water not circulating...

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Westovers

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May 31, 2009
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Austin, Texas
For some reason, our pool water is barely circulating. The pump is on and running, but pressure is low, and cell cartridges were recently replaced. (So problem seems to be suction?) Valves are in the correct position, and regardless of what 'mode' they are in, water still does not circulate... In spa mode, the gas heater still triggers on, so water seems to be moving just enough for that, but is otherwise barely visible...
 
You said cell cartridges, did you mean filter carts (4ea)? Low pressure? ........ sure, a suction side issue perhaps. Or something on the pressure side with a bad pressure gauge. Start with the easy/obvious stuff first though. You confirmed all valves, so what about at the poolside skimmer? Weir flap working okay? Nothing blocking flow there? Do you have a drain? Does water flow change if you pull from a different source (if possible)? Is the pump pot 100% fully primed?
 
Texas Splash said:
You said cell cartridges, did you mean filter carts (4ea)? Low pressure? ........ sure, a suction side issue perhaps. Or something on the pressure side with a bad pressure gauge. Start with the easy/obvious stuff first though. You confirmed all valves, so what about at the poolside skimmer? Weir flap working okay? Nothing blocking flow there? Do you have a drain? Does water flow change if you pull from a different source (if possible)? Is the pump pot 100% fully primed?
Click to expand...
Yes, all 4 filter cartridges. Pressure gauge has been working properly, and seems to match the amount of water exiting at top of filter when I open that valve. Both poolside skimmers look clear, and flow is the same regardless of how I manually open/close the combination of the two skimmers and pool drain, or while in 'spa' mode (when all water is being taken from spa). What is the 'weir flap'? (I'm not familiar with that term.) Pump is self-priming, but I have made sure 'pot' is full before starting also.
 
No problems with the flaps in front of the skimmers. Cartridges were replaced a few months ago. This change happened suddenly, not gradually. Pool water is perfect (but will change soon if I don't get it circulating)! Single speed pump...
 
In that case, I would check on a couple other potential low pressure areas:
- Partial blockage in the suction line. Since pulling water from more than one location didn't seem to help, I would check by pushing water backwards from the pump to the skimmers to see if something got jammed in there.
- With power OFF, remove the pump clear lid, reach down in there and check the pump impeller to ensure nothing is wrapped around it. It should move freely.

You can push water backwards by inserting a garden hose into the inlet of the pump basket and pushing backward. If you have a Drain King or some other pressure bladder device, that works well. Sometimes all it takes is an acorn or small toy to slow water flow to the pump.

Either of those would seem possible since your situation seemed to happen suddenly.
 
Texas Splash said:
In that case, I would check on a couple other potential low pressure areas:
- Partial blockage in the suction line. Since pulling water from more than one location didn't seem to help, I would check by pushing water backwards from the pump to the skimmers to see if something got jammed in there.
- With power OFF, remove the pump clear lid, reach down in there and check the pump impeller to ensure nothing is wrapped around it. It should move freely.

You can push water backwards by inserting a garden hose into the inlet of the pump basket and pushing backward. If you have a Drain King or some other pressure bladder device, that works well. Sometimes all it takes is an acorn or small toy to slow water flow to the pump.

Either of those would seem possible since your situation seemed to happen suddenly.
Click to expand...
Thank you Pat! Your 2nd idea was the correct diagnosis. While I could still turn the impeller with my fingers, there was a ton of leaf debris jammed in there that I was able to remove, which solved the problem. What I still don't understand was how that debris got through or around my pump basket, and why it happened suddenly rather than gradually...

Thank you again!
 
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