in the pump? The result - no change! Air was still getting in the pump pot. This was good & bad. The good was now I see no need to dig-up the ground to get to my skimmer connections which would've been an exhausting job to say the least. The bad part is I still seem to get air in the pump pot. A bit more than I would like perhaps, but I'm not losing prime. My pump is going on 9 years now, so perhaps something warped a tiny bit over time that an O-ring or pool lube can't seal. Regardless, I go out to the pad at least once a day anyways to purge air, so it's no big deal.
Best part about this test project is that it kept me from chasing something that wasn't there. So if you have doubt about a suction side air leak and have ruled-out everything but the line itself, you might create a test line ....... basically a big straw. Good luck.
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or water pours. 
