Air in Pump Housing

Some air in the pump basket will always be there and will not hurt the pump. If your PSI gauge on Filter Cartridge Housing at least 8 psi, you have enough gallons per minute flowing through pipes.

Steps to reduce air in pump basket.

  1. Pump Off
  2. Make sure skimmer basket is clean of any debris. Basket should be fully inserted. 
  3. Make sure pump lid gasket (remove pump lid and look at gasket underneath) is still intact and you have added a thin layer of pump gasket silicone grease.
  4. Make sure the two side thumb screws on side of pump have their seals intact, silicone greased, and no cracks
  5. Make sure the 4 bolts on backside of the pump holding the pump to the motor are tight
  6. Make sure Filter Housing Lid gasket is intact, no cracks, and a thin layer of pump gasket silicone grease applied.
  7. Make sure Filter Housing discharge port at bottom has its gasket intact and a thin layer of pump gasket silicone grease applied
  8. That thin coating of pump gasket silicone grease is what creates an airtight seal. https://www.amazon.com/ZDBB-Silicone-Lubricant-Cartridges-Pressure/dp/B0DMSSFML2
  9. Make sure Filter Housing Pressure Relief valve and Pressure Gauge gaskets are intact with no cracks and then tighten back down securely.
  10. IF PSI gauge on Filter Housing shows PSI of 18 or higher, you need a new filter cartridge. You can test by completely removing the filter cartridge and running the system without the filter and see if PSI pressure decreases.
  11. Water level in the skimmer should be 3/4 up the skimmer opening. 
  12. Remove Skimmer basket and then start pump. While pump is running look down into the skimmer and see if you see a mini tornado. If so, the pump is running very well and unfortunately it will suck air as well as water into the line. Adding additional water to your pool just enough so any floaters can float past the skimmer opening is the only way to reduce air, but you will always get air due to suction effect.

Remember water in your pool will drop to the level of any cracks within 2-3 days. During dry season you will lose 2-4″ of water a week depending on how much your pump is running. Please purchase a Pool Blanket and cover the pool to reduce evaporation during dry season. You can perform a 5 gallon bucket test to determine if it’s evaporation or a leak (add water halfway up to 5 gallon bucket, mark water line with pencil, mark water line at pool with pencil, place bucket next to skimmer lid, wait 48 hours with pool pump turned off and see if water level in pool has dropped within an inch or two of the water level in bucket).

Thank you,

Pettit Pools