Air bubbles in swimming pool

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dees909

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I have a lot of air bubbles coming out the swimming pool jets and cannot seem to find the problem. I checked the skimmer lid o ring and thats good. Also checked the o ring on the union before the pump and that looks good. The pool cleaner pipes are fine but I aso disconnected it to try and isolate the problem.

Made a soapy solution and sprayed it all around the pipes before the pump and do not pick up any suction issues. Any ideas on what else can be checked? Do I need to call out a professional pool company or should I start digging and looking for the problem with the underground pipes?
 
So nothing else coming out the jets, like a fine sand or anything like that?
We had something similar recently and had someone come out.
You mention the O ring - did you check the lid itself for any cracks? If possible (I mean like without having to buy a new one) change the lid and see if that makes a difference. It did with us.
The reason I ask about the sand was, we had an issue with those finger filters at the bottom of that sand box, that was also causing issues.
 
The lid of the Sand filter also has a big O ring. I have found that when I changed sand I sometimes get this. It has all those screws and you have to go around and around and tighten them a few times.
 
Have you recently dosed the pool with a flocculant?
 
Sepeng said:
So nothing else coming out the jets, like a fine sand or anything like that?
We had something similar recently and had someone come out.
You mention the O ring - did you check the lid itself for any cracks? If possible (I mean like without having to buy a new one) change the lid and see if that makes a difference. It did with us.
The reason I ask about the sand was, we had an issue with those finger filters at the bottom of that sand box, that was also causing issues.
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Nothing else coming out the jets - clear water and bubbles. I did check the lid itself and it has no cracks.
 
Jean Claude Vaaldamme said:
The lid of the Sand filter also has a big O ring. I have found that when I changed sand I sometimes get this. It has all those screws and you have to go around and around and tighten them a few times.
Click to expand...
I didn't check the lid of the sandbox - will open it up tomorrow and double check the o ring.
 
dees909 said:
Nothing else coming out the jets - clear water and bubbles. I did check the lid itself and it has no cracks.
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You don't have a leaf catcher or something attached? Maybe some grit got in on the filters lid? I get the bubbles when my lid has pine needles
 
grok said:
Is it kinda smallish? Then its a jaccuzi, not a swimming pool..
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lol, its a medium size pool
The problem with the air bubbles is the pump tends to prime every few minutes and the pool cleaner loses suction so the floor of the pool is now dirty
 
dees909 said:
lol, its a medium size pool
The problem with the air bubbles is the pump tends to prime every few minutes and the pool cleaner loses suction so the floor of the pool is now dirty
Click to expand...
Then there is a leak somewhere and it's sucking air, that perhaps check near the pump.
 
Unions, sand filter o-ring, pump housing lid o-ring, pump housing lid, shaft seals, diffuser o-ring. I would check it in that order.

Are you losing water at a more rapid rate or any visible signs of a leak?

Does it happen with the pool cleaner disconnected also? I know obviously you won't be able to really tell if suction drops without a pressure gauge but does the amount of air under the lid and bubbles decrease if the cleaner is disconnected?
 
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As Steamy Tom mentioned, the most important question is wether your are losing more water than usual.

If your pump is constantly re-priming, it means that somewhere between the weir and the pump feed there is hole that is resulting in air entering the sealed water circuit. If your pump is above the level of the pool, the slightest non-tight seal can result in the pump losing suction and the water running back towards the pool. If the leak is past the pump (so on the push side), it should not result in the pump re-priming that much but will still result in bubbles as air is entering the water circuit.

My pool pump is slightly above the pool and whenever I cleaned the pump filter basket, the water would run back into the pool and it was a mission to recreate a vacuum and let the pump re-prime. I installed a non return valve just before the pump and that solved the problem.

If I were you I would focus my efforts on inspecting the section from weir to pump first. It may just be a pipe join / elbow join that has gone bad and is no longer sealed tight. If it at a sub-terrain / buried pipe this will usually result in dirt entering the water circuit plus it will result in your pool losing water. It is amazing how much water you lose through a tiny drip.

The ribbed Kreepy pipes love to tear in between the ribs and it is difficult to see. If the tear is on the top side of the pipe it will keep on sucking in air when the pipe bends so disconnect the Creepy while you do your investigation.
 
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Are you sure it's not suppose to blow air bubbles out with water at the jets? My pool you can set it so that its like a jacuzzi. I doubt if its something at the filter, it the cap was not fitted tight it would have been pushing out water not sucking in air.
 
Bubbles, if not normal comes from before the pump. add vaseline to oring. I found the pipe under ground had a joint, and the pipe clamp were completely rusted away. Replace the clamps, problem solved.
 
upup said:
Bubbles, if not normal comes from before the pump. add vaseline to oring. I found the pipe under ground had a joint, and the pipe clamp were completely rusted away. Replace the clamps, problem solved.
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Do not use vaseline on o-rings, only on your ring.

Pressure pipes underground should never be clamped, they should have couplings and pvc cement
 
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