I can probably count on one hand how many times I’ve left comments for DIY stuff but this was rock solid troubleshooting, saved time and money, pump running great now! Seems to have been a dry seal that was leaking, lubed with silicone and magic, problem solved. THANK YOU!

Adding water to skimmer basket finally worked for me..... again! One thing I did different this time was closing all the suction lines, but one (main drain), and opening the skimmers one at a time after pump was primed, until I got those lines primed. I had a suspicion that air was trapped in the skimmer lines because my water line was low. Thanks to this video and some comments that helped me figure this out!

Thanks for this video! I never would have thought to check the pump impeller as there are 2 filter baskets before it but sure enough, there were a bunch of pine needles that had made it through and were in the way.

extremally informative and useful. Reviewer, John Precopia had the fix for my problem by mentioning the skimmer door issue. It worked. Your tips for checking also helped me find a few other issues that I was able to prevent just by checking. Thanks

Just have to say THANK YOU! I could not figure out the issue with my new pump, watched tons of videos and this is the first one that helped me solve the problem. Super helpful and I really appreciate it as a pool rookie.

Awesome video, my pump wasn't priming. Fill up with water for 2 mins and working as new. Thanks so much, you have a new subscriber.

After batling for 2 weeks with low suction, pool water clear but full of sand on the bed, then boom, I came across this video. Thanks God for you!

Great Video! Might want to add one more scenario. My skimmer door became dis enlarged and was stuck in the vertical position which prevented water from flowing into the skimmer basket. That led to my water priming issues. Buying a new skimmer door right now. Thanhks!

WOW this works. added water in the filter basket and it worked. you have a subscriber for life from South Africa

Filled up pump basket and it started working again. Thank you very much.

I agree, best video I have watched on this topic. 2 year old pool and this message populated on my Pentair pump after I cleaned out my filters. All I needed to do was pour water in the pump its-self as shown for 3 minutes. Everything works like it did before. Thank you for your help!

Great video! I now only lose suction when vacuuming using a vac skim plate. Noticed in your video that plastic connections in plumbing and pump strainer lid all have rubber gaskets. Logical , effective. But no gasket between skim vac plate and where it seats down in skimmer. Why not? I put poolvacsaver gasket on vac plate and it rocks! Has anyone else thought of this?

Thank you this helped me. My problem was in the impeller. Mil Gracias 😊

Your videos help me so much as a new pool owner. My pool isn’t new, I’m new to owning one lol and it looks like I’m going to need to figure out where air is getting in my system

i don't usually leave comments on videos. but i had to on this one! This video is 7 years old at the time of me finding it, and i am sooooo grateful! After recently purchasing a home with a large pool that i had no idea how to maintain i relied on a pool cleaning service company that charged me an arm and a leg every time i called them out for a 'problem' that they'd seem to fix in a matter of minutes! Today i decided (after realising these call out fees were not going to be sustainable) to come on to this platform and just look for possible solutions to what i can describe as the problem - because i don't even know the names of the different instruments/parts and oh my did you save me! My pool suction wasn't working (priming as i learnt in this video) and within a minute you solved my problem with solution number 3! I didn't realise that basket inside the actual pump system also gets full and needs cleaning, id just been clearing the basket by the actual cleaner (kreepy krauly attachment). I immediately opened that apparatus and was shocked at how full that basked was! i cleared it out and cleaned it properly and my pool is running perfectly again! THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!

Cleared the impeller and my issue cleared up instantly. Thanks for the video from 8 years ago!

Thank you so much for this video! My pump wouldn’t prime so I had added a bunch of water, but forgot to reseal the pool pot lid. That simple fix did the trick.

This video saved me a $200 service call. Found an acorn blocking the pump! Using a garden hose pressuring water through and combination of my long fingers and coat hanger to dislodge. Was sooo happy when I was successful. Thank you !!

Wow priming the filter basket for three minutes did the trick. Life saver thank you

Superb video.... this is best video I have watched in pool Maintenance.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. In just a few minutes after watching your video i fixed the problem that took my nephew and i the whole morning to try and fix. Thanks a million ❤

I forgot to put the o ring back on. Thanks for the help!!

I have a above ground pool that has a round hole where the filter that came with it should go, but I want to use my sand filter and don't know how to plug the hole. Any help?

Great video very informative!

Thank you so much, your video was extremely helpful

Went through them one by one and it was the clogged pump impeller. Video saved me a couple hundred dollars!

Thank you for helping me!!

You solved my problem. The strainer basket was low and just needed filling up. No other resource suggested that. Thank you!

Wow...just did what you said exactly. Worked perfect. Thank you sooooo much. I subscribed. Let strainers go way to clogged. Darn it. Got it in calendar now. Thx again!!

Thanks for posting. Our father recently passed and I'm just learning how to maintain the pool at our parent's home. Your video helped a lot.

this is would be v helpful if i had a pump with a skimmer. unfortunately the one i got doesnt have a skimmer and sits above in ground pool spa. the old spa has a hose connector above which perhaps is used for priming and pumping the water into pipe but we cant work it out. any tips? thanks

THANK YOU! This video helped me after 2 hours of trying to work out the issue myself.

