Air bubbles in outflow

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T

tmarcoux

Well-known member
Jul 13, 2011
65
Austin, TX
Pool Size
14000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Turbo Cell (T-CELL-5)
I just recently noticed air bubbles entering the pool through the pool jets. There’s also a significant amount of bubbles in the pump basket, and when the pump stops, the system loses its pine. I’ve had this happen in the past and the culprit was a leaky gasket on one of the valves leading to the pump, and I discovered this because when the pump is off water would leak from the valve gaskets. Now, when I turn off the pump, I did not see the presence of water anywhere in the pool pump area, however, the system does lose its prime. My assumption is that air coming into the system is due to a leak prior to the pump, dry air Into the water. There are two sources of water, once in the main drain and one in the filter basket. I can shut each one off individually, and the air remains in the system, which leads me to believe the leak must be after the valves. Is my logic solid? What else might I look for
Thanks in advance
14K SWG In-ground
 
Most common is the gasket/o-ring for the lid on the pump. Inspect for dirt or damage. Generously lube. Perhaps replace.
Second most common is any drain plug at the bottom of the pump. Same instructions for the o-ring.....
Third might be the union connecting the inlet pipe to the pump basket. Much less likely to be an issue, though. But you may want to check if it is pretty hand tight (no tools ever!!). Some use an o-ring there too, so inspection and lube can't hurt.

Those three are under suction when the pump is running, so can be a source of air. They may not ever show a sign of a leak when the pump is off.
 
T,

Another source of air, is a leaky air vent valve on the filter.. You can often hear the air being sucked into the filter, when the pump is off.

This can cause the pump to drain back into the pool, and you will get a huge amount of air into the pool when you fire up the pump.

The odd thing is that the air vent valve does not seem to leak any water out.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Try running a garden hose(without the sprayer attached) individually over things like the pump lid, valves, etc, with the pump running and see if the bubbles disappear. That can narrow down where a leak may be.
 
tmarcoux said:
Thanks everyone for the fast support!
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