Losing Water Pressure

by Lisa
(Marshall Texas)

I just bought a new sand filter thinking that was the problem. My above ground pool is losing water pressure after about 5 min of using my lady bug pool cleaner.

Thanks, Lisa


Hi Lisa. You mentioned you bought a new sand filter but you did not say whether or not you replaced the pump. Most of the time, loss of pressure like you are describing, is caused by a leak in the hair and lint pot lid.

If you did replace the pump I would check it. Normally you will see the pot fill up with air while the filter is running, very quickly when the cleaner is hooked up. The fix for this is to use aqua lube on the lid o-ring. If that does not fix it you could replace the o-ring and maybe even replace the entire lid. With some of the older Hayward pumps the entire pot assembly needs to be replaced because the warp.

If you are sure that is not the problem then you should check the cleaner hose to make sure it is not collapsing from to much pressure. A 1 1/2 HP pump could easily collapse a cleaner hose causing the pump to draw air from where ever it could get it from.

Cleaners usually come with a suction regulator so that high powered pumps can be toned down a bit. If you have one, lower the suction on the cleaner so that it is getting just enough to move around, but not so much as to go crazy or for the hose to collapse.