Pool pump with no pressure

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doghouseman
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby doghouseman » Fri 29 May, 2009 20:54

Hello,

We have had our pool for 6 years and we have never had any problems until this year.

We opened our pool this year and there was no water. We thought we needed a new liner. We patched the liner ourselves and now the pool is holding water,so far so good, but there is no pressure in the pump. I have a hayward SuperPump and I have been happy with it. It is only 3 years old.

To test the leak theory, I put a water hose in the pipe that went to the skimmer and the water was not showing up in the skimmer, or going in the pool. SO I thought there might be a hole underground between the pump and the skimmer.

So, I ran a pipe above ground from the skimmer to the pump. I was hoping to bypass the underground leak. But now the pump has got no pressure. I suppose there could also be a leak in the outgoing pipes, but would this cause the pump to have no pressure?

So, is the pump powerful enough to get pressure on an above ground pipe to pump the water?

Troy


Denali
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby Denali » Sat 30 May, 2009 00:55

doghouseman wrote:Hello,

We have had our pool for 6 years and we have never had any problems until this year.

We opened our pool this year and there was no water. We thought we needed a new liner. We patched the liner ourselves and now the pool is holding water,so far so good, but there is no pressure in the pump. I have a hayward SuperPump and I have been happy with it. It is only 3 years old.

To test the leak theory, I put a water hose in the pipe that went to the skimmer and the water was not showing up in the skimmer, or going in the pool. SO I thought there might be a hole underground between the pump and the skimmer.

So, I ran a pipe above ground from the skimmer to the pump. I was hoping to bypass the underground leak. But now the pump has got no pressure. I suppose there could also be a leak in the outgoing pipes, but would this cause the pump to have no pressure?

So, is the pump powerful enough to get pressure on an above ground pipe to pump the water?

Troy


Hi,

Is this an above ground pool?

Did you put the water hose into the pump end of the line to force water toward the pool? Did you do this under pressure using something like a jet king? When you opened the pool did you remove any plugs in the lines that were there for winterizing? Yes, I have a million questions, lol

Assuming there are no plugs still in the lines, I would use a drain king (attaches to end of garden hose. get from home depot etc) from the skimmer end. If something is blocking your line the water may push it to the pump basket. If you don't get water to the pump basket, you either have a leak in the suction line or there is a valve or something blocking the line.

A leak in the return lines wouldn't cause the loss of suction.

How did you connect a pipe from the skimmer to pump above ground? You have access to the pipe that leads from the skimmer to the pump? I'm confused on this one.

I know I mostly asked you questions but if you can answer I may be better able to help.
doghouseman
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby doghouseman » Sat 30 May, 2009 08:13

It is an in ground pool.

Yes, I put the water hose into the pump end to force it into the pool.

No, I didn't use a jet king or anything to add pressure.

No, we didn't have plugs in the lines for winterizing. I didn't realize you could do that.

I ran a PVC from the skimmer to the pump. I cut the existing PVC at the pump end, and I attached the above ground PVC from the skimmer to the pump.

Thanks for any help.

Troy
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby Me... » Sat 30 May, 2009 10:05

Is water flowing? If so the gauge might be plugged/broken. Otherwise maybe the pump impellor is broken.
doghouseman
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby doghouseman » Sat 30 May, 2009 12:27

I am not sure what you mean by "water flowing". Yes, water is going into the pump if I feed it with a hose. The impellor is spinning and seems to be working OK.

I just replaced the backwash valve, and I am going to try and fire it up in a hour or two. The pool is an emerald green color, it really needs to be filtered. I was thinking of buying a pond filter as a temporary solution just to filter the water. We'll see if I can get the pool filter running first before I try a pond pump and filter.

Troy
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mr_clean
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby mr_clean » Sat 30 May, 2009 13:42

first thing,
take off pump basket lid & remove basket. Then add water & turn on & off pump. You should see water sucked down so you know impeller is ok. Then just so you know with pump off take your finger or small screw driver & check impeller for debris stuck in impeller. If debris are in there you will feel them & see them start to come out when you turn impeller. Know sometimes you even need to pull motor from the back of pump to remove even more debris from impeller.

after this put basket back in & inspect pump lid o-ring which can be lubed to stop any air leak. add water to pump pot then put the hose into the top pipe that goes to the skimmer. This should start filling the skimmer & pool with water & lets you know there is flow & helps prime pump. Put on lid turn on pump.

