Air bubbles in return lines, found & fixed problem

[bcb1]

I have an inground pool with a Hayward Super Pump. In the last week or so, I've been noticing a strange noise - sort of a woosh every 5-10 seconds, and I noticed tiny air bubbles in the clear pipe that runs from the pump to the filter. I knew I had an air leak somewhere....but where?

I greased up the obvious place: the clear pump basket cover lid. I used silicone lube nice and heavy, smooshed it down...and still had air bubbles. I thought maybe the auto chlorinator was leaking air at the lid. But today, I found the problem. The little plastic drain nut that is at the bottom of the pump was leaking a drip or two when I shut off the pump. When I started to screw it by hand, it came apart.

So a trip to the pool store and $3.00 for ONE SINGLE drain nut (ouch!), and the problem was fixed.

Just wanted to pass this along to anyone else that might have a problem with air getting into the plumbing.

[AnnaK]

Really? Leaks when you shut off the pump? Maybe that is the problem with mine then, after all. I can't see the plug when I shut off the pump, have to crawl back there and flip the toggle. And there is water on the lip right below the plug . . .

It'd be worth to buy a new plug and put that in than to disassemble all the plumbing and put new Teflon tape and gunk on the threads.

Thanks for posting your experience!

[matt4x4]

anna - if yours is just loose, tighten it, if it still drips, lube the o ring and/or put teflon tape on the threads of the plug - bcb1 only replaced it because it was broken.

[NWMNMom]

Fittings from one end to another should be checked. We had a hairline crack in male end of the the solar panel diverter valve that caused all our air bubbles. It was not noticable except under close inspection. Just a little movement of the valve while inspecting caused it to almost fall apart - we caught it before that happened by itself, either by water pressure or someone bumping it, etc. What a disaster that would have been.

As soon as bubbles appear somewhere they don't belong, start checking everything before the minor crack becomes a failure, then a flood.

[AnnaK]

anna - if yours is just loose, tighten it, if it still drips, lube the o ring and/or put teflon tape on the threads of the plug - bcb1 only replaced it because it was broken.

Well, lo! I found the leaks. It isn't the plug on the pot and it isn't a crack in the pot like we first thought. There are two leaks on the fittings of the PVC pipes, the one going into the pump and the one going out. The way the water runs from one of the leaks, it collected on the lip of the pot which is what made us think the pot itself was the problem.

The real problem is that we're both as old as dirt and getting way down there to look at the fitting was more than our knees could take, so we didn't actually get all that close and personal to the plumbing. But they bothered me. It's like Mom said, when bubbles appear, something is wrong, and so I did crawl around there this morning. The dogs thought that was all pretty weird

My husband can go wrap the Teflon and tighten the connections. More than likely he'll make a weekend project out of it with a long trip to the hardware store for yet more tools and jigs and pieces. Oh well. Fun is where we find it.