Suction side air leak & pump issues

[ecalkins]

Hey fellow pool people,

I am having some issues with my pump system that I would like to try and get some help with:

1. I have a suction side air leak that has been around for quite some time, having gotten worse in the last ~6 months. I'm not sure when it started, perhaps even before we bought the house ~3 years ago. Lots of air is getting into the system as evidenced by visible air in the pump basket and many bubbles in return jets to the pool. I actually stopped using my "The Pool Cleaner" vacuum about a month ago because I noticed that more air was getting sucked into the system when using the vacuum vs. without.
2. I tried lubricating the o-ring on the pump basket which didn't solve the issue. O-ring itself seems to be in pretty good condition.
3. Per the advice of these forums, I applied shaving cream over all over the above ground plumbing leading up to the pump (including filter basket) to see if that would help me identify the point of the leak. It didn't.
4. I have also been having issues with my Whisperflow pump (0.5 HP) which I suspect may be related to having constant air pumped through the system. The pump will occasionally stop turning on, making a humming noise before timing out. The first time this happened, I attempted to turn the motor shaft by hand, but it required pliers to do so. The capacitor seemed okay, so took apart the pump and found some small debris in the impeller section, but honestly this didn't seem like enough to create much of an issue. Surprisingly, the pump started working again when I put it back together. The same issue popped up again a month or two later but eventually resolved itself through no act of my own. This morning I woke up and found that the pump is not turning on once again.
5. One issue that would obviously cause issues with the pump is if it is losing prime as a result of the air leak. This doesn't appear to be the case, as when I open up the pump basket to empty it out, it is always full of water.

So that's the background, and here are my questions for you good people that are smarter than me:

1. What else can I do to verify the location of the suction side air leak? Is it possible that it is actually underground? I know this is supposed to be unlikely, but I'm a little stumped why the shaving cream didn't point me to the leak if it was in the above ground plumbing.
2. Is it likely that the suction side air leak and pump issues are related (i.e. air leak is causing my pump to Crud out) ?
3. Am I likely going to need a new pump?

Thanks so much for the help. While I am not too active on these forums, I have received a ton of value over the last couple of years just from reading through old threads, and I really appreciate this community!

Evan

 

[ajw22]

Evan, show us pictures of your equipment pad and especially the pump and suction side plumbing.

 

[ecalkins]

Sure thing

 

[ajw22]

I would replace the pump and see if that fixes your air leak problem.

If not then you need to start looking underground.

You may want to pressure test your suction line. That may let you figure out if the leak is the plumbing or the pump.

Anderson Manufacturing Company, Inc.

: Helping The Pool Professional Solve Leak Problems

www.leaktools.com

 

[ecalkins]

Thanks Allen. Is there any tutorial you recommend on how to pressure test the suction line?

 

[ajw22]

Thanks Allen. Is there any tutorial you recommend on how to pressure test the suction line?

Videos in the link above.