If this does not prime the pump & you can see it run dry through pump lid I would say you can have a clogged skimmer line. But sense you have bypassed it making a new skimmer line you should have a primed pump running fine unless when making this new line there is a leak allowing pump to suck air.
doghouseman
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby doghouseman » Sat 30 May, 2009 18:33

first thing,
take off pump basket lid & remove basket. Then add water & turn on & off pump. You should see water sucked down so you know impeller is ok. Then just so you know with pump off take your finger or small screw driver & check impeller for debris stuck in impeller. If debris are in there you will feel them & see them start to come out when you turn impeller. Know sometimes you even need to pull motor from the back of pump to remove even more debris from impeller.
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Yes, I did that today. I can run the hose into the pump and it sucks the water into the filter. The impeller seems to be OK, but the pressure never builds enough to suck from the skimmer. I guess the pump could be bad. It might be that the pump cannot build enough pressure put the impeller is still OK.
------------------
after this put basket back in & inspect pump lid o-ring which can be lubed to stop any air leak.
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I don't think my pump has a basket o-ring. I can check.
----------------------
add water to pump pot then put the hose into the top pipe that goes to the skimmer. This should start filling the skimmer & pool with water & lets you know there is flow & helps prime pump. Put on lid turn on pump.
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Yes, I tried that. I see no water in the skimmer when I feed it with a hose. That is why I ran the input and the output above ground. I still don't have any luck creating pressure.
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If this does not prime the pump & you can see it run dry through pump lid I would say you can have a clogged skimmer line. But sense you have bypassed it making a new skimmer line you should have a primed pump running fine unless when making this new line there is a leak allowing pump to suck air.
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Yes, I thought it was the output that was sucking air. But ran a line today above ground, so I know it doesn't leak, and I still have the same problem. The output is not in the water, so the pressure might not be high enough. I suppose I could run the pipe into the water to create more pressure.

Again, I am starting to think something is wrong with the pump. It just doesn't build enough pressure for some reason. It is a Hayward Super Pump, and so far I have been happy with it, but there could be something wrong with it.

Troy
Denali
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby Denali » Sat 30 May, 2009 20:24

doghouseman wrote:It is an in ground pool.

Yes, I put the water hose into the pump end to force it into the pool.

No, I didn't use a jet king or anything to add pressure.

No, we didn't have plugs in the lines for winterizing. I didn't realize you could do that.

I ran a PVC from the skimmer to the pump. I cut the existing PVC at the pump end, and I attached the above ground PVC from the skimmer to the pump.

Thanks for any help.

Troy


Hi Troy,

Maybe I'm not understanding what you did so let me run through this. You have an in ground pool. That would indicate to me you don't have access to the underneath of the skimmer. Only to the top of the skimmer where the skimmer basket goes in. Right so far?

Are you putting this above ground PVC test line into the hole in the skimmer where you normally put in the vacuum hose? This is the part I"m confused on. Let me know this and we can start again.

You are getting good advice from the other guys but we need to be on the same page as you to be able to help. Is the pump and equipment at pool level? Higher? Lower?
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mr_clean
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby mr_clean » Sun 31 May, 2009 10:44

I don't think my pump has a basket o-ring. I can check.


if your pump lid does not have O-ring on it, there's your problem...........
you can not prime your pump as it will just suck air.

go to pool supply store with pump/motor info or the lid & buy O-ring for lid put it on you you should prime.
doghouseman
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby doghouseman » Sun 31 May, 2009 13:25

Maybe I'm not understanding what you did so let me run through this. You have an in ground pool. That would indicate to me you don't have access to the underneath of the skimmer. Only to the top of the skimmer where the skimmer basket goes in. Right so far?
-----------
Yes.
-------------
Are you putting this above ground PVC test line into the hole in the skimmer where you normally put in the vacuum hose? This is the part I"m confused on. Let me know this and we can start again
--------------
Yes, I am putting the above ground PVC test line into the hole for the skimmer.
-----------------
You are getting good advice from the other guys but we need to be on the same page as you to be able to help. Is the pump and equipment at pool level? Higher? Lower?
------------
The pump and the top of the skimmer at at equal level. The skimmer goes down a normal amount.

One thing I was wondering is how much pressure the water from the skimmer creates for the pump to start working? Is the pressure amount something that is a spec for motors?

I understand the pump is a closed system and needs to be primed in order to start pumping water. But it seems like it could pump some air out of the lines, especially if you run pipes above ground.

I ordered a pump rebuild kit that basically has a bunch of gaskets. I am pretty sure that is what the problem is. The pump impeller is working fine. I can use the pump to fill up the entire filter that I am using. I am starting the pump but it is sucking air. I think it might be around the pump basket, that is the next test.

