Pump's Got Me Stumped

[NewYorkKoiBoy]

Hi everybody,

I'm having a pump problem that's got me scratching my head. Hoping you can help.

I have a fairly large pond, so I've been using a Mustang, 56-frame in-ground pool pump (1.5 HP, 3450 RPM). It's been working great for the past 3 years.

It pulls the water from the pond through a basket filter, then up a gradual, 2-foot slope to the unit itself. It then pushes the water about 15 feet over to a waterfall.

All of a sudden, it's not working. I fill the pump with water as usual, put on the cap (tightly), switch on the motor and...nothing. Well, the motor runs, but even after 15 minutes or so, I'm not getting any water movement.

I know I'm not supposed to do this, but if I take off the cap with the motor running and dump water into the pump, it does come out the waterfall end, so I'm pretty sure the problem is from the pond to the pump (not the pump to the waterfall).

Can't see/hear/feel any leaks in the visible parts of the system. I've cleaned the basket. I snaked the intake pipe in both directions. Still nothing.

Anyone have any ideas about what might be going wrong? Thanks!!

Craig

 

[jesseB3]

it sounds like you might have a leak in the suction side. check the o ring seal on the basket and plumbing to the pond. if there is a leak that would cause you pump to draw air instead of water.

-jesse

 

[NewYorkKoiBoy]

Thanks. O-rings and seals appear to be airtight. Any other ideas out there?

 

[taherrmann4]

You said that the water travels about 15' over to a waterfall, is the waterfall outlet point higher or lower than the height of your pump?

Is your pump cap clear or semi clear where when you turn it on to see if you can tell if there is any sort of water movement? On mine I can see the water churning and any air is quickly sucked out within a minute or two of powering it up.

If you take some pics of your setup this may help us understand it better as well.

 

[sissy]

since it is a pool pump and probably an energy hog would it not be better to just get a new pump and not drive yourself nuts over it .Pond pumps have really come down in price and a lot of places have great end of the season sales on them .