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28 February, 2012

So, What Else Is Gonna Break?

This is about a couple of broken things. Both happen to be the control head or valve for the pool filter. You can see the thing in the photo below.
The Broken Filter Valve
In this photo, I've removed the head of the valve to show the first repair job I did. A part of the ridge that holds the spider gasket (the black rubber in the photo) had broken and I super-glued it back into place. You can see, if you look closely, where the screw driver is pointing, a faint outline showing the break, which is still holding good. It broke right before our visitors from up north came. Thankfully, I was able to repair it and it held throughout the time they were here.

But, you can also see the other arm of the gasket is slightly bowed where water flowing through the second break, caused this effect.
Repaired Older Break and New Problem
In the photo below, you can see just how large a piece was dislodged. Of course it washed right out of the filter and down the backwash pipe and away, so there was no chance of repairing it.
Showing the Large Broken Bit
I don't know what caused the breaks in either case. Perhaps chlorine aging the plastic, or maybe not being careful enough moving the control head arm when changing valve positions. Either way, it means replacing the valve entirely. There's no way to get just the valve body.

Luckily, Island Pool Supply (http://www.poolsuppliesbelize.com/index.html), over in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, has a valve that will fit. They'll ship it to me either by Tropic Air or the Thunderbolt Ferry once the money is deposited to their bank account... But, that's another story entirely.

2 comments:

Larry said...

Good to see someone had the foresight to install unions on each pipe to that valve. That's a great idea for quick exchange of the valve. I've done the same thing with all the major components of my water system too and it sure has come in handy when a pump or something fails!

If your valve was installed by a contractor, I'd stick with that guy, and if it was your idea, Dave, KUDOS to you!

Dave Rider said...

Hi Larry,

I'd like to take credit for that, but it was my pool contractor, John Harris, who did those unions. I followed his example and put unions on just about everything else. They are a godsend.