pump will only prime when basket it out

[AndyT86]

Put some shaving cream (the foamy kind) around the outside of the seal on the pot while the pump is running. If the air goes away, then your leak is there. The shaving cream will also eventually begin to suck in where the leak is, which should be evident by a hole showing up in the shave cream (you could probably also see it through that clear lid).

I have used shaving cream several times to find leaks in pipe joints and seals on the suction side. It pinpoints exactly where the leak is.

[ScottsdaleSwim]

Andy..Great idea with the shaving cream!

It is possible that the lid warped...in the arizona sun, everything warps.

I'm off work early today so I'll head home and lather it up.
I can just imagine what the neighbors are thinking. Stethoscope? Shaving cream?

I sealed all the pvc joints but I might as well lather those up too just in case.

What's strange is that the old basket worked fine for over a year...and then all of a sudden it wouldn't prime.
I think there's a very good possibility that the lid is warped. I know it says not to overtighten and Mr.Man has been overtightening. There are times that I can't get the lid off. Yes, I'm a girl but still! I even use a stick to pry it off..you know in between the thingies (technical term) and still can't get it off. Maybe that sort of abuse has warped it...or cracked it where it can't be seen.

shaving cream first and then new lid.

thankyouthankyouthankyou!

[ScottsdaleSwim]

okay so the shaving cream didn't get sucked in at all..and it didn't create any more of a seal so that it primed. After putting shaving cream on the rim and waiting and waiting..nothing. So I covered the lid in case there was a crack. Nothing.
I finally got the lid off, took the basket out and it freakin' primed-

Before I start whittling away at the basket I have a question.

If the basket was preventing the lid from sealing, wouldn't I have seen the shaving cream being sucked in?
There would have been some indication that it was sucking air right?

[AndyT86]

If the basket was preventing the lid from sealing, wouldn't I have seen the shaving cream being sucked in?
There would have been some indication that it was sucking air right?

That's right. You can prove this to yourself by closing a piece of straw or something thin across the seal. The tiny gap it causes will be sufficient to make the shaving cream suck into the hole.

Perhaps the basket has that effect on the efficiency of the pump. You said that with the basket you are not getting the same pressure you used to. I forget... Is the pressure different with the basket than without the basket?

[CanuckPool]

You say you have an old basket and a new basket now? An interesting experiment would be to start drilling 1/4" holes in the old basket.. or new basket you choose. Start with 10 or so and test to see if it primes, if not keep going until its swiss cheese and see if it eventually primes. If it eventually does, maybe your pump has a suction problem, it only has enough power to prime if there is little or no obstructions.

[ScottsdaleSwim]

Put a tachometer to the shaft of the motor and it's right around 3400 rpm and the motor is a 3450 1hp motor.

Blew the line with a hose through a chunk of noodle (works great btw) and had bubbles and water coming up through the drain. Also blew out the skimmer line. No bubbles. No chunks of leaves or debris came from either line.

So we turned the pump back on. I slid a cap over the drain while it was open. I could barely get it off the suction was so great. The pressure dropped all the way down to 5.

When the basket is out the pressure only increases by 1-2 psi. So psi is 13 to 14 with the basket out

Our old pressure was right around 15 now it's around 12 with the basket in.


The basket is becoming swiss cheese as we speak.

The thing is..isolating each line makes no difference in the pressure. Each isolation only drops the pressure by 1-2 psi. Close the drain, open the skimmer - no difference.
And the opposite is true. So it's not like we can even identify a problem in one line and not the other.

Can we just run the pump with the bubble? It's not a huge bubble, as you can kinda see from the photo.

I've included a photo of my hose apparatus..because I need to feel like I'm contributing.




sidenote...as I was uploading this photo my husband was calling our local pool store (they make me violent) to see if they have an impeller in stock (he thinks it's the impeller)..anyhow I was looking down at the computer and I said "lemme guess, he didn't know his a** from a whole in the ground." I looked up to see why he was hissing at me and he was still on the phone. oopsie!

I don't normally speak that way. I swear

[AndyT86]

Can we just run the pump with the bubble? It's not a huge bubble, as you can kinda see from the photo.

I run mine (a Hayward) with small bubble like that. It appeared a 2-3 years ago, and I figured as long as it was not cavitating it was okay.

Out of curiosity, have you changed any plumbing lately? Just wondering if there is a place in the plumbing that can trap the air that forms the bubble.