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Hayward Pump Not Working


aGrandma

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My main pool pump is not working. It comes on and I can hear it and I hear some water in the system but I do not see water in the pump through the clear lid when it's on. Also there is no pressure on the gauge of the large filter container. It is possible that there may be leaves in the plumbing but the pool itself is clean of debris or leaves.

I took the lid off the pump and put my garden hose in it, turned it on high, then turned the pump on. The water goes immediately out of the pump, it is not sluggish.

When I look at any part of my pool plumbing when the pump is on I don't see any water moving at all.

Can you advise me as to what to look at or try?

The pump motor does not sound loud, in fact it's a little quieter than usual. The pump is 7 years old and it's never been worked on.

Thanks for your advice.

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Today I tried flushing the plumbing all directions using a water hose and a bladder attached to the end to make it spray stronger. No luck. I remember a few days ago when I cleaned the basket it had more leaves than I'd ever seen in it before. Maybe there is a clog in the system of leaves somewhere??

But I did notice that the lid on the filter over the basket went on easily, like it normally does. When I have a problem with that pump the lid goes on really stiff. I don't understand it but it must have something to do with the pressure inside.

Does anyone have any ideas?

We feel a lot of air coming out of the pump. Does that mean the impeller is turning or does that have nothing to do with the impeller?

Help!

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I have never changed the gasket but I checked it today and it feels fine (no flat spots or cracks or anything like that). I used a lube for pool and spa parts. Now the lid does open and shut easily but the pump still doesn't prime. I also opened the filter, cleaned the filters and emptied it of water. It had just been cleaned a week or so ago. I also lubed the ring around the filter housing. Still the pump is not priming.

Any other ideas? What else can I try?

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Can anyone tell me if I need to seal the Jandy valve (with 8 screws) with silicone or anything? I had to remove it for the 1st time ever after the Drain King (hose bladder attachment) shot off the hose into the plumbing. The top of the jandy valve was on really tight, and I had to pry it loose with a screwdriver. Now that it's all put back together I think it might be sucking in air. Should it seal with just the screws or does it need something additional?

I am suspicious there are leaves blocking the plumbing somewhere still. I am going to try using an air compressor to blow out the line since the Drain King didn't clear it. A couple of weeks ago after a lot of wind we did get a lot of leaves in the pool, and I discovered the pump basket with more leaves than I've ever seen before. It was shortly after this that we noticed problems with the pump not priming.

Again, should I replace the o-ring on the pump basket area if it looks/feels ok, but has never been replaced in 7 years? Or is it probably ok?

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Can anyone tell me if I need to seal the Jandy valve (with 8 screws) with silicone or anything? I had to remove it for the 1st time ever after the Drain King (hose bladder attachment) shot off the hose into the plumbing. The top of the jandy valve was on really tight, and I had to pry it loose with a screwdriver. Now that it's all put back together I think it might be sucking in air. Should it seal with just the screws or does it need something additional?

I am suspicious there are leaves blocking the plumbing somewhere still. I am going to try using an air compressor to blow out the line since the Drain King didn't clear it. A couple of weeks ago after a lot of wind we did get a lot of leaves in the pool, and I discovered the pump basket with more leaves than I've ever seen before. It was shortly after this that we noticed problems with the pump not priming.

Again, should I replace the o-ring on the pump basket area if it looks/feels ok, but has never been replaced in 7 years? Or is it probably ok?

One thing I've noticed when I prime my system is that it seems to prime better when my valve is set on WASTE instead of FILTER.

If you suspect the Jandy valve then perhaps you can put plastic over it and tape it up and see if the air is sucked out of it when the pump is on. Also, change your lid gasket. The gasket gets compressed over the years and makes it easier to put the lid on. If the gasket is new, the lid should take more of an effort to close.

Let us know what you find.

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The cap or lid to the Jandy valve has an oring. It is small, and usually sticks to one side or the other. You can get an o-ring kit for the valve, comes with the lid o-ring plus two shaft o-rings. Cost is about 5 dollars. If that valve is leaking, it is probably coming from the shaft. Replace both o-rings on the shaft(stack them).

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My pump is working again and I am soooo relieved!! I used the drain king to blow out all the plumbing I could think of, and no leaves ever came out of anywhere, so I guess that was not the problem.

I lubed the gasket on the pump basket and that didn't help -

Then I removed the jandy valve, blew out the plumbing there and maybe didn't get a good seal on the jandy valve. Today I removed the jandy valve again and looked for any o-rings and don't see any. I put it back on, turned on the pump and it got a prime!

I wish I knew for sure what did the trick, but I suspect it was the gasket on the pump basket, as Scott said, then also I might not have gotten the jandy valve nice and snug and air was getting in as SpaGuru said.

Thanks so much for your encouragement and advice.

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