Low Pressure

[poolguysa]

Hi there

I have a problem with pressure as well,when my pool cleaner is not plugged in the pressure is strong and in fills the basket with water but when i plug the pool cleaner in the pressure drops and the pool goes fast then slow and the basket does not fill full of water but only a quarter unfortunately i do not have a meter in mine but what could the problem be as i am at my wits end

[Billie]

New pool with Hayward Pump. 15 psi until a couple of days ago. Down to 5 psi. I found this forum and it was a relief to know that I didn't somehow break my pump! The installer came out this morning. He took the pump basket out and, sure enough, there were some leaves and pine needles in the impleller. Also, I put the basket in wrong (I didn't know there was a "front" and "back"). So now I'm back to 15 psi. Terrific forum for pool problems!

[gxross]

Hi All,

After returning from vacation I saw that the pump was running but pressure was 5 psi. Upon opening the pump strainer, I could NOT remove the strainer basket. It is stuck and any amount of force cannot pull it out. While removing leaves and other debris from the strainer, it seemed that the basket may have cracked. I cannot see the bottom of the strainer basket as the water is muddy, but the pool is clear. Any response would be appreciated.

Thanks,
George

[Austblue]

Hi,

I have a Hurlcon BX1.5 pump and a waterco sand filter. Normally I'm pretty sure that the filter would sit at around 100Kpa but I noticed recently that it has dropped to 80Kpa and then if I plug the vacuum hose in it drops down to 40Kpa. It definitely primes itself fine and doesn't cavitate once it is primed but my new MX8 won't climb walls which indicates that the suction isn't adequate. It does consistently vacuum and I can also manually vacuum but I can tell that the suction is reduced from previous. Of a day it appears to have constant return flow but of a night with the pool light on I can see some turbulence which I thought appeared to be some air entrained in the return water.

I backwashed till the sight glass was clear then rinsed. No dice. I pulled the pump lid off and poked around with a pick and nothing came out then used marine grease to ensure that the o ring sealed once reinstalled but still no dice. Cleared and cleaned the skimmer filter and pump filter and still no dice! There doesn't appear to be any leaks and the water level is adequate so I'm out of ideas.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

[Guest]

Could be a clogged or broken impeller or a worn diffuser. Unfortunately you would have to take the pump apart to see this.

[Austblue]

Could be a clogged or broken impeller or a worn diffuser. Unfortunately you would have to take the pump apart to see this.

Ok thanks I think I'll try and pull it apart myself and take a look or is it something that I should leave to the pump mechanics? I'm moderately handy with a spanner so I think its worth trying to do myself.

[Austblue]

Ok I pulled it apart and unfortunately no signs of damage or debris. Reassembled and ran the pump without the hose and got 80Kpa again but now its only reaching 30Kpa when I run with the hose.

I also tried running on recirculate but didn't affect things.

Still no idea but wondering if the reduced pressure after means something. The gaskets all looked fine so I didn't feel like they were a source of problem but perhaps they're getting air in? Would it be a good idea to smear marine grease across the gaskets or perhaps threebond gasket glue? I think the gasket glue might make more mess than its worth but not sure. Is there a way to test the seals?

[Austblue]

In reading more I've realised that although the pump primes itself enough to continually flow there is a significant amount of air and turbulence in the pump window so I guess it isn't truly priming itself. I played around trying to get the air out but couldn't and the waterco S702 doesn't seem to have an air relief valve which made it more difficult.

I also noticed that when I run the pump without the vacuum hose the air bubble is less than the diameter of the pump window and the pressure is around 75-80Kpa whereas when I attach the vacuum it drops the water level in the pump window about 4" and the pressure drops down to around 30Kpa.

Not sure if that helps.

I'm guessing that there is either air getting in somewhere or a blockage in the inlet side but I'm reluctant to dig up the pipe

[John75]

Hi Jess! Have you checked this guide to swimming pool pumps at www.indoorpoolguide.com/filtration-systems

[Pjogopulos]

We have a similar issue int hat the PSI is about 10 and is usually at 20. There is nothing blocking the pump at we swapped the old pump out with our water feature pump. The pump is a 1 1/2 hp pump and I've checked the plumping from the intake to the return and there is nothing blocking anything. Our pool and spa use the same pump and both have the low pressure issue with separate intake and return lines for each.

We have flushed water throw the lines and nothing has come thru. There is also a lot of air in the lines and even after priming the lines air continues to be an issue as well.

[michael Jacobs]

I had my pump pressure suddenly drop. Checked to "O" ring etc but nothing worked.
Finally i put the hose directly into the weir intake pipe and surrounded it with a rag
to obtain maximum closure. Next thing the rag was sucked into the pipe and sent
to the leaf trap at the pump. Must have cleared the blockage as my pressure is
back to normal.
Mike

[Zyriak]

Spot on!
Had pressure problems here to, a quick google search, found this thread..
Removed a fine dust , hairs and leafs from the inlet of the pump...
Problem solved, Costs = 0,-

Thank you for a brilliant answer to the problem.

-ZyR-

[szhou100]

There was no pressure at all when I was running filtering function of the pump, but I am able to conduct backwash and I noticed that the pressure gauge was marked above 15 PSI. Any idea/suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

[andrrewdamien]

While diving in low water pressure you have to be very accurate about what you are carrying with and wearing right suits that will work proper under low water pressure. Safety masks and glasses are one of the most critical which you have to check out properly.

[GSumm]

Greetings,

Just fixed my pump problem. Went from 9 PSI, back up to 21 PSI in less than 10 mins. Took it apart and found many white pine needles had gotten past both screen filters and clogged the impeller. Used a potato peeler to remove the pine needles, as the peeler fit nicely into the impeller area (after having taken the pump apart with ease, so don't worry about that). Got all the needles out, lubed up the rubber gaskets, put it back together, primed it, fired it up, and voila! 21 PSI. Easy fix. What a relief!