Slow drain...take it easy

[kathgilliam]

I am having another problem. The drain ain't draining. The pump, she is pumping. The skimmers are shut down, out of the loop. Earlier, the spa seemed to drain, then fill back up, then drain, and the pool waterline went down...slowly, but it did go down. Now, nothing. What's up with that????

K

[kathgilliam]

Just checked the pump to make sure there weren't leaves and crap in the basket. Turned it off. Took off the lid and steam arose. There was water, but it was HOT. I left it off. Now what?

K

[Poolsean]

Steam is a sign on pump starvation. You're not sucking in water. The water in the basket is not moving anywhere and the steam is the transfer of energy(heat) from the impeller to the water.
Where are you drawing water from now?
Are you trying to drain down some water? If so, how are you draining it down?
If your skimmer is off, are you sure the main drain is clear from any debris? Or do you see the pump basket filling with water when the pump is on? If not, you've got a suction side leak somewhere.

[kathgilliam]

The main drain is free of debris. Yes, we're trying to drain the pool to 50% due to high CYA. There is no debris in the basket, the water line is below the skimmers now, and I've shut the valves to the skimmers. At least I *think* they are the skimmer valves, because nothing is labeled. There are three pipes in a row, two have red valves and one black. The pool store guy told me to shut off the red ones so I did. The black one is weird, seems to open three ways, but I can't really tell what position is what. The pump is at 12:00 o'clock, a pipe to the right is what I believe is the main pipe. But I also know that the position to the right is what you have to turn on to send water to the spa.

I feel so stupid, but I supposed I really am more ignorant. You just don't know what you don't know; you know?

K

[PatL34]

K,

You mentioned in another post that you had a lot of debris from a storm, including oak balls.

I am wondering if there is a possibility your main drain could be partially blocked internally and starving the pump as Poolsean mentioned.

If you can find a way using a garden hose to positively identify the skimmer and main drain returns, it will help enormously.

The other possibility is that the pump is losing its prime by not being able to overcome the suction head needed for it to operate.

This now mens you have to rent a submersible pump, and leave the pool pump shut off.

Hope this helps.

Pat

[kathgilliam]

Thanks, Sean, for your help!!! Thanks to everyone here for helping with my education. I have a service company out to help me understand the plumbing. We are sump pumping out the pool, refilling and then he is going to teach me a thing or two. (Has anyone ever heard of the Algae Blaster, a hose that goes on your Polaris???)

Kath