Suction side air

[cajunfla]

Ok, got a big air leak somewhere.
New, lubed o-ring on old pump basket cover. Don't see any cracks.
Tried running water over all the above ground connections, no change.
Tried wrapping connections tightly in plastic grocery bags, no Saran Wrap in the house. No change.
Turned off feed from skimmer, no change.
Opened skimmer feed, turned off feed from mains water in basket went WAY down.
That tells me air leak thru skimmer feed, as skimmer itself is full, weir door working as should, with lots of rain this year keeping water level up.
Problem seems to be under the concrete. Now what?

 

[cajunfla]

Bueller?

 

[satpoolman]

Are you sure the impeller shaft isn't sheared?

 

[cajunfla]

Are you sure the impeller shaft isn't sheared?

No, I'm not. And no clue how to check it.

 

[pooldv]

Call a leak detection company to find the leak so you can limit the amount of digging and/or jackhammering needed.

 

[cajunfla]

What's the downside if the leak is under concrete and I leave it as is?

When I opened the pump basket cover today for cleaning, I realized all the water drains out, and sounds like the filter and all associated plumbing drains too. Maybe it has been draining every time, I just never paid attention to it. When restarting the pump, it seems to have no problem filling most of the basket back to where it was before opening.

 

[satpoolman]

No, I'm not. And no clue how to check it.

With power off, if you take the pump lid off and fill with water then momentarily turn the pump on, if the water sucks downwards your impeller is fine. If not, the impeller is either clogged or the shaft has sheared.

Regards,
E

 

[cajunfla]

With power off, if you take the pump lid off and fill with water then momentarily turn the pump on, if the water sucks downwards your impeller is fine. If not, the impeller is either clogged or the shaft has sheared.

Regards,
E

Sucked down in a heartbeat!!

 

[pooldv]

The only downside is water loss and depending how big the leak is it could wash out a hole under the deck.

 

[satpoolman]

Sucked down in a heartbeat!!

OK, well that rules that out. Will your pump prime with skimmer off and main on?

E

 

[duraleigh]

That 90 that is at the bottom right in your picture looks suspect. It has been repaired and may be sucking air. I haven't followed this thread.....is your pump lid seated correctly? Not too tight?

What kind of connection is that where the pump and the PVC pipe come together?

 

[cajunfla]

OK, well that rules that out. Will your pump prime with skimmer off and main on?

E

Yes, the pump primes good.

 

[cajunfla]

That 90 that is at the bottom right in your picture looks suspect. It has been repaired and may be sucking air. I haven't followed this thread.....is your pump lid seated correctly? Not too tight?

What kind of connection is that where the pump and the PVC pipe come together?

The 90 is part of some change the prior owner put in. Notice the other 90 with blue glue, which leads upward to a capped off line. I haven't noticed any water leak in that area, as the dirt is moist everywhere from rain.
Where the PVC attaches to the pump is some sort of union. Today, I unscrewed that union, and lubed the seal real well, and reconnected. No leak. As for the pump cover, I installed a new o-ring, well lubed, last week. I'm fairly sure it isn't too tight. No water squirting upon shutdown.

 

[satpoolman]

Yes, the pump primes good.

Alrighty, definitely a problem in that skimmer line. Next, I'd take pooldv's recommendation in post #5. Goodluck and let us know what you find out.

Regards,
E

 

[duraleigh]

If your pump primes easily, how are you aware of the air leak? Do you see air in the pump basket?

It is quite possible you will not see water running on a suction side leak. They often suck plenty of air, but don't leak any water.

The underground pipes are the FIRST thing that people suspect but they are usually the LAST culprit......it's actually very rare to have underground piping sucking air so exhaust ALL possibilities first before digging. That includes rechecking every possible visible leak spot.

 

[cajunfla]

Yes sir, what I see is about 1/2 inch of air under the clear cover of the basket while running.

 

[duraleigh]

That doesn't sound like a really big leak. Does the water drain out of the pump basket when you shut off the pump?

Does the water slosh around a lot when the pump is running?

 

[cajunfla]

That doesn't sound like a really big leak. Does the water drain out of the pump basket when you shut off the pump?

Does the water slosh around a lot when the pump is running?

No, doesn't drain when pump is shut off, but does drain when basket cover removed.

Yes, the water does seem to slosh around quite a bit when running.

 

[duraleigh]

I get it. Perfectly normal to drain down when you remove the lid.

That water sloshing around is a really good indicator that air is getting into the system before the pump (suction side). Find that leak and your problem is solved.

Don't be convinced the problem is underground.....it rarely is. The exception is if your decking has heaved and cracked......has it?

Pump running, there is NO whirlpool where air can get sucked it, right?

Why are the broken handled valves only half open in the pic? They should both be open wide.

Next move to the first visible joint after the skimmer. Be thorough and check each one. I still don't like the looks of that 90 in the lower right of that pic.

Hope these hints help. It's there and will be an easy fix once you find it.

 

[BPKlein]

We had a suction side leak that drove me crazy for more than a year. Some days it was worse than others. Best thing I did was hire a pool leak detector to come find the leak. It took him about 15 minutes to find it. In our case, it was the elbow at the bottom of the skimmer that was cracked. I was able to tunnel under the concrete (the digging sucked) and replace the plumbing from the skimmer to a spot where it was easy to connect. We haven't had any issues since.

Bryan