Pool Pump Looses Pressure When Kreepy Krauly Attached

by Zarier

My pool pump with sand filter looses pressure when attaching the Kreepy and putting it on filter.

I've replaced the pump, piping from pump to filter, gasket, not sure what else to do.

I've checked the connections from the instake to the pump, no leaks.

When I run the pump in bypass mode, no pressure is lost.

What could the issue be?

Regards

Zarier

Thanks for the question Zarier

Kreepy Krauly makes a very good product and you should be happy to have it.

You seem to have done pretty much everything to rule out any filtration/suction issues.

I'll assume that when the Kreepy is not attached the pool filter runs fine and primes itself in FILTER mode.

Many times a loss of prime or suction is due to the suction lines being cracked or broken which allows air into the system.

Have you changed the way you put the Kreepy in the pool?

When I took care of pools in Arizona and vacuumed or attached a Kreepy, I always either fed the tube into the water or put the end of the hose in front of the return so the pool water would fill the hose.

When you vacuum or attach a hose of some sorts to the skimmer you always want to fill the hose with water first.

By not doing this the system will get a blast of air and prime/suction will be compromised.

Loss of pressure while vacuuming or using a Kreepy can indication a clogged line somewhere. Check the Kreepy head, hose and suction line for some sort of blockage.

This blockage could also create air in the pump basket.

An air leak might not drop the filter pressure unless it was a very large leak and the pump was losing prime.

Hope this helps and let me know how it turns out

Best of luck

Robert

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Can I Vacuum This Fine Black Silt In My Swimming Pool?

by Amy
(Ireland)

I really hope you can help me.

I've a little bestway pool (10ft circular model, 3ft high)

I filled it using our well water which has a fine black silt in it( it is harmless).

I've been running the pump for 4 hours and brushing up the floor as the silt rests quite quickly to the bottom but as this is very time consuming.

I was wondering do you think a vacuum would work as well?

I use the right chemicals and have finally mastered this (phew).

Also, once I have the pool cleared of the silt, would it be a good idea to top up with rain water as long as it is not too old? (shouldn't be a probelm here in Ireland)

Any help would be great.

Many thanks for your day.

Thanks for the question Amy

I'm glad that you finally mastered the art of pool maintenance and chemicals.

If you have a sand filter, the best way to vacuum is the do it to WASTE. This way the silt will bypass the filter. For a DE filter, you're going to need to recharge each time you vacuum.

For a cartridge filter, have an extra couple on hand and change them out when they get dirty. Clean the old ones and rotate them with the dirty cartridges.

If vacuuming to WASTE is not something you want to do, vacuum to FILTER but be sure you backwash when the pressure gets 8 - 10Psi over your "just backwashed" pressure.

If you do vacuum to WASTE be sure to keep your water topped off. It should be between 1/3 - 1/2 up from the bottom of the skimmer.

If you allow the water to get below the skimmer your system will draw in air.

I think topping off the pool with rain water is good, BUT, take the pH, alkalinity, and hardness readings of the rain water.

This way you'll know the readings of what is going into the pool.

You won't have any surprises if the pH goes down a bit or the alkalinity increases.

You'll be prepared to make the right adjustments.

If the rain water is too far off, use regular tap or well water, but test that as well.

If you haven't already, test your well water for metals, mainly copper and iron. Your local pool store can do this for you.

If metals are found in the water, use a good metal sequestering agent like Jack's Metal Free or Metal Wizard.

Hope this helps and have a fun and safe swimming season.

Robert

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Vacuum Hose Comes Out Of Skimmer When Pool Pump Turns On

by Kat
(Florida, USA)

I have my Navigator plugged into one skimmer. Other skimmer is plugged.

When the pool pump goes on, it pushes the vacuum hose out of the skimmer hole and yes I am using a clear skimmer hole cover.

Thanks for the question Kat

I would first check the hoses to be sure they're in good working order and not blocked or plugged up. Replace them if broken. If you have section hoses I'd recommend a leaf canister. This collects larger debris and doesn't allow it to go through the system.

Be sure you have proper suction in the skimmer and adjust the valve if needed. Check the turbine inside the cleaner. This is constantly moving and one of the main parts that wears quickly. Be sure the bottom of the Navigator is free of debris and clogs.

If there's nothing wrong with the cleaner and the hose is fitting securely both on the cleaner and skimmer suction, then you may have another issue. This would be water backing up and going through the skimmer the wrong way.

Here are a couple of links that will help with that problem:

Skimmer Back Flow

Pool Strainer Overflows..Lid Blows Off..

I hope this has answered your question to your satisfaction.

To post a reply, or if you have a similar question, you can see your post on the Q&A page in the "Vacuums & Vacuuming Problems" category.

Check back to this post for updates or answers.

If you feel your situation is more complex and want immediate assistance (within 24 hrs) you can make a donation of your choice and I'll answer your questions by phone.

Have I helped you find a solution to your pool problems? Did this information help you? Please consider making a donation to help keep this site going. Thank you.

Have a great Summer.

Robert

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Why Do I Vacuum Swimming Pool To Waste...The Spa Water Is Running?

by Lin
(Auckland New Zealand)

My swimming pool system is old. The spa pool is very close to pool. Both pool and spa are in outdoor inground (spa is higher in the deck.)

The both control systems are in same small room. I don't use the spa at the moment so I turned off all the spa controls and shut off all spa valves in the pipes. But when I do the swimming pool vacuum to waste, I feel like the spa pool pipes are flowing huge amounts of water.

When I stop the vacuum and filter, turned off the power, the water is still running and swimming pool water goes from skimmer to drain very fast.

Swimming water level drops down fast and spa water is still. I move the valve which is located between spa cartridge filter and drain pipe or the pipe which water goes through back to spa then the water stop running. I really don't know each system is independent why the situation happened, and I don't know how to resolve it.

Can you please help me to give me your advice.

Thanks a lot!

Thanks for your question Lin

I hope I'm reading your question correctly, and if not, you can write back, but what I think you're saying is when you vacuum to the WASTE cycle the pool and spa water level drops.

When you vacuum to WASTE the pool water is not going through the filter then back into the pool through the returns, it's going straight into the sewer, so this would cause the water level to drop.

Another possible reason that the spa is losing water, from what I can gather from your question, is the spa water draining back into the pool while you're vacuuming.

There could be two possibilities:

1. Either a valve is leaking and that allows spa water back into the pool. The seals in the valves probably need replacing.

OR

2. The spa has a leak.

The valves are normally pretty easy to check, so look there first. If the spa is leaking and you're constantly filling it from the pool, you should see a drop in the pool water level beyond normal evaporation.

If you're getting the spa draining while in "spa", something might not be right. I would check not only the actuator, if applicable, but the valve itself to make sure the valve stem hasn't broken.

Bad valve diverter seals can also go bad.

Hope this helps and have a great Summer

Robert