Pump Impeller & Diffuser Issues, Pool Pump Not Priming Part 6

The pump Impeller or Diffuser may be melted, cracked or worn causing your pump not to prime. It is one of the last things to check for as there are several other issues that can cause your pump not to have good suction.

I have videos on most of these issues so check the list of videos below but other causes may be a suction leak, a clogged impeller, the pump lid o-ring, the Jandy valve in front of the pump may have a worn o-ring, the water level may be low in your pool, something may be stuck in the skimmer weir gate, a clogged line in your pool, an air leak in your filter air relief valve and an air leak in your multiport backwash valve. I know that is a lot to check for but any one of these can stop your pool from priming, besides the Diffuser and Impeller.
And two more obvious cause that you don't want to overlook: a very dirty pool filter and a clogged pump basket.

Here is my Pool Pump Not Working Playlist on my Channel:
For Specific videos (all are in the playlist too) click on one of these:
Clogged Impeller, pool pump not priming Part 4: You are watching it now.

Mrdgvb1 Social Media Links:

[Jbradtier]

Good grief. Thanks for making this quick. Even though it's not my pump it taught me enough to get it done without a bunch of small talk. Tired of looking through 30 minute videos for 10 minute fixes

[telefunkenyou]

Seeing your boy helping you just made me calm down and relax a bit. Thanks!
This is just one of those things that happen so infrequently you forget what you did the last time you had to fix it.
Just go down the list and keep checking things off until I can pinpoint the problem. Eventually I'll figure it out.
Besides I have a pool guy anyway but just wanted to see if I could still serve some kind of use around here besides taking out the trash.

[SkeyeU]

Been watching your videos and we took a look at the pool impeller and saw a huge crack in it. We bought a new one and the suction was a little better but not to great. Gonna have some one come over and check out the pipes. We love you videos! They have helped us sooo much!!! Thank you!!!

[mikedevecka]

Nice video. Although around the 7:00 mark, when working on the whisper flo pump it looks like the shaft screw wasn't removed before the impeller was taken off. PH refers to "phase", as in single phase or 3 phase. Most pool pumps are single phase. A 3-phase motor allows you to wire it so that the impeller will spin clockwise or counterclockwise depending on your wiring.. you should take note of the service factor of a motor as well as the horsepower. For example a one and a half horsepower motor with an upgraded service Factor would require a 2 horsepower impeller.

[XrpAndy]

Love your videos I signed up to the pool group online for 10 bucks. That’s how much I support you and how much you
Have helped me

[aaron]

Thanks for all your great videos! Very informative and real. I own an old whisperflo pump that was putting air bubbles into the lines. Sometimes it would also run with very low pressure or none at all. Resetting the pump would fix it. I replaced the seals in the pump including the ones on the impeller and the difuser. The seal in the impeller was rotted. After that there are less are bubbles but still the occasional low pressure issue. I guess the impeller is next for replacement!

[kevinsparks]

Very helpful. My problem was my impeller was loose after replacing the motor a few months prior. It wouldn''t prime.

[SPL]

Sounds like something is leaking. Did you try my plastic bag trick yet? Tie a regular plastic bag at the pump discharge (where the threaded pipe and top of pump meets the pipe & one in the intake in front of the pump - also at the point where the pipe and pump meet). Try priming it again as see what happens. Usually the pipes will melt if it ran dry for a long time. Sometimes the diffuser inside will have melted also.

[bunberrier]

Thanks! My pump overheated ( the oring popped out on one side of debris basket lid ) . I found the wear ring was 2mm on one side, 2.6 all around elsewhere. Put a new one in and new diffuser seal and it didn't help at all. I then noticed the impeller was worn where the wear ring goes around it. So now Im going to remove the impeller and put a new one on, and needed to know how to do that. Thanks again.

[petemartin]

Nic video man! But at about 8:15 when you are talking about the motor's HP, you note that sometimes it is backwards and listed as PH. PH on the motor refers to the Phase of the moor. It is either single phase or 3 phase (PH 1 or PH 3)

[stevenzak]

Thank you for the good advice. I'm going to try the plastic bag trick tomorrow. I'm terrified that a pump part may have melted because the pump is old and some parts aren't available, and buying a new pump isn't really in the cards at the moment. You wouldn't happen to know a good pool man in the Los Angeles area by any chance?.

[SPL]

Call Hayward and ask for a Warranty service. The bearings are wearing out for some reason and the motor will burn out very soon. There is a one year warranty on the pump and motors. The day the warranty guy comes out, leave your pool off so he can start it up and see what you are describing. Once the motor warms up the bearings quit down so it is important that he is the one to start it up. Oh, don't mention the fact that you took it apart as it may void the warranty.

[nobeac]

The only question I have is what is that vent thing on the wall where the pool is enclosed in the building outside it looks like a very big vent whats that called and why is that there? To provide the air or something? And I have also seen one in a parking garage too in the building not even near a pool so I wonder why they have it there too?

[charlies.]

As always, an informative video. I'm currently working on replacing the motor for my DuraGlas PUMP .Unfortunately,
However, the impeller is stuck. I was reluctant to use pliers or channel locks on it - as I'm afraid it'll break - BUT it looks like that's what you did. Is the DuraGlas impeller pretty tough, and Can I use channel locks on it? I tried to use a strap wrench on it, BUT it didn't work.👎

[PTS.MT.Goalie.BJJ.Andrew]

I'm having trouble turning the damn thing to open it. It's a trouble we have every year. We have to close it during the winter so we don't have a choice. Any tips?

[kevinhair]

Should air from the Pentair motor be exiting near the front of the motor (pump side)? I would expect it to exit the rear of the where the motor screen is. Air is existing and blowing from the middle towards the lid. I do not have any water leaks. Thank you

[sunnym]

Man you are the bomb and can you please come work on my pool (smile)

[stevenzak]

I've also found that I can't get a prime after the pump ran dry one day. I put a hose in the basket and ran the pump, and still nothing. But if I poured a big bucket of water in, it squirted out the bleeder valve and pressure rose -- but as soon as the bucket was empty, it dropped back to zero. Does that mean my pump works but something is leaking? Or the pump isn't pulling hard enough? Btw. do you have a pool business anywhere? (I'm in Los Angeles, in the Valley.)

[drgolfjim]

Do you ever answer questions? I have a Hayward 1 hp inground pump and it starts out working for 20-30 seconds, then suddenly it stops sucking. Is this an impeller problem?

[medinaify]

I have a Hayward pump and the impeller is clogged. It has 6 bolts. I started to remove the bolts. But two bolts just spun and I couldn't remove them. Any ideas?