vacuum loses suction quickly

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cpo2go
Swimming Pool Wizard
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Joined: Wed 20 Jul, 2011 01:09
My Pool: 27,000 gal, pebble tec, all Pentair equipment; DE filter, 3/4 hp, 400k heater, Poolvergnuegen 4x Pool Cleaner
Location: santa barbara, ca
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vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby cpo2go » Wed 27 Jul, 2011 16:27

Worst problem I've ever had. In my case, there was a suction leak which was only obvious when vacuuming, as you are indicating.
Mine was an inground pool and required a whole new skimmer and putting in a completely new suction line. With an aboveground pool I would expect the leak to be easy to find and fix. Is there air in your pump? When you open the air bleed valve on top of your filter, does a lot of air come out? If so, that's your problem. Track down the air leak and I'm confident your problem will be solved.


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dirtypool

vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby dirtypool » Wed 10 Aug, 2011 14:01

I have no problems vacuuming with the hand held vacuum, everything works great. Yet when I put in the barracuda it runs for about a minute. I've tried my barracuda at a friends house in their pool and it ran for over 30 minutes. What could be the problem.
John From Derry

vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby John From Derry » Sun 21 Aug, 2011 16:24

Same Problem... Have not seen a solution here...
I have an above ground pool with a DE filter. The pump works well for a few minutes and then loses suction/pumping power. I took apart the front end, cleaned all the parts (the impeller looked perfect and seemed to spin properly), replaced o-rings and gaskets, used magic lube and reassembled. Cleaned filter panels and added new DE. After reassemble, no leaks on front end at all. Everything seemed to work properly. The basket stays completely full of water. Don't see any leaking water on back end anywhere around hoses or filter tank. Pump/filter work great for about 5 to 10 minutes then flow slows to a crawl (with or without vacuum attached).
If I hold my hand over the return outlet inside the pool for about 10 second (to create some back pressure) and then let go, then flow will improve dramatically for another few minutes but not enough to use the vacuum.

There is no problem with air getting sucked in. The o-rings and gaskets are properly lubed and mounted. The pump sounds smooth and strong. Could the impeller be slipping on the pump shaft??? Is there a bad type of DE or some chemical that clogs the filter panels???

If anyone out there has an answer to this (or any good suggestions) please let us all know!

Thanks very much
cpo2go
Swimming Pool Wizard
Swimming Pool Wizard
Posts: 67
Joined: Wed 20 Jul, 2011 01:09
My Pool: 27,000 gal, pebble tec, all Pentair equipment; DE filter, 3/4 hp, 400k heater, Poolvergnuegen 4x Pool Cleaner
Location: santa barbara, ca
Contact:

vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby cpo2go » Mon 22 Aug, 2011 17:51

There is no problem with air getting sucked in. The o-rings and gaskets are properly lubed and mounted. The pump sounds smooth and strong. Could the impeller be slipping on the pump shaft??? Is there a bad type of DE or some chemical that clogs the filter panels???


Yes, it's possible that the impeller could be stripped if it is the type that threads onto the shaft. You can tell by whether or not it has a screw in the head of it. If it does, the screw is what holds it in place. If there is no screw, it is threaded and you need to be sure it is tight.

The problems that could come from clogging the filter wouldn't be related to a type of DE but more with an excess amount of it being used. You can close off filter area by using too much DE. This is a condition known as 'bridging' in where the area between grids is full of DE. Thus allowing the grids, in effect, to touch. The DE is designed to create only a thin coating over each grid. I often have opened a DE filter to find that there is bridging and this reduces filter area and restricts flow. Mostly I see this where people backwash their filter and then add too much DE to replace the amount that was washed away.

The only other chemicals which can clog a filter are phosphate removers, or other sequesters, which work by collecting whatever they're designed to collect (metals, phosphates, etc.) and they can cause the filter to become clogged. You would know if you had used one of these. Backwashing or cleaning the filter will fix this.
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jewel

vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby jewel » Tue 23 Aug, 2011 14:57

I hace had the same problem all summer. No PSI levels or anything. Checked filter, good sand. Took apart the pump, and sure enough it was clogged with leaves. Let it run for 2 days alone and now the PSI is at 10, and great suction with the Baracudda. Have to empty the leaves every hour, but it is working, and didn't have to spend a lot of money. Hope this helps.
shelyn wrote:Same thing happening to us. Air pressure at optimum, hook up vacuum works for less than five minutes then nothing. No holes in the hose. Pressure spikes and no air return into the pool. Backwash, works again for a few minutes and same problem returns. We have a sand filter so we replaced all the sand thinking that might help but nothing. Hoping someone can assist.
MSMOM

vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby MSMOM » Sat 31 Mar, 2012 13:11

We had the same problem. The hose connection that fits into the vacume plate wasn't tight so air interupted the flow. In the short term, you can run a water hose over the vacume hose at the junction where the hose connects into the vacume plate. You must runn the water continuously while your vacuming. Make sure you prime the hose with water first and that the vacume plate seals completely in the skimmer.
Pool Person

vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby Pool Person » Mon 02 Apr, 2012 16:18

Lots of complicated stuff posted before.

