How To: Identify and Correct Low Water Pressure

hey pool owners in this video we're going to show you how to identify and fix low water pressure in your pool some symptoms of low water pressure could include weak returned Jets water features that have stopped working or have low flow sluggish pool cleaners or low flow warnings from salt systems and heaters to understand why your water pressure is low you'll first need the basic understanding of how your pool operates the plumbing system has two sides the suction side that comes afore the pump and the pressure side that comes after the pump the pump creates a vacuum which pulls the water from the pool and pushes the water back to the pool through a filter a problem on either the suction or the pressure side can result in low water pressure we'll cover both suction and pressure side problems in this video let's start by looking at suction side problem the first thing to check is the water level of the pool if your water levels below the skimmer your pump will suck in air and produce low water pressure if it sucks in too much air the pump may lose prime altogether to fix this problem make sure that the water level is at least halfway up the skimmer door next take a look at your scare basket if your ciara basket is full of debris you're effectively shutting off the pipe between the skimmer and the pump resulting in low flow to fix this simply clean and remove all the debris from the basket another basket a check is in the pump strainer like the skimmer basket a full pump basket will decrease the flow to the pump again empty any debris that's been collected in the pump basket an often overlooked cause of weak flow is a clogged impeller if your impeller is obstructed the suction is decreased which reduces water flow through your system to fix this you'll need to clean out your impeller check out the description below to see our guide on cleaning out pool pump impellers suction side air leaks are another source of low water pressure if you have an air leak you'll usually see air bubbles coming out of the returned jets or building up in the pump strainer a big enough air leak will cause the pump to lose its prime [Music] if it's a smaller leak air will be sucked in and start to collect at the top of the filter tank after some time usually a few hours air pressure at the top of the tank will create enough back pressure to reduce the flow of water significantly when the pump is shut off this back pressure will cause the water in the suction pipe to surge back sometimes shooting a column of water up through the skimmer suction leaks at the pump are usually going to be found near the lid drain plugs and inlet fitting replace any overhangs that looked at T rearrange stretched or broken if you don't have an air leak at the pump check the diverter valves unions and fittings before the pump for tips on how to find these leaks check out our video titled how to find suction side air leaks in a pool another cause of low water pressure could be a clogged line a clogged pipe from the skimmer suction line or main drain reduces the amount of water to the pump to free a clogged line try feeding a fish tape through the plumbing to dislodge any debris another helpful tool used for this application is a plumbing bladder simply hook up a garden hose to the bladder and slide it into the skimmer or suction line turn on the water and the bladder will expand and blow out the lines now that we've looked at such aside problems that cause low water pressure let's take a look at pressure side problems a dirty filter will restrict water flow through your system high PSI reading on your filters pressure gauge is usually a good indicator that your filter needs cleaning saying the de filters require back washing while cartridge filters need to be hosed down de grids and cartridges can also be soaked in the filter cleaner to remove oils and grease that aren't removed during normal cleaning if the psi remains high and you still have low water pressure after cleaning the filter the filter media may need to be replaced and by media we mean the sand de grids and cartridges another source of low water pressure can be pressure side water leaks water leaks around the pool equipment are generally small and won't cause a significant drop in pressure however a water leak in your underground pool plumbing could reduce the flow from your returned Jets if you need to regularly add water to your pool or the ground around your pool stays moist then there's a possibility that you have a pressure side water leak we recommend hiring professional plumber to fix underground plumbing another problem that could cause low water pressure in your pool is a pump that's too small if your pump size was calculated for your initial pool system and you've recently added additional water features installed a salt system installed a heater or heat pump or moved your pump further away from the pool you may have exceeded the pumps ability to supply the gallons per minute required for adequate flow in order to fix this problem you may need to shut off some of your water features or upgrade your pumps motor or impeller that covers the basics of identifying and fixing low water pressure in your pool feel free to leave any questions or comments down below and don't forget to visit us over at inyopools.com for all your swimming pool needs

Channel: Inyo Pools

Views: 172,211

Rating: 4.8558226 out of 5

Keywords: how, to, Swimming pool, pool low water pressure, swimming pool repair, swimming pool maintenance, how to fix low water pressure, how to fix pool water pressure, weak pool jets, air bubbles in pool, low water flow

Id: mAb2abgwbk8

Length: 5min 17sec (317 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 11 2019