terrain11 Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 Hello everyone. My fiance and i just moved into a our house over the winter and are the new owners of a 16x32 inground swimming pool. We attemped to open it yesterday and everything went quite well. The pool is properly filled with water, all plugs have been installed on the pump and filter, eyelets put in the pool and the gizmo removed from the skimmer. When we tried to prime the pump to get the pool going it would not catch prime. When we have the lever set to skimmer only the pool works perfectly, but as soon as we try to set the lever to skimmer and main drain it wont catch. When it is on main drain suction only it doesnt work at all. Now we cant see the bottom of the pool due to cloudyness but we are quite sure that it is not clogged. We have also tried making sure the main drain line was full of water and then starting the pump .. but nothing. Does anyone have any suggestions or possible solutions to our dilemma?? Thanks for any help, it is much appreciated!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gvreo Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 Hi, It sounds to me that you have one of two problems: 1.) the main drain has a suction leak (a leak somewhere in the main drain line to the pump) OR 2.) the main drain line has air in it at some point on its way to the pump. In either case, you are loosing the prime on the pump because of air getting into the system; that is the bottom line. You mention that you filled the main drain line with water....how did you do this? And when you did so, did it hold water for a period of time? As it stands for right now, you can run your pool pump/filter thru the skimmer line only. Of course, this will mean more work for you to keep the bottom clean since there will be no suction thru the main drain and hence debris will not get sucked up via that outlet. I have no main drain in my 16 X 30 foot in ground pool, so I vacuum a lot to get the debris off the bottom, but actually, this is a blessing because I don't ever have worry about a main drain leak. Again, it means a lot more brushing and vacuuming. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrain11 Posted May 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 Thanks for the reply. That is about the conclusion that i have come to as well. Im very much hoping that its not a main drain line leak because that would be a major pain .. but again, i agree that it an air leak somehow. We took the cover off of the lever section right before the pump (not sure of the proper name) stuck the hose in and rain as much water down the main drain line as possible .. we could hear it 'glug' full but didnt seem to hold the water completely. If there is an air pocket of some sort in the main drain line, is there a way to try and releive it? or is it best to just call the local pool company and have them test it? Thanks again for all the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 The easiest way but time consuming is to get your pump to achieve full prime through the skimmer line. Then slowly on a quarter turn basis turn your 3 way to half n half. Gradually introducing the airlocked line in will give the pump a better chance at recovering when air is introduced. You may have to do the full procedure maybe 5 or 6 times till it works. What also might ease the work is to achieve full prime then shut off the pump and change the filter dial to recirc then ease the 3 way . Changing this will relieve the back pressure that is caused in normal filtration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANG Posted May 22, 2008 Report Share Posted May 22, 2008 What kind of valves do you have? Is it one 3 way valve or ball valves that control each line seperately? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrain11 Posted June 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 It is a 3 way valve. I have taken the top off of the valve to make sure everything inside is in good working ordering and everything appears to be OK. I am running right now on skimmer only and have pointed to jets to keep the best circulation possible. The second i try to turn the lever on the 3 way to bring the main drain in (even if i move the 3 way a quarter of an inch) the pump immediately loses prime. Im wondering if the old owners have plugged the bottom drain on purpose due to an old issue? Im starting to wonder if my best bet is when the pool gets warmer to dive to the bottom, remove the main drain cover and check if there is a plug, and if not to get a pool specialist out? We are trying not to make a service call to have it pressure tested .. but is apprearing that it may come down to that. Any suggestions i could do before i call in a specialist?? Thanks again everyone for your replies What kind of valves do you have? Is it one 3 way valve or ball valves that control each line seperately? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANG Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Sounds to me like you have a problem in the main drain line itself. The reason I think this is, If when running the pump and only having the skimmer side of the 3 way open and there is no problem then switch to the main drain, or at least start to, and the pump loses prime. This generally means it is pulling air from somewhere on the main drain side. If there was a plug in the main drain it would not cavitate the pump because the skimmer would still be working. And if there was a problem with the 3 way then you would most likely have a problem with pulling water from the skimmer too. You might just want to have the main drain line pressurized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianmonty Posted June 21, 2008 Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 You mentioned you just moved in over the winter. Any chance you have a home warranty that covers the pool equipment? I moved into a house with a pool last summer and had a slight suction leak, after a few unsuccessful minutes of trouble shooting I decided to call in a warranty claim, paid my $55 service call fee and it was fixed in 10 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fallentech Posted May 29, 2015 Report Share Posted May 29, 2015 The quarter turn solution worked great for me. thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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