Check: 1) Your vacuum hose. It may have a hole in it. How old is it?
Check; 2) Your pump lid seal. Is it sucking air?
meme

vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby meme » Thu 19 Apr, 2012 07:51

my pool is looseing prime after about 3hours, I changed my sand, it did not help! When vacumn, after about 5 mins. I loose pressure, I then go back to filter running, then I start all over again vacumn. I need HELP HELP HELP thanks
Andrea

vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby Andrea » Wed 02 May, 2012 22:30

This problem drives me crazy too! I have an old inground pool (one skimmer, one return, and no drain), and we have only lived here 2 years, so I'm still new to this. Same problem: hand vacuum loses suction after 5 min. Pressure is fine, it looks like it should be working, but no suction. I have to turn off and then turn on the pump to "reset" the flow.

Intermitantly a few things have worked: 1. clear the strainer basket and pump basket. I'm filling it up with debris faster than I expect, so the water just can't flow. 2. The vacuum hose is clogged. This happens a lot in the fall when pine needles start to fall. Use a shopvac to remove debris. I also have rolled tennis balls through the tube to unclog it. 3. someone suggesting putting the valve in "circulate" to bypass the filter and see what happens. The DE shouldn't need replaced yet (this will be year 3), but maybe it's calcified. 4. I had a lot of work done last fall replacing underground piping, so the pump's been working better than ever before. I have so much suction (for the first 5 min) that I have a hard time moving the vac around. I'm wondering if the hose is leaking.

I know the fitler baskets are clean and the impeller is turning properly. I also took apart the impeller to inspect seals and lube them. Starting tomorrow I'm gonig to try this: 1. check the hose for blockage. 2. try vacuuming in circulate mode 3. since the pressure isn't going up, there must be air somewhere, so I'll start by replacing the vac hose. I'll keep you posted.
joeysac

vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby joeysac » Mon 22 Jul, 2013 00:24

I lose suction as soon as I connect my vacuum hose it is a inground pool with a hayward filter it was working fine earlier this season but am suddenly having this issue thought it was the hose at first cause it would crimp when connected so I got a new hose but the issue of suction remains it when I vacuum it is set on the backwash setting and when I connect the house suction goes and the basket at the motor empties but onse hose is removed it fills and operates properly it is only a vacuum issue is there some help out there please
Denniswiseman
Pool Industry Leader
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My Pool: 10k inground fibreglass, Telescopic Cover, Hayward Powerline pump, Quality filter with glass media, 27kw output heat pump, K-2006C test kit
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vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby Denniswiseman » Wed 24 Jul, 2013 09:16

There are plenty of ideas in this thread to check out but the most obvious one is the "O" ring on the pump basket lid. Try lubricating it first with silicone grease. You will be surprised how tighter the lid will go
When you are vacuuming you are putting an extra load on the suction side and any air leaks will be increased
Vistor

vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby Vistor » Wed 18 Dec, 2013 04:40

Thanks to all that posted suggestions.
I was successful in getting the filter-pump to work without a very rapid loss in suction.
What I did:
[list=]Cleaned o-ring to pump filter lid
A detailed clean of the pump filter basket
Maintain high water level at weir so all joins were submerged.[/list]

I found that my in my situation the problem was most sensitive to cleanliness of pump filter basket.

Anyway, thanks for all the input :thumbup:
SumGuy

vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby SumGuy » Fri 02 May, 2014 10:07

If you have a newer pool (with white and gray valves, not white and blue) then you have vacuum bleed valves which stick out of the top of valve assembly at the pool. These little valves pull air in to the line to keep pressure at an optimum level, prolonging the life of the pump. However, the additional head pressure created by the restricting hose adapter and long length of the vacuum hose cause the valves to suck in too much air, resulting in suction loss. To fix this, look for the two clear, flexible plugs that came with your pool. These look like replacement plugs for an air float. In fact, they are made to be placed on top of the vacuum bleed valves to prevent this from occurring. I place these caps on whenever vacuuming and no longer have issues. Hope this helps.
Cindie E

vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby Cindie E » Fri 20 Jun, 2014 19:09

I fought this problem all last summer . Finally realized I had a air leak between bottom skimmer basket and pool. If u start vacuming watch the bottom skimmer basket next to pump . If water gets lower or runs dry u have a air leak. probally sucking air in at clamps on hose . I replaced hoses . Did not work . Finally put a little silacone between hose and fitting and put two clamps on each end. This stopped the problem.I hope this helps you.
Ctomah

Re: vacuum loses suction quickly

Postby Ctomah » Tue 07 Jun, 2016 19:14

After a few minutes of vacuuming it loses prime. It is not the hose or cover not fitting. I have tried to see if it was the sand by putting it on recirculation but the same problem occurs of the vacuum cover popping and losing prime. The jets also shoot air when this happens. Can someone give me suggestions?

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