air relief valve on top of Hayward Cartridge filter

Does the air relief valve on a Hayward Swim Clear filter need to be plumbed (flex hose) into the return line?

Hello Jjokjj - We’d be glad to assist you. No, the air relief valve does not need to be plumbed directly into the return line. The air relief valve at the top of the filter does not need to be plumbed into anything.

You may be referring to the internal air relief. The internal air relief tube runs from the top of the manifold down into the bottom manifold. At that point it is secured by a philips head screw.

Thank you for the information.  My problem was, and still is, the pump losing prime after running a few hours.  When it loses the prime, the pump shuts down and will not gain a prime on the next day’s schedule start.  I have a pre-filter plumbed canister directly run from the skimmer/main drain and another from the spa only when used in spa mode.

I can fill the pre-filter canister and the Intelliflo pump basket with water from the hose and get a prime going and the pump will run a few hours before it empties the canister, pump basket, and (the best I can tell) the entire Hayward Swim Clear cartridge filter. If I fill the canister and pump basket and wait to check for a leak, it does not go down any (waited 24 hours with pump off).

While it is running, pressure rises after the filter fills with water to normal operating pressure (about 22 lbs).  No leaks are detected on anything past the pump on the pressure side or any detectable air leaks on the suction side.

I have read your replies to similar posts and have tried all of them that I think are relevant to my problem.  I have checked for debris in the pump impeller opening, pressure tested with water hose attached to plumbers water bladder for open lines and have run out of ideas.  Also replaced all o-rings from filter, pump and pre-filter canister.

Any other ideas would be tried and greatly appreciated.

Have you tried looking for air leaks in the valves or fittings on the suction side of the pump? These are very common areas for such a leak.

Yes, I have looked at all plumbing connections, etc. but could not detect possible air leaks.  I also used a plumbers tool device (water bladder attached to garden hose) inserted in skimmer supply line and forcing water under pressure through line from skimmer through canister, pump and filter and again found no leaks.

You mentioned that the prime is lost slowly. Are you running the pump at a lower speed when this happens? If so, does the same loss of prime happen at higher speeds?

If the speeds have nothing to do with the loss of prime, it has to be a suction side air leak. The water bladder might not create enough pressure tor a visable leak to occur. The pump running creates much more pressure. I would suggest trying to find the air leak while the pump is running on a higher speed.