Alright TFP folks - I need some assistance. I decided that I should re-plumb the valves that the PB used when installing our pool, and put in Jandy (Pentair-branded) Neverlube valves so I could do a little bit of automation. Really the intention is to choke down the main drain a little when the pool is in use (uncovered) so the skimmers function better. That's the background.
Here's the changes that I did:
1.) I unhooked the suction side of the pump (which hadn't been unhooked since 2016). Turning the union off also backed out the male portion of the union that was connected to the pump inlet. There was gummy stuff in the threads that I assume is pipe dope.
2.) I cut out the 3 white valves in the picture below, replacing them with neverlubes
3.) I rebuilt the cross where everything comes together between the pump and the valves, and let everything setup for about 10 hours @ 75 degrees. Everything was primed / glued with fresh pvc cement.
4.) I applied pipe dope to the portion of the union that goes into the pump inlet and lubed the o-ring with 90% pure silicon lube on the side that contacts the pump - this o-ring didn't look the best - had some cracking taking place to i liberally applied the lube, and hand-tightened this snugly into the pump inlet.
5.) I applied 90% pure silicon lube to the o-ring that goes between the two union halves, also lubed the o-ring between the union halves on the discharge side, and hand-tightened (snugly) both union halves
Fired everything up, and the pump primed while running at only 1850 RPM - good to go, right? Not so fast...the filter basket would never fully fill, and it looks like there's a suction side leak now.
If I take the pump up to a higher speed, say 2500, the air in the basket mostly goes away. Then when the pump slows down, the basket starts to empty enough where I can see the water running from the inlet into the basket.
Troubleshooting:
So upfront, I don't know which way the Jandy valves seal better when testing. Should the "Off" label on the handle point towards or away from the flow of water? That being said, I did a few things to try to narrow this down:
1.) I fill the pump basket by running the higher speed, and then turn off all but one of the Jandy valves - I did this to all 3, and no matter which valve was open, the water level would go down if the pump was at a lower speed.
2.) I ran the pump at high speed to fill the basket, shut off the pump and closed all 3 valves. The water in the basket still went down. I believe this tells me that the problem is between the valve and the pump inlet. Not sure if I should have the "Off" sides of the valves on the pump or the skimmer / drain side of the piping when doing this test.
3.) I tried to use a soap solution and see if soap was drawn into any of the fittings, and no go. It's far to windy for this to be useful right now.
4.) I pulled the pump lid, just because I had lube handy, and lubed the pump lid o-ring.
Questions:
1.) What's the most likely cause? Should I be looking at the union (o-rings and the threaded portion), the glued fittings, or the jandy valves themselves? Is there some methodology that I should be following to narrow this down?
2.) Which direction does the jandy valve seal the best? When I'm attempting to choke off the main drain (my ultimate goal from the first paragraph) should the "Off" label on the valve be facing the suction (pool) side of the plumbing, or should it be facing the pump?
Here's the changes that I did:
1.) I unhooked the suction side of the pump (which hadn't been unhooked since 2016). Turning the union off also backed out the male portion of the union that was connected to the pump inlet. There was gummy stuff in the threads that I assume is pipe dope.
2.) I cut out the 3 white valves in the picture below, replacing them with neverlubes
3.) I rebuilt the cross where everything comes together between the pump and the valves, and let everything setup for about 10 hours @ 75 degrees. Everything was primed / glued with fresh pvc cement.
4.) I applied pipe dope to the portion of the union that goes into the pump inlet and lubed the o-ring with 90% pure silicon lube on the side that contacts the pump - this o-ring didn't look the best - had some cracking taking place to i liberally applied the lube, and hand-tightened this snugly into the pump inlet.
5.) I applied 90% pure silicon lube to the o-ring that goes between the two union halves, also lubed the o-ring between the union halves on the discharge side, and hand-tightened (snugly) both union halves
Fired everything up, and the pump primed while running at only 1850 RPM - good to go, right? Not so fast...the filter basket would never fully fill, and it looks like there's a suction side leak now.
If I take the pump up to a higher speed, say 2500, the air in the basket mostly goes away. Then when the pump slows down, the basket starts to empty enough where I can see the water running from the inlet into the basket.
Troubleshooting:
So upfront, I don't know which way the Jandy valves seal better when testing. Should the "Off" label on the handle point towards or away from the flow of water? That being said, I did a few things to try to narrow this down:
1.) I fill the pump basket by running the higher speed, and then turn off all but one of the Jandy valves - I did this to all 3, and no matter which valve was open, the water level would go down if the pump was at a lower speed.
2.) I ran the pump at high speed to fill the basket, shut off the pump and closed all 3 valves. The water in the basket still went down. I believe this tells me that the problem is between the valve and the pump inlet. Not sure if I should have the "Off" sides of the valves on the pump or the skimmer / drain side of the piping when doing this test.
3.) I tried to use a soap solution and see if soap was drawn into any of the fittings, and no go. It's far to windy for this to be useful right now.
4.) I pulled the pump lid, just because I had lube handy, and lubed the pump lid o-ring.
Questions:
1.) What's the most likely cause? Should I be looking at the union (o-rings and the threaded portion), the glued fittings, or the jandy valves themselves? Is there some methodology that I should be following to narrow this down?
2.) Which direction does the jandy valve seal the best? When I'm attempting to choke off the main drain (my ultimate goal from the first paragraph) should the "Off" label on the valve be facing the suction (pool) side of the plumbing, or should it be facing the pump?