Primed mine and it worked like a champ since.

gosh dang it you are awesome ! Thank you so much for this tutorial !

Thank you. It was reason #7 for me.

Is the video of the pump running with the pocket of air how it should look or not? Ours looks similar but wasn’t sure if that was too much air in the pump?

Thank you! Very helpful! That dang impeller was clogged!

Thank you very much. Great video and very useful information. :)

What would cause my pump to loose prime only while backwashing or rinsing? If it's on filter then it runs fine but then when I go to backwash it's like it runs out of water.

Thank you! Great help!

best video I've seen on this so far

Pretty good video but I didn't see any mention of the by-pass valve (Jandy valves) coming from the skimmer and bottom drain. I have two separate valves and these valves have o-rings in the top cover as well as the shaft for the gate. My problem is, when I attempt to vacuum the pool the pump loses vacuum, after a few seconds of vacuuming, and the vacuum pops off the skimmer and the pump loses prime. After I allow the pump to regain prime, it will start picking up debris again until it loses prime again. VERY ANNOYING!!!! When I opened the valve I found the gate and handle have been moved and, when in the open position, the gate does not cover the lubrication hole in the side of the valve case, maybe another place where a small air leak is occurring. I would like to know how to remove and replace the lubricating mechanism. Then I can install the gate correctly and eliminate any leaks in this area. Any advise would be appreciated.

Awesome video. Just helped me fix a problem my boss was totally confused by 💯💯💯

My Problem solved! I had to remove my pool pump to clear out the turbine vanes. But once I put the pump back on, there was no prime. This video had the answer. Thank You!

Brand new Intex pool with sand filter. I prime the pump, start the backwash process and it works for a few seconds before the pump skimmer bakest gets low water. I put water in the bakest and turn the pump back on and the same thing happens. I even put Teflon tape on all the hose connections to make sure there was no air leaks and still nothing. Help!

OK got a question concerning the step 2 on troubleshooting, don't what you mentioned about filling basket BUT that just gets sucked dry and then again no water flow.. I kinda reminded me on some things that vapor lock , so what do you suggest now.

Excellent, thanks!

Best video on pump priming issues ever!

Thank you!

thanks you guys really helped

my pump doesnt have water in it looks dry & cant prime but just few bubbles are coming while switiching on...should i open the lid and fill water after switching ON the pump or when its OFF??

Thank you, great video and advice! Helped me to troubleshoot and discover that there wasn't enough water in the pump strainer basket.

If a pump still will not prime and you have multiple suction side connections like I do, 2 Main Pool Drains, 2 Spa Drains, a Skimmer and a Vacuum, you need to shut all but one off and let it prime through that line, then open one line at a time till each primes. My 'manifold' connecting all the suction side sources, is right at the pump, 30' from the pool so there's a lot of 2" pvc running from the pool to the pump that holds a lot of air. If you have multiple suction side pick up points and you've opened the system, they'll drain back to the pool and fill with air. It's too much air for the pump to purge. Air is not a solid like water so it just won't allow the heavier water to push it out and prime the pump. If your manifold connecting these sources is right at the pool, it may prime much easier.

What does it mean when the screen displays "primer timeout"?? Should I be worried or does it just mean I should put more water in the basket?

My pre-filter lid only rotates about a half an inch to lock, maybe 10°. It looks like the lid in this video rotates about 30°---should mine rotate further?

At 3:03 no, you shouldn’t use plumbers tape on union fitting thread. Threads are not tapered, they aren’t meant to create a seal. Seal is created by the o ring. Using Plumbers tape here can actually interfere and lower the pulling force needed to seal the o ring.

my pump stays primed until I turn the valve to run the skimmer. Anything more than slightly opening the skimmer I lose prime and it primes when skimmer valve is closed. Is this a leak in the skimmer line? What do I do if the leak isn’t above ground?

Should my Jandy filter pump be completely free of air? I think it was before but now there is still air in it. I've replaced the locking lid (came with o-ring), new filter manifold (old one cracked) and replaced the filter cartridges but there is still air in the pump. In your video, I see air in the pump, similar to mine. thanks for the informative video.

Thank you very much the pool pump is work. August from South Africa

Great video. I just bought and installed a new "Hayward Turbo Flo II" above ground pump. I turned on the power, and it ran for seconds and stopped, then it kept starting and stopping again and again. I am not sure this is normal or not, I have to turn off the power, The old one died due to no water was pumped and some part was too hot and burned. This is self-priming pump. the continuous start/stop is to vacuum the air in the pipe?

Hi! Thanks for your video very helpful. I have a question I have an above ground Pool my pump looses prime but every time I back washes it prime comes back but after 30 min I loose it again and filter pressure goes above 20 psi . Why do you think it’s that?

great video - the issue is so frequently air getting in by not closing the cover tight enough!!