Troy
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mr_clean
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby mr_clean » Sun 31 May, 2009 14:33

does your pump lid (the one you take off to clean the basket) have a black O-RING around the inside of it?
like said before if theres NO black O-ring you will not be able to prime the pump.

Did you use the same size pipe that the pump uses?
If smaller, you can cause pump to cavitate which will not allow pump to prime properly.

when pump is on does any water come in pump pot at all or does it runs dry?

How far down the skimmer hole did you run the pipe?
you do not need it inside the hole, you just need it low enough not to suck air.

Did you cut pipe from the front of the pump re-threading into pump or cut and attach fitting to pipe starting the new skimmer pipe above ground?
when re-threading into the front of the pump you need to use pipe dope on threads so it does not suck air/leak.

when gaskets/seals are bad inbetween motor & pump it would leak water.

you say impeller seems ok, it turns very easy?
sometimes there can be debris inside pump stuck in impeller not allowing it to work at full speed. This is when you remove motor & if you are replacing gasket/seals will see impeller.
doghouseman
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby doghouseman » Sun 14 Jun, 2009 13:11

I took the whole pump apart today, replaced the gaskets. There is a sealer inside the pump that I couldn't get to, so I didn't replace that. Is there a special tool for a hayward super pump to take out the center part? The pump is only 2 years old and seems to be working fine so I wasn't too motivated to take it completely apart.

I am at a loss with this pump. I can't figure out why it is not priming. It is not sucking through the above ground pipes. IT could be that there is too much air in the above ground pipes, so today I tried covering them with cloth, and filling the pipe with water first, but it still didn't work.

Does anyone know of any good pool repair people in the Baltimore area?
Denali
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby Denali » Sun 14 Jun, 2009 14:45

doghouseman wrote:I took the whole pump apart today, replaced the gaskets. There is a sealer inside the pump that I couldn't get to, so I didn't replace that. Is there a special tool for a hayward super pump to take out the center part? The pump is only 2 years old and seems to be working fine so I wasn't too motivated to take it completely apart.

I am at a loss with this pump. I can't figure out why it is not priming. It is not sucking through the above ground pipes. IT could be that there is too much air in the above ground pipes, so today I tried covering them with cloth, and filling the pipe with water first, but it still didn't work.

Does anyone know of any good pool repair people in the Baltimore area?


Hi,

I lost track of your thread. I had asked some questions earlier that you answered.

What I am reading is you cut the pipe that leads to the pump from the skimmer. You then connected a pipe to the skimmer hole where you normally vacuum. You ran that pipe back to the pump. Is that correct?

If that is correct you are pulling from the top of the skimmer from the pipe that runs up to the skimmer. Trouble is, that is the line you cut. Perhaps I am just reading you wrong here.

Let me know.
doghouseman
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby doghouseman » Sun 14 Jun, 2009 15:52

Denali wrote:
doghouseman wrote:I took the whole pump apart today, replaced the gaskets. There is a sealer inside the pump that I couldn't get to, so I didn't replace that. Is there a special tool for a hayward super pump to take out the center part? The pump is only 2 years old and seems to be working fine so I wasn't too motivated to take it completely apart.

I am at a loss with this pump. I can't figure out why it is not priming. It is not sucking through the above ground pipes. IT could be that there is too much air in the above ground pipes, so today I tried covering them with cloth, and filling the pipe with water first, but it still didn't work.

Does anyone know of any good pool repair people in the Baltimore area?


Hi,

I lost track of your thread. I had asked some questions earlier that you answered.

What I am reading is you cut the pipe that leads to the pump from the skimmer. You then connected a pipe to the skimmer hole where you normally vacuum. You ran that pipe back to the pump. Is that correct?

If that is correct you are pulling from the top of the skimmer from the pipe that runs up to the skimmer. Trouble is, that is the line you cut. Perhaps I am just reading you wrong here.

Let me know.


No, there is a PVC pipe running above ground from the skimmer directly into the pump. I cut it once, but I reconnected it today.

The only thing I can think of is that the pressure is different from below ground pipes than if you run the pipes above ground.

Troy
Denali
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Pool pump with no pressure

Postby Denali » Sun 14 Jun, 2009 16:28

No, there is a PVC pipe running above ground from the skimmer directly into the pump. I cut it once, but I reconnected it today.

The only thing I can think of is that the pressure is different from below ground pipes than if you run the pipes above ground.

Troy
doghouseman
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So you have a pipe running from the pump above ground to the skimmer. Where does the pipe running from the pump connect to at the skimmer? Under the skimmer or to the hole that you normally connect the vacuum hose to?

As you can tell I'm still not clear on how you had the plumbing set up before reconnecting. Above ground or below ground wouldn't make a difference here.

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