help...a dirty pool and no suction

[rookie]

We have a 20 year old Kayak 16 x 32 above-ground pool. We have a center drain and a skimmer. We have had this problem for so many years my husband said he would rather take a beating from Popeye than open this pool. My grandchildren are calling daily asking "can we come swimming". We have a dirty pool people.

We have no suction to vaccum. We have a DE filter that works great. We vaccum to waste, turn off the center valve. We cut off the water flow to the filter, take the output of the pump directly to waste. The only input is through the skimmer because we close the valve from the center drain. We have a brand new 1 and one half inch hose which we put directly into the skimmer. We just bought a new vaccum head hoping that this would work. NOPE...it didn't. We get suction for about 2 to 3 minutes and then the pump cavitates, strainer is empty, no water flow and the pump strainer is full of air. This even happens when the output of the pump is restricted to slow down the output to waste.

PLEASE...can anyone out there help ! Aghhhhhhhhhh

[matt]

check to see if your pump impeller is clogged

[poolman64]

The symptoms you describe would indicate a suction leak somewhere in the system. Most common are the pump lid "o" ring is cracked or hard, or there is dirt on the "o" ring, lid, or the groove it seats in. Another common source is the shaft seal on the pump, but you would normally see a little water dripping out when the pump is off. Or the suction nipple screwed into the front of the pump has shrunk due to overheating, and is sucking air when you plug in the vac hose. Just for a test you can try running a bead of silicone around the suction nipple with the pump running. If this corrects the problem, you will need to have it repaired properly. I think you will probably fix this problem if you use the process of elimination by trying these things one at a time. Also, if you have a plastic pump lid, check it carefully for cracks. If you do them all at once, you never know which on fixed the problem. I do this for a living and suction leaks can be a bear to find because they suck in air rather than squirt out water.
Hope this helps.

[Bill T.]

Have you checked to see if you have a restricted water flow only? If so, it may be the gate valve is broken in a partially open position.

[patriciathore]

You can seek help from a swimming pool supplies shop. Certainly they offer cleaning services too.