Aliens are blowing air in my pool pump!

[tenax]

Jerrel, i'm not familiar with your pump persay, but i assume it has a screw on lid over the basket..quite often, prime is lost from something as simple as the o-ring wearing out..i have read from pool pump manufacturers and heard from pool dudes do not lubricate the lid..it come lubricated. i decided to call bs and that this was a scam to simply sell more o-rings..and maybe more pumps if someone thinks they have failed. year before last, i had air and bad prime and checked all my fittings.i ended up having the pool dude out to look at my problem as i couldn't figure it out..darned if there wasn't a small small crack in my o-ring and being black against black background on lid, i couldn't spot it. he put a new one on and i raised the lubrication issue..he said it was bs as well and i got some silicon lube for my ring and a couple of times a season, i grease it up..more correctly, it's simply a heavy duty wear and tear silicone spray lubricant i bought at napa for 5 bucks and it is working great.

[Poolsean]

It's also possible that you have a crack in your pool vaccum hose that's allowing it to suck air and lose prime. Take each hose section and inspect with the pump running. Submerge each section and listen for any signs of tremendous suction taking place, or the problem going away. This may explain the loss of prime when connected to the cleaner.
The bubbles from the skimmer with the cleaner hose removed may be the water vortexing, that is, creating a whirlpool like a tornado action. Remove the skimmer lid and check your skimmer for this taking place. It's easy to spot and will introduce air into your pump. 1.5 hp from the skimmer only is quite a bit of suction. You should have the main drain partially/slightly opened, even with the cleaner attached.

[chrisexv6]

You might want to check and make sure you have the vacuum hose oriented correctly. I learned this the hard way too......the end that swivels *must* be attached to the vacuum head, because its not sealed and will suck air if the water level is low enough in the pool. You may already have it setup correctly, but just in case.....I surely didnt know about that fact until all of a sudden I couldnt vacuum anymore either

-Chris

[Jerrel]

Thanks to everyone for your replies.
Duraleigh:
The water is high enough. But the sikker had been sucking air for a couple of hours due to the water being too low. The problem started right after.

Tenax:
Yep, seals are all replaced with new ones. Probpem remains.

Poolsean:
I bought a new hose just in case,..but same result. The bubble are more than just from water vortexing. The volume of the air in the pump basket would be about 6 oz. Thanks for the info on keeping the main drain vale partially open!

Chrisexv6:
Both ends of the hose are far enough below water level to prevent that. But I never knew about the hose having diffrent ends. Great tip!

Tomorrow I have a pool contractor come by. They are going to pressure test the pipping. They told be that they have an echo device with which they can locate the crack if any! From there I will take on the fixing again!

Everyone thanks again! I will post the results

Jerrel.