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How to Identify and Correct Air Leaks

WRITTEN BY: patrick

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If you see many bubbles coming out of your return lines into the pool, you probably have an air leak in your filtration system. Possible sources of this problem are

low pool water levels
leaks around the strainer lid
leaks in the unions
leaks in the pump seals

The leak source must be identified and corrected for the most efficient pool pump operation.

Step by Step

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Step 1

Your swimming pool filtration system has two sections: the suction side (from the pool to the pump) and the discharge side (from the pump to the pool). Check the strainer pot of your pump. If you see many air bubbles moving through the strainer pot, you know that the air leak is somewhere on the suction side of the system plumbing before or at the pump.

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Step 2

The ideal water level should be at least halfway up the skimmer intake. If the water level drops below that level, the skimmer can gulp air with the ebb and flow of circulating water.This simple problem has a simple fix:

Add water.
Drop in a hose and get that water level up.
Keep an eye on it in the future to prevent a reoccurrence.

A simple add-on feature is water levelers, ensuring your water is always optimal.

Step 3

Before we begin inspecting the plumbing elements, switch off the master breaker to your pool pump.

Release water pressure in the system using the air relief valve on your filter. An air relief is generally only found on Cartridge and DE filters. Sand filters do not have this feature, so expect some to splash when accessing plumbing elements like the pump strainer lid and unions.

Step 4

Pool Pump Strainer Lid O-ring: A single gasket seals the pump strainer lid, which, once it loses pliability, can provide a direct route to foul your prime. Typical signs of wear are cracking in the rubber, warping or stretching, and the obvious missing bits.

Check the rubber gasket for cracks, pinching it into a smaller loop. Cracks will look like striations across the length of the gasket.

Warped or stretched gaskets are evident when the o-ring sits in the groove o-ring, spilling over. The warping of an o-ring can lead to it being pinched, creating a gap through which air can enter the plumbing.

If necessary, replace with the new gasket after cleaning the O-ring’s groove of gunk and leftover lube. Apply a new coat of lube, as well.

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Step 5

Your pump housing’s drain plugs are often overlooked when diagnosing an air leak, but these little gasket-sealed ports cause havoc if the seal is broken. Use any of the air leak techniques mentioned above or do an eye inspection for a pinched or defective gasket.

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Step 6

If your pump strainer gasket wasn’t the issue, move forward to the pump union. Most pumps have a union on their intake, allowing easy maintenance and removal. These unions have a single gasket that seals the cuff and screw-on adapter. Most commonly, these o-rings become pinched. Go through the checks of the o-ring mentioned in the previous step.

Step 7

Another common culprit is PVC plumbing glued joints like tees, elbows, and valve ports. The epoxy sealing these joints can become brittle and wash out over time, allowing air leaks that prevent the removal of all the air from the pump, leading to priming failure. This can create a progressively worse and worse air leak. The suction hose plays a crucial role in the priming process, and leaks in connections can prevent the vacuum necessary for drawing liquid up the suction hose to the pump, further complicating priming efforts.

The smoke, soapy water, or shaving cream method is the standard way of finding these leaks, and repair can be as simple as adding a caulk patch. Or, if you want to ensure a permanent fix, re-piping and gluing will be necessary.

Step 8

If your air leak problem only occurs when you attach your vacuum hose, then the issue may be pinhole-sized leaks in one or multiple hose sections. To find and replace these hose sections:

Disconnect all hose sections
Use tape or plugs to seal the end of each section
Submerge the hose section while looking for any stray air bubbles coming from the body of the hose

Complete this for each hose section; replace the sections with holes.After checking the hose sections, consider performing a 'bucket test' to determine if your pool is losing water due to leaks or simply through evaporation. This simple method involves filling a bucket with pool water, marking the water levels inside the bucket and in the pool, and then comparing the two after a few days. If the pool water level drops more than the water inside the bucket, it's likely you're losing water due to a leak rather than evaporation. This test is great at helping identify whether you have a pool leak or if it is natural evaporation.

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Step 9

If you still have a significant number of air bubbles coming out of your return lines into your swimming pool, you may have a bigger problem like leaks in your underground lines. Call a pool maintenance professional to help you isolate your problem.

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InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 12/11/2010

It sounds like it is probably your pool pump bearings. Unfortunately, we do not have a step by step guide to help show you how to replace these. We will try to get a proper guide here in the future.
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Anonymous Posted: 12/10/2010

SOME TIMES WHEN MY PUMP FIRST KICKS ON IT HAS A SQUEALING NOISE FOR ABOUT 10 TO 15 SECONDS THEN STOPS AND MAYBE A FEW MORE SHORT TIMES. HELP ARE THERE BEARINGS TO BE REPLACED IF SO HOW CAN I DO IT?
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InyoPools Product Specialist Dennis R. Posted: 11/19/2010

Without looking at the pool pump my guess would be that you have a worn out gasket. We suggest that you check you pool pump gaskets to see if they are properly placed or worn out. If they are worn out you will need to purchase a new gasket or tune up kit / go-kit.
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Anonymous Posted: 11/18/2010

I have a Hayward II Super pump and have a leak under the discharge part. Not where the actual pump is and not under the piece that goes into the pool. It started as a small leak but has grown worse. My pool was installed in 2006, so the pump isn't old. Any suggestions?
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