Well point and am I using it correctly during heavy rainfall for a Vinyl Pool

[caper293]

So I bought a house with a chlorine pool that has Vinyl liner. It is attached to Sand filter and and pentair variable speed pump.
There are 3 PVC lines connected to the pump. Skimmer, Main, and Well point.

I was told that since i live in a low country in SC with a high water table and clay that I should run the well point during heavy rainfall.

I tried to do this yesterday for the first time..I turned my pump off and set the skimmer and main to OFF. I then set my filter to waste and turned the well point on. When I put the pump on and let it ran for 20 minutes no water came out into the pump. I was scared of burning the pump so I turned it off.

This morning I noticed my pool liner had bumps underneath it . It did not dislodge from the sides because I added last week a Pool liner lock.. Although I do see some bulging on the sides.

This morning I tried the well point again. but this time I primed the Pentiar pump. Now I see water coming out...

So when I run the well point do I always have to Prime it? Also when should i run the well point? In the middle of heavy rainfall? That will get me soaked? Do I run the well point before it rains even if it is NOT drawing water into the pump basket?

So confused on when and how I should run the well point.

 

[Lanzz]

Never thought of having the well point intake connected to the main pump - clever idea, but I would think you would need to prime it. My well point has it's own pump which is self-priming. Since the sump area is bone dry for most of the year, I don't see how it would stay primed by itself. Better experts than me here, but I run mine all winter and spring when water table is highest. Mine is semi-automatic, so I turn it on and let it do it's thing. If that pump doesn't keep up, I also have a submersible pump I can supplement it with. I don't run mine in the summer because even when we had 3 inches of rain recently, the bottom of the sump pit was still dry.

 

[caper293]

Never thought of having the well point intake connected to the main pump - clever idea, but I would think you would need to prime it. My well point has it's own pump which is self-priming. Since the sump area is bone dry for most of the year, I don't see how it would stay primed by itself. Better experts than me here, but I run mine all winter and spring when water table is highest. Mine is semi-automatic, so I turn it on and let it do it's thing. If that pump doesn't keep up, I also have a submersible pump I can supplement it with. I don't run mine in the summer because even when we had 3 inches of rain recently, the bottom of the sump pit was still dry.

here us a picture of my setup. wellpoint connection is on the left. have no idea where water goes once i set it to discharge

 

[Lanzz]

That is a cool setup, but I can't see how the pump stays primed in a sump pit that is dry most of the year. Even a check valve down in the pit would only help if the pump was run ONLY when the sump pit had water in it.