Suction Vac air leaks, but cannot figure out why

[jlt19]

I have the regular hose and head that came with my pool and I also bought an "auto" suction vac. Both work fine and I'm happy with their performance (I'm sure MANY would be better, but at this point, I don't know what I'm missing). However, every time I "plug" them in to my skimmer, I lose prime a bit and bubbles form in the pump basket. I've tried all different ways to make it work and not pull in air to no avail. I've used both hoses, on both different heads, so that's not it.

I put the end of the hose to the return jet to get all the air out and even wait another minute or so once the bubbles have subsided. I've tried putting the hose into the vac plate on the bare basket, on a basket with a skimmer sock, and directly into the hole. I've tried doing it while the pump is running and while it's off (keeping the end of the hose under water the entire time). But it never fails, as soon as the pump starts, a few seconds later, it's pulling in air. It also causes the pressure to lessen on the gauge. Not sure if one is related to the other.

Any thoughts or ideas? Or is this typical? I definitely want a robot at some point, but this is our first year and as I'm sure you all remember, we're about a 150% over budget with all the new stuff we've already bought

 

[duraleigh]

It also causes the pressure to lessen on the gauge.

from what psi down to what psi?

 

[jlt19]

from what psi down to what psi?

Regular filter it runs about 14psi and it goes down to about 10-11psi when a vac is plugged in.

 

[duraleigh]

OK. that's fairly normal. You are restricting the intake (creating more resistance) when you connect the vacuum so the pressure drops as the pump can't get quite as much water as it really wants.

When you drop prime, does the water froth around in the pump basket violently or is it more like a few large bubbles forming and staying there?

 

[jlt19]

It usually froths pretty violently, but doesn't drop enough to where the water shoots out like a faucet.

However, today I experimented with where these steel pins rest and found that if I have them at the lowest setting, it actually stayed clear of bubbles.

But that's only an option on the "auto" one, not the manual so not sure how to make it work.