I have a sand filter for my above ground pool and while it's on filter mode it spits sand back into the pool. Is there anything you can thing of besides the laterals that could be the problem? Could it be that I didn't have Enough sand?

Best video on the topic. Thanks you saved me a lot of money with this video.

Does anyone know the reason why a pool pump won't fill up with water, I keep hose on for 10-15 min even more and water just keeps going in to pipe coming from pool skimmer, I usually keep the water level on skimmer at least half way so there is plenty of water in the pool. I don't think there is a pipe leak since the water level seems to be normal all the time, i can't figure this out and i have issues with pump priming, what should I do?

you nailed it. Thx fix my pool in less than 5 min because of you. :)

still helpful for me, thanks for posting! +1!

What a great video and the voiceover work is top class. Is this guy available for hire?

Thank you. This was a lot cheaper than calling a technician out.

Thank you so much INYOPOOL!

hi all i cannot find a replacement part for Sp-1610-C, are there any replacement parts that are exactly the same? all i can find are impeller that are much thinner than my original, will those still work? thanks in advance

Thank you , my question is this what happens when the moter is running but the pipe pool is not running? The pipe pool not running while i m already clean the backets but the pipe still not running

I had a new single speed Hayward one horsepower pump installed for my inground pool a number of months ago. From the beginning it was making too much noise I felt, and it had a large maybe 4 inch air bubble under the lid. The installer said that's because this pump draws more water than the previous one and it's not getting enough water flow from the 2 inch piping, and/or let it run overnight to get the air out all sorts of stuff. From the beginning when locking the lid it would only turn about half an inch to lock recently it was losing its prime overnight, and starting again in the morning and would run dry for I don't know how long before noticed it a couple times and stop the pump open the lid added more water and when I restarted it would prime again after a little while. But after I used Magic Lube II silicone that I had on hand and the bubble became about 1 inch diameter and the pump was quieter, and it kept its prime overnight. I was annoyed that the installer gave all sort of excuses when it was really just it needed lubricant or the the lid wasn't right to begin with. I pointed this out to the pool guy this morning, and he said that he services several other pools with the same pump, and the lid will rotate 90° to lock, which is my expectation based on previous pumps. So is this a defective lid or the wrong lid for the pump? I paid for a new pump. Early on when I asked the installer about the small travel to lock it he said that's normal, but I have my doubts. I see the lid on your pump looks like it rotates about 30°.

Wow! Thank you! Debris in the impeller was the cause for me. Made total sense as soon as I saw you mentioned that and the process of elimination.

It primes whenever the pump fills with water but most of the time I need to release the air pressure from gauge valve until water leaks out from the pump lid cover then then close the valve and turn on the timer switch to run the pump again. May I ask what could be wrong? Thanks

Good video! I'm having this problem, pump not priming, I already did all those steps, and still not working. I put water in the basket before the pump and it never fills up... so my guess is there's a leak somewhere in the suction line between the pol and the equipment... do you agree? If so, any idea how much it could cost to repair? thanks!

Thanks for the video!!! easy fix

Excellent video. Can a leaky Jandy valve cause loss of prime?

My pool pad is about 24" above the pool water level, and 12" above the spa level. The spa holds its level when the system is off. Please explain if the filter pump housing is supposed to hold its water for the 16 hours the system is off. It drains back down to the spa level, and the pump has to pull up a 12" column at startup -- takes about 30 sec. No suction leaks I can detect. Is this normal priming? Are the seals wearing during the 30 sec?

Quick question man on the second step are you able to do this with all brand of pumps cause my dad said I’m not supposed to do this step but I think that’s our problem 💀

Best video! Helped solve my problem

Does anybody know if adding water works does that eliminate the other reasons?

Excellent Video -- the best.

I think I had this problem from a low water level as you point out, but I am still puzzled about the cause since the intake ports in the skimmer, return ports and drains are still below the waterline?

My issue was that my in-floor pool vacuum system (installed prior to when I bought the house) had a separate skimmer for the floor vac that I was not aware of, that had been badly clogged. Once I fixed that, the pump primed and all is well. Hope that helps someone one day

Thank you!!! Intake fitting not tight!!

Great and informative

None of this is working for me. I am feeling the pump basket with water but it just keeps going out and never fills up. I don't know if he's trying to fill the pipes in the pool or not

Not enough water in strainer basket. Thought I'd have to buy new pump! Thanks a ton!

Hi In the 2nd problem, is the water pump running/turned on while I'm filling water in the strainer basket?

Perfect. Thanks 👌

Thanks for this info, you saved my life.

Thank you , you also save me a service call!!! You Rock!!!

Thanks to your video, my pump is working again!

Excellent , was stressing you saved me.

Thank you, you saved me a service call!

Just wanted to join in and say thanks for the video. It was either the "fill the strainer basket for 2-3 minutes" or the "check the strainer cover" that solved mine. But it definitely did the trick, lol. Thanks again.

Great video very informative 👏

What a awesome video !

Thank you! This really helped 🙏