Air is getting into my filter

[gilbertpsk]

Hi all. It's been a great pool season so far. So much fun, that I decided to clean the filter by removing the cartridges. After I put it back together, it ran just fine...until the next day. Now, after the filter running for 30 minutes, I have to bleed lots of air out of the filter. There aren't any water leaks that I can tell. Maybe I didn't tighten the band around the filter tight enough? Any ideas on where to start troubleshooting?

16' x 36' IG - ~22K gallons
Vinyl liner (2010)
Filter: Pentair Clean and Clear Plus CCP420 420 Sq Ft (2008)
Pump: 1.5 hp Hayward Super Pump
Heater: Sta-Rite Max-e-therm
Chlorinator: Aqua Collection Turbo Cell

[Poconos]

The filter is on the pressure side of the pump so no air would be coming in on that side. Has to be on the suction side. Most common place to look would be the pump basket lid. This is the most likely place to be disturbed and change. Clean the gasket and lube it with silicone grease. Next common air source could be a low water level and a vortex forming in the skimmer momentarily. If a vortex forms the pump will suck a little air, flow drops, vortex goes away and you may never catch this transient event. Also a sticking weir, either a door type or floater whichever you have. If the air source isn't any of these then the plumbing would be suspect next but it's too coincidental with you cleaning the filter so I doubt it's a plumbing leak. Keep in mind that when you cleaned the filter the flow probably increased so that makes me more suspect of something skimmer related.
Al

[gilbertpsk]

Thanks, Al!

If it is skimmer related, how do I fix it? It's a door that opens and closes.

[gilbertpsk]

I found the leak! It's the pipe going from the pump basket to the filter. Any ideas on how to fix it? I'd like to avoid the plumber, if possible.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

Edit by Poconos: Ignore this...was trying something with the pic.

[Poconos]

Yeah, that's a dribble but I don't understand something. That is the pump output pipe, the pressure side. I can understand the dribble but not sure how air would be getting into the filter. Unless somehow the air is getting in when the pump is off. In any case, you need to Unscrew the pipe adapter from the pump and looks like you'll have to cut the pipe to do this. You can get all the PVC parts at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. It looks like a 1.5" pipe so you'll need some 1.5" pipe, a 1.5" male pipe adapter, Purple Primer, PVC cement and teflon pipe tape. I also recommend getting a coupling you can disconnect in the future. You'll put that in a section of straight pipe right above the pump outlet. Talk to someone at the home center and they can set you up with all the right parts. Once you unscrew it, clean the threads on the pump the best you can. Looks like they used pipe dope when they screwed that one in. Use about 8 turns of teflon tape on the new adapter and screw it in. The nice part about adding that coupling is when you get it all back together and it leaks, loosen the coupling and screw in the adapter a little more.
Hope this helps.
Al

[gilbertpsk]

Maybe the leak that I found isn't the air leak because I'm taking on air while the pump is running...I'll work on fixing this little dribble after the air leak. Thanks for the in-depth explanation on the PVC repair. It doesn't look too bad based on your write-up.

Right now, we are actually at a high water level due to some recent rain, so that rules out the vortex. Maybe it's the seal on the basket - I'll get some silicone grease at the depot and try it out. I'll post after.