Suction At Pump Starts And Then No Suction
by Elaine
What's wrong? I turn pump on, great suction at 1st pull and then no suction. I have cleaned cartridge filter, emptied the leaf basket, checked for debris in propeller, took pool Barracuda apart no blockage or tears, Barracuda will not move. Please help! Thanks for the question Elaine I will first direct your attention to these posts: Pool Pump Won't Circulate Water..No Prime How Do I Fix Low Skimmer Suction? Here are some things you can look for: Be sure the water level is between 1/3 - 1/2 up from the bottom of the skimmer. Water level below the skimmer and your system will draw in air. Check the pressure gauge. High pressure means a clog somewhere or a blocked filter. Low pressure means a suction side blockage, an air leak, or pump problem. If air bubbles are coming out of the returns, it could be a suction side issue. One of the more common places for this to happen is the pump lid. Be sure it's seated correctly and the gasket is in good shape. If you have a weir for the skimmer, be sure it's working properly. Skimmer basket should be clean. Clogged pump motor impeller. Pump motor basket needs cleaning. Be sure all valves are in correct positions. Also check the diffuser in the pump motor. This is the part that sits next to the impeller. These tend to warp and/or melt with high heat. You can try to narrow it down. If it is an inground pool, close the bottom drain and open the skimmer valve all the way. If you lose pressure, the problem is with the skimmer. Do the opposite. Close the skimmer and open the bottom drain. If you lose prime in the pump motor, the problem is with the drain. If you have 2 skimmers, you can do this test as well. Close one skimmer and open the other. Does the system lose pressure? Open the closed one and close the open one. What happens? If you lose pressure from one of the open skimmers, you have a leak somewhere on the suction side. You can narrow it down this way, but for repair, you'll need to call in the professional leak detectors. To post a reply, or if you have a similar question, you can see your post (Suction At Pump Starts And Then No Suction) on the Q&A page in the "Pool Pump Problems" category. Swimming Pool Questions and Answers Check back to this post for answers. Hope this helps and have a great Summer. Robert Question: Please Help. My Pool Pump Is Not Working & My Pool Looks Horrible By: Angelo From: Phoenix, AZ Date: July 30, 2011 I don't have a backwash on my pool so I don't know how to fix this. My pressure has been staying to 30 for the past week now and my automatic pool vac won't move at all. How do I fix this? My pool was always so clean and clear and now it looks awful! Please help! Answer By: Robert Date: July 30, 2011 Thanks for the question Angelo First I need to know specifically what the pump is or is not doing. "Not working" could be a multitude of things from no suction to too much suction, air in the pump, a whining or grinding noise, overheating, etc... Many times when a visitor says their pump is not working, it means there little to no suction. It could be a block in the suction line. Here are some posts to check out: Suction At Pump Starts And Then No Suction Pool Pump Won't Circulate Water..No Prime How Do I Fix Low Skimmer Suction? Next I need to know the kind of filter you have. The question says you don't have a back wash on the system, so is this a cartridge filter? Or is it a sand or DE system but you're just unsure as what to do? I'd like to have your complete chemical readings: Chlorine, CYA (cyanuric acid/stabilizer), pH, Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, and Metals (iron and copper). It makes troubleshooting much easier and the process of clearing up your pool will go much faster. You can get this done at your local pool store. Without these numbers I'm just guessing at what the problem is. I'm unclear as to what "awful" means. If I can't help, my uncle is still doing pools in the Phoenix/Mesa area. He's the one I learned everything from. Get back to me with the info. above and I'm sure I can help. Robert Comment By: Angelo Date: August 2, 2011 Well, by not working I mean I am getting very good suction when I take off my vac, but when I attach my vac to the hose there is hardly any suction at all and my vac doesn't even move. The vac is only 9 months old so I know that's not the problem. I try to get my pressure lower on my gauge but I don't know how with out a back wash. What should I do? Answer By: Robert Date: August 3, 2011 If you haven't looked at the posts I gave, now would be a good time. Check out my first answer on this post: How Do I Fix Low Skimmer Suction? It has alot of good troubleshooting tips for low pressure. Normally when there's low pressure there's a restriction somewhere in the line. It could be low water level, clogged pump or skimmer basket, or clogged pump impeller. I still don't know the kind of filter you have, so I will assume because you can't backwash you have a cartridge filter. Take them out and either clean them now or replace them with clean cartridges, then clean the dirty ones later. Swap those out with the dirty ones later on. These links give you the troubleshooting you need. Look them over and if you still are having the same issue, email back. Hope this helps and have a great Summer. Robert |
