This one has been stumping me for awhile and have tried to troubleshoot and think I may have finally gotten there but want to double check.
My pump keeps loosing prime. Most days, it will re-prime itself but I would guess about once or twice a week it fails to prime and I have to manually pour water into the basket to get it to start. At first I thought it might have been due to low water level but I've tested that theory and it didn't seem to hold.
When my pump shuts off, I can hear my filter gurgle and start to drain. This backwashes into the pump and subsequently back into the pool as my pump basket continues to drain. I also notice water on my pad where my equipment is. It is typically around the filter/pump but would assume it comes from the filter as it sits up slightly higher than the pump. I've lubed and/or inspected: pump drain plugs, multiport, filter, valves.
Today I did more testing and at first turned on just the spa intake/outflow and was able to maintain prime with little gurgling coming from the filter and did not notice any drainage from the pump basket. I was then able to turn the outflow back on to go to pool/spa and had a similar result, thus eliminating my theory that it was a pressure side leak.
That leads me to believe it is coming from the skimmer baskets/main drain side. With the pump off I switched from Spa only intake to the main pool with all 3 valves off, I got a little gurgling but then it stopped (likely air trapped in the pipes from before). However, when any of the three lines are open (2 skimmer, 1 main drain), the filter will drain and the pump loses prime. Note: this happens when I run the pump with just one valve open at a time and then shut it off so it is happening on all 3 lines together or independently.
My theory now is that I should have a check valve installed between the pump and the pool lines. My assumption is that the spa doesn't drain because the equipment is close to the water level of the spa (estimated to be around 1 foot higher), but uphill from the water level of the pool (estimated at around 3 feet). This doesn't seem to explain why I get water on my equipment pad though. Is my logic correct to start or am I chasing down the wrong hole?
My pump keeps loosing prime. Most days, it will re-prime itself but I would guess about once or twice a week it fails to prime and I have to manually pour water into the basket to get it to start. At first I thought it might have been due to low water level but I've tested that theory and it didn't seem to hold.
When my pump shuts off, I can hear my filter gurgle and start to drain. This backwashes into the pump and subsequently back into the pool as my pump basket continues to drain. I also notice water on my pad where my equipment is. It is typically around the filter/pump but would assume it comes from the filter as it sits up slightly higher than the pump. I've lubed and/or inspected: pump drain plugs, multiport, filter, valves.
Today I did more testing and at first turned on just the spa intake/outflow and was able to maintain prime with little gurgling coming from the filter and did not notice any drainage from the pump basket. I was then able to turn the outflow back on to go to pool/spa and had a similar result, thus eliminating my theory that it was a pressure side leak.
That leads me to believe it is coming from the skimmer baskets/main drain side. With the pump off I switched from Spa only intake to the main pool with all 3 valves off, I got a little gurgling but then it stopped (likely air trapped in the pipes from before). However, when any of the three lines are open (2 skimmer, 1 main drain), the filter will drain and the pump loses prime. Note: this happens when I run the pump with just one valve open at a time and then shut it off so it is happening on all 3 lines together or independently.
My theory now is that I should have a check valve installed between the pump and the pool lines. My assumption is that the spa doesn't drain because the equipment is close to the water level of the spa (estimated to be around 1 foot higher), but uphill from the water level of the pool (estimated at around 3 feet). This doesn't seem to explain why I get water on my equipment pad though. Is my logic correct to start or am I chasing down the wrong hole?