Air in pool return lines

I have not noticed this until tonight (hard to see this during daylight hours) but I am observing a fair amount of air bubbles coming from the pool return water stream. Does this indicate a broken return line?

Thanks for any help,

Mike

Bubbles in the return line indicate a suction side leak. Most of the time the leak is caused by a faulty pump cover o-ring. Have a look at your pump basket and see if there is a lot of air in it while the pump is running. When you turn the system off you might actually hear air escaping around the cover. If not, remove the cover and inspect the oring. More than likely the oring is faulty.

Brad
www.waterworkspools.com

Thanks Brad. I pulled the pump cover and the O-ring looks fine. I lube it every two weeks or so. However, when I turned the pump off, I noticed a slight water leak at the pvc connection to the pump. Not a lot of water, but a small leak nonetheless. It looks like to prior owner tried to "seal" it with some sort of gray colored liquid cement. Could this be the source of the air?

Quote:

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Could this be the source of the air?

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If it's on the suction side of the pump....yes. If it's on the pressure side.....no

Do you have solar heat for your pool? With our solar on, sometimes we get tiny bubbles in the return.

I do not have a solar cover and the small leak is on the suction side of the pump. Will try to seal up to see if this takes care of the problem.

Thanks everyone!

Mike

If it's more than tightening a hose clamp or something like that, on the suction side many times a little squish of silicone seal will do the trick. Apply it when the pump is running so the suction will tend to suck the seal into the leaky area.
Al