Hayward Pump Won't Prime

[River View]

I have a Hayward 1HP Super Pump located about 4' above water level. It is fed by 1 floor drain, and 1 skimmer. It normally takes 3-5 minutes to prime, and then pushes lots of air bubles out of the returns and then runs well.

This morning, I noticed about 30 minutes after the pump came on (on timer) there was no wate flowing out of the returns. I observed the following:

• The closest return would blow a few bubbles and then stop.
• The pump motor was hot to touch, not burning, just hot.
• I opened the pump basket, and there was the normal 'woosh' that indicated to me the seal on the pump basket was good.
• The water in the pump basket ws hot.

I don't know how old the pump is, I purchased the hosue with the pool about a year ago (is there a way to tell from a Hayward serial number the production date?)

I am trying to determine if it is a pump issue, or an issue on my suction side. Questions:

• Any good ways to test if the pump is creating suction?
• What are typical signs of a failing pump?

Many thanks !

 

[Mayorb]

It sounds like you have a suction leak. The usual places where air is entering are; the pump lid gasket, the pipe threads entering the pump pot, a union, or the three way valve in front of the pump. A quickie check for the pipe entering the pump is to give it a few wraps of electrical tape covering that area. It is common for the PVC fitting to shrink inside the housing when the pump water has run hot. Pump motors are all hot to the touch under normal conditions.

 

[jblizzle]

You could also try putting shaving cream on the joints to see where it might get sucked in.

Can you post a picture of your set up?

 

[peirek]

Hi River and welcome to TFP.

Mayorb has some good advice along with the common causes. I would add skimmers to the list. Water should be 2/3-3/4 up on skimmer. Also weir door must be in place.

Have a look here: Pool School - Suction Side Air Leaks

And my recent troubleshooting for my suction side leak here: Pump Losing Prime - Issue found

 

[River View]

Updating with some results. Thank you everyone for the responses. I cleaned and lubed the gaskets on the union/valves from the two suction lines and the pump lid and that fixed the issue.