sjpoolowner

Thank you. I cleaned the o-ring and the surfaces it contacts as best as I could and re-primed the pump (again water filled up to 90~95% of the basket) three days ago. The pump hasn't lost the prime yet, but I noticed the water level dropped a little bit. So it still looks like air is still coming in from somewhere. Before suspecting leaks in other areas, I'd like to rule out the pump lid/o-ring first. During the last re-prime, I didn't put any lube to the o-ring as the user manual says not to do that because the original o-ring contains a permanent internal lubricant. But would you actually recommend putting something to make sure no leaks there? I have lithium general purpose lube. Will that work? Or should I put anything special?

Hello. I have a in-ground pool with two returns. A few weeks ago I noticed that water is not really shooting from one of the returns. I just couldn't feel the water coming out, which I normally do. I checked the other return and it was shooting the water but felt somewhat weaker than usual. And I also noticed water bubbles coming out of it. Then I checked the pump basket and found that the water level inside the basket was low. I could actually see water coming into the pump basket. I heard that it was supposed to be full of water. So I tried to re-prime the pump. First, I opened the pump lid, cleaned the basket, filled the basket with the water (but I couldn't fill over the level of incoming pipe), closed the lid. Then I opened the air valve of the filter, started running the pump, and closed the air valve once water coming out of it. But it didn't really work. The water kept circulating but I couldn't fill the pump bask 100% with water. The water level didn't really go up. I increased the pump RPM (I have a variable speed pump) from 2000 to 3000. That seemed help a little bit but not much. Then I turned off the pump and blocked the skimmer using the plastic thing under my skimmer basket so that water could come only from the main drain. (I don't have any valves that control water flow. I can block the flow only from the skimmer side, but not from the main drain.) I repeated the process and also increased the pump speed to 3000 RPM and that started to fill up the basket. However, I couldn't fill it up completely. It was like 95% full. It looks like water was touching the lid but there were a few air pockets / big air bubbles. That was the best I could so I stopped there. Then today I noticed that the pump lost the prime again. The water is still circulating (weakly) but the water level in the pump went down to the previous level again. I've just re-primed the pump and again only could fill the basket like 90-95%. The water level of the pool was normal. It was above the skimmer level. My questions are: 1. Does this indicate there is a leak somewhere and air is coming in? 2. Why can't I fill the basket only up to a certain point? I also try to spray the water here and there on the pump but didn't resolve this issue. 3. Even after the 95% prime, I still don't feel the water from one of the returns at 2000 rpm. If I rev up the pump all the way up to 3000 rpm, then I see first air bubble coming out and then water from that return. Does this simply because the water flow is slower since the pump is not fully primed? 4. Will cleaning the pool filter help? I have intelliflo VS-3050 pump. I also have a pool vacuum and a booster pump. Thanks.

Ah.. all makes sense. Thanks again for your fast and detailed response!

Thanks, chem geek. I actually have a question for you. You said your VF pump flow is 48GPM at 3000rpm, 1500 wats and 26GPM at 1500RPM, 275 watts. But for the pool sweep, the flow is 15GPM at 2180RPM, 540 watts. Why the lower flow at a higher rpm? Did you actually set at 2180RPM and got 15GPM for the sweep or vice versa? I was also told that GPM is propotional to RPM. So in your case, the theoretical mximum GPM is 55.2GPM at 3450rpm (max rpm) due to plumbing resistance and other reasons, even though the documented maximum GPM for VF is 174GPM? I also learned that my current controller will work with VF as well. Do you think it is worth spending more $$$ to get VF instead of VS-3050 for its flow control features? I heard the motor and everything else is same. Again, thank you so much for the help!

Wow, thanks a ton for all the replies. Helped me tremendously. ps558, I've been running it for 3 hours/day during the winter season. Will increase it to 6-8 hours soon. We have Pentair Suntouch controller and the reason why I'm looking into Intelliflo VS-3050 is that the pump works with that controller. I guess the reasoning behind replacing the filter as well as the pump is that that person thought my current filter (150 sq ft) is a bit smaller even for the current setting. It's been working quite all right with my current 0.75 HP pump, though. Maybe he was concerned that the filter is not big enough for the maximum flow rate that the VS-3050 can provide. It is good to know that the current filter will likely survive with the new pump as long as I keep the flow to the same rate. I have Sta-rite system 2 filter and it looks like I can actually use 200 sq ft cartridge with the same tank that I have now if needed. Not sure how much increasing 50 sq ft can help but it sounds like a good option. By the way, I have a Polaris 380 cleaner with a 0.75HP booster pump. Chem geek's info on using the intelliflo for pool sweep is interesting, but it sounds like I'll probably need to keep the booster pump with VS-3050. Thanks again!

Hi all, I have a 3/4 HP (3450 RPM) pool pump and 150 sq ft (max 56 GPM) cartridge filter for my pool (roughly 18000-20000 gallon, I think). They have been working well. To further down the electricity cost, I was recommended to upgrade my pump to Pentair Intelliflo VS-3050 (3HP, max 174 GPM at 3450 RPM). Some questions here: 1. Will it really cut down the cost? Running a 3HP pump at a low RPM (like 1000?) vs a 0.75 HP pump at 3450 RPM? Intelliflo is supposed to use a more efficient motor than the one my current pump has, but how should I compare? 2. What is the minimum RPM I should run the Intelliflo at when I have solar panels on the rooftop (single story house)? 3. I was also told that I should get a bigger size of pool filter when I upgrade the pump. Is it necessary even if I only plan to run the pump at a low RPM? What will be a proper sizing for a cartridge filter? I'm a novice in this area, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi all, If you live in San Francisco bay area and know or have experience with any reputable solar heater dealers, can you share? If you feel not comfortable with revealing company names in this public forum, please send me a message. Also if there are any dealers that I should avoid, I'd like that info too. I've already read some bad reviews of a company and decided to avoid it. By the way, I live in San Jose. Will appreciate any help! Thanks!

Thank you so much for all the help! Yes, now I understand how tiering can play a role here. Will definitely look into solar heating. Thanks again.

Thanks for the replies. I live in San Jose, so we don't really get cloudy days during April - October and temp is well over 65, I think. Yeah, I don't really get good info about heat pumps in my area. Will the operating cost be really high? I heard I have to pay $$$ for gas heating, but is it actually more expensive to run a heat pump than a gas heater?

Hi all, Glad to find a great forum. I own a pool in San Francisco bay area and am considering to add a heater. I've done some brief research and still deciding between solar heater and heat pump. Slightly leaning toward to the latter, though. I like the solar idea for its low operating cost but became a little bit hesitant because a) I'm not too comfortable about drilling holes through the roof my equipment site is far from house (like 30 feet away) and I will have to run the pipes across backyard to get the solar heating c) the area of my south or west facing roof is not really big. The biggest is east side but that is even far from the equiptments. Heat pump sounds more promising and I have the following questions. a) will it be suitable for northern CA climate? what is the typical operating cost per month if I want to set the temp between 80 and 85? The surface area of my pool is about 500 sq ft. c) where can I find a dealer near my area? I've been only successful finding solar heater dealers. Or should I still consider solar heating for its operating cost efficiency? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!