Waterfall shenanigans!

[midmodonhillwood]

This pool has come a long way since we bought the house in October. I have revived it back to good health, she has a brand new cartridge filter, sweep, and pump all thanks to the home warranty (except for the sweep)!

I forget that it has a waterfall that flows into the pool and spa I think. The people we bought the house from tried to show us how to prime it but so much other stuff was and I didn’t absorb/remember it, but I can’t get it to work and home warranty doesn’t cover waterfall pumps!!

It’s an old Hayward PowerFlo LX and as much as I try to fill it with water before I put the cap back on and start it it just won’t go, even though I can hear it working.

The sellers said this opening under the diving board is the inlet for the waterfall pump?

I checked the seal on the strainer cap and applied a liberal amount of pool seal lubricant to no avail.

Any thoughts? Is it it just too much for the pump?

 

[1poolman1]

This pool has come a long way since we bought the house in October. I have revived it back to good health, she has a brand new cartridge filter, sweep, and pump all thanks to the home warranty (except for the sweep)!

I forget that it has a waterfall that flows into the pool and spa I think. The people we bought the house from tried to show us how to prime it but so much other stuff was and I didn’t absorb/remember it, but I can’t get it to work and home warranty doesn’t cover waterfall pumps!!

It’s an old Hayward PowerFlo LX and as much as I try to fill it with water before I put the cap back on and start it it just won’t go, even though I can hear it working.

The sellers said this opening under the diving board is the inlet for the waterfall pump?

I checked the seal on the strainer cap and applied a liberal amount of pool seal lubricant to no avail.

Any thoughts? Is it it just too much for the pump?

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Before getting a pump to move water from that suction port, get a cover on it. That is a death-trap and that is no exaggeration.
A Power Flow LX was never really designed to self-prime, despite the label that often said self priming. The easiest thing to do is to put a check valve in front of the pump. The pot on that pump came with a flap that covered the inlet and acted like a check valve. It allowed the pot to be filled above the inlet so it would prime. It is one of these and is probably missing (part 35-150-1240, discontinued by Hayward though someone may have it):

 

[midmodonhillwood]

Before getting a pump to move water from that suction port, get a cover on it. That is a death-trap and that is no exaggeration.
A Power Flow LX was never really designed to self-prime, despite the label that often said self priming. The easiest thing to do is to put a check valve in front of the pump. The pot on that pump came with a flap that covered the inlet and acted like a check valve. It allowed the pot to be filled above the inlet so it would prime. It is one of these and is probably missing (part 35-150-1240, discontinued by Hayward though someone may have it):
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Oh?! That’s awesome! Where does that go? What kind of cover is it supposed to have? Or should I just Google it?

I tried to put a hose inside of it (in the pool side) and it only went so far, maybe a right angle with the pipe? I left the brass twist nozzle on it…

 

[midmodonhillwood]

@1poolman1 what would I be looking for to go over the opening? I Googled “Water inlet cover”, “Water inlet grate”…

 

[1poolman1]

@1poolman1 what would I be looking for to go over the opening? I Googled “Water inlet cover”, “Water inlet grate”…

35-150-1240
For the cost, you would be better off installing a check valve in front of the pump if there is room in the plumbing.

Hayward SP1500 Series Power-Flo LX Pump| Parts| #15 Check Valve Assembly

Hayward SP1500 Series Power-Flo LX Pump| Parts| #15 Check Valve Assembly

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