Suction Air Leak Causes Skimmer to Spew

[chuckerman]

I have a 30 ft round AGP with hayward 250lb sand filter every time I turn pump off to backwash I get a GUSHER of water SPEWING out of my skimmer. How do I relieve this pressure or what is causing it? my 2nd year with this filter and last year had zero problems. Did I do something wrong when I shut it down last winter? Any help greatly appreciated. sorry forgot to add 1HP hayward super pump

[BigDave]

Is there air trapped in your filter? Does the filter have an air relief valve?

[chuckerman]

no air relief valve has the multi port top valve i did move to waste until had steady stream of water being discharged per filter directions then backwashed & rinsed. is this something SIMPLE that i am overlooking? could a hose suck air without leaking water? totally stumped please someone enlighten me. surely someone else out there has encountered this before. yes air is trapped in filter but i relieve air at backwash but as pump and filter runs the trapped air seems to build. pressure gauge never goes above 20 which seems to be normal range based off last years useage

[BigDave]

sure, an air leak on suction side may not leak water - especially when pump is running. Perhaps a leak in the strainer cover gasket?

[chuckerman]

ok i will retape inlet fittings and see if thats the fix and what exactly is the pump pot o ring and where might this be located & ease of replacement?

[BigDave]

I looked up the Super pump parts list (http://www.hayward-pool.com/pdf/Parts%20Diagrams/Super%20Pump.pdf)and realized that what I called the pump pot o-ring is actually called the strainer cover gasket you caught me before my edit.

Open the strainer cover, examine the gasket and seating sufaces. clean as necessary.

Could be one of the driain plugs leaking. I'm not sure if thery're both on the suction side of the pump.

I've read about someone using shaving cream to look for suction leaks.

[chuckerman]

yep closed the filter capped off the skimmer and sure enough small trickle of water coming out of both the drain plug and inlet line to pump. retaped & retightened both and all is well. thanks so much we are now not afraid to shut off pump

[BigDave]

Thanks for checking in - we love to hear about successes. Congrats.