Maintenance and Equipment
Equipment families and what each tells you
An operator maintains pumps and motors, filters and valves, heaters, chemical feed systems, controllers and the plumbing between them. Learn the normal readings for each: suction and discharge gauges, filter pressure, flow meter, heater inlet and outlet temperature, and controller displays. Rising filter pressure means loading. Falling pressure or a bubbling strainer suggests a suction air leak. A noisy, vibrating pump usually means cavitation from a restricted suction line or a clogged basket.
Maintenance discipline
Daily: empty pump strainer baskets, check for leaks, record pressures and flow, verify chemical feed output. Weekly to monthly: backwash or clean per the pressure trigger, calibrate controllers and test kits, inspect o-rings, gaskets and check valves, lubricate motors per the manufacturer, and inspect the heater for scale, soot or low flow. Keep a written preventive maintenance schedule and a log - inspectors and exam questions both reward documentation.
Traps
Never run a heater without adequate flow, and never introduce chemicals through the skimmer or upstream of a heater unless the manufacturer permits it. Erosion feeders and peristaltic pumps need a check valve and must inject downstream of the heater. A "pump won't prime" question is almost always an air leak, closed valve, low water level or worn seal - not a bad motor.
Worked example
Clean filter pressure was 12 psi; today it reads 21 psi. That 9 psi rise falls inside the usual 8–10 psi band, so backwash, log the new clean pressure, and recheck flow.