Priming a pool pump -- do I leave the skimmer basket plugged while I turn on the pump?

Question

First year opening the pool... I've filled my water and want to start up the pump. I don't know how to make it catch prime -- and I don't want to mess it up. I *already* took the skimmer basket plug out and pulled out the little foam insert. I tried to get it to start but I think I left it too short, like 5 seconds with nothing in the basket ( I was told not to let it run dry at one point or another...). I then shut it off and fill the basket again.....

Do I *NEED* to have my skimmer plugged to start this pump and catch prime? I have the skimmer hole the to the deep end already plugged (I run my pool like that...) and now the return to the pump (ususally lots of suction at that hole).

Thanks... hopefully I didn't mess my pool up!!!

Answer 1

Leave your skimmer basket in the skimmer and leave your strainer housing basket in the housing (on your pump) never want to let the pump run without the basket in there if something large came down in there it could damage your pump. The best way to do it is if you can get a big bucket of your pool water and take your lid off the pump and just overflow the basket full of water and hurry and put the lid on and have someone turn the switch on for the pump (helps if you got an extra hand  ) and it should take prime however it doesn’t always work on the first try so it may need to be done several times just don’t let the pump run dry it can burn up the motor. That’s what we tell our customers to do. Hope you get it working!

Answer 2

The way you're wording this is a little odd, so it's difficult to make much out of it other than you probably have an in ground pool ( you say there's a deep end) or is this a Kayak pool? and that there's a skimmer in the deep end. You have two? Or one skimmer? That little bit of info is important here. So is if you have any valve in front of the pump, which may be the case here, with an in ground if your pool equipment is located much higher or lower than the pool's water level. Most people will have a valve installed to both make priming easier as well as basket cleaning if there's a large difference in the grade.

This is what needs to occur to prime a pump:

You need at least one suction line open to the pool and at least one return line as well. All your drain plugs for the filter and pump ( usually one at the base of the filter and two in most pumps, unless this is a cheaper above ground pool pump), that were removed at winterize, should be re installed.  It's a little odd that the winterizing person put a plug in the plumbing line, inside the pump suction plumbing. That's not usually done.

Now you need to replace the air in your suction line(s) with water. Is the pump below grade or above? If it's below, sometimes gravity alone will do the job when you remove the pump lid. There are times though, that you'll develop an air lock and need to help it along with a bucket of water in the volute ( wet end of the pump). It may take a few tries. 5 seconds sometimes isn't enough and it can take upwards of 30 or more. Whoever told you not to run the pump dry is correct, but they're ok as long as you put water in there and your run time is a minute or less, while attempting a prime.

If you have two skimmers or a skimmer and an inwall suction or main drain suction, the process of priming can take a little longer since there's all that extra air to remove from the plumbing system. If there's a valve in front of the pump, that will make priming a lot easier. You need only make sure it's closed, open the pump lid, add water, close the lid, turn on the pump and immediately open the valve. Let it run 30 seconds. If no result, close the valve, immediately shut off the pump, open the lid and repeat. It may take several tries.

  It may take only one. It all depends on your pump, the difference in grade and the length of plumbing run.

Alternatively, there are priming tools available for use where there's a long plumbing run to the skimmer or a large difference in grade. They hook up to a standard garden hose. You place it in the suction hole of the skimmer and with pump lid open, turn on the water. As soon as you see water fill up  the pump from the suction plumbing, put the pump lid on and remove the priming tool. Start the pump. It helps to have two people doing this. You can usually buy this tool at a pool shop. There's also a device that can be used as a priming tool, called a Drain King, that you can find at a plumbing shop. I used to favour this device because it required only one person ( the service guy) to operate.

There are a bunch of other scenarios here but it would help if you were a little more descriptive regarding the pool ( above ground or in ground and how many and what type of suction openings at the pool), the length of plumbing run to the pool and if the equipment is located below grade, above or at the same level as the pool's surface. If there are valves in front of the pump would be handy to know as well. Knowing the above, I can give you some tips on priming your particular set up. They're all different and although the same basic principles apply, there's slightly different approaches to getting a prime easier for each scenario.

Answer 3

Is this an above-ground pool? The water in the skimmer should flow down to the pump with gravity, so priming shouldn't be an issue.

If the pool in in-ground, then you have to lift the water out of the pool to the level of the pump. Then priming is an issue. In either case, you should never run the pump dry for more than a few seconds.

Fill the filter basket on the pump with water and close the cap securely. Turn on the pump. Quickly open the valve to the skimmer and wait 15 seconds. If the pump doesn't start sucking right away, turn off the pump and reprime the filter basket. Do this until you suck the air out of the lines and the pumps starts to work.

If you can't get the pump to stay primed and begin sucking, then you may have a leak in your skimmer line.