Recent content by Bill1974

If you have somewhere to get rid of the old sand and/or it's really dirty, then its usually easier to replace the sand. You do risk breaking the laterals when you replace the sand, but that's an easy fix too. Getting the wet sand out is the only pain in the butt part. Trying to tip it over to...

I ordered a Hayward sand filter off of Amazon when my old one sprung a leak. Multiport on the top. Delivered in 2 or 3 days. All local pool store wanted more and were going to take longer. As for sand just make sure to follow what is in the filter manufactures instructions. Again pool store...

Adding a neutral should not be to difficult. Also make sure the smart switch you decide to use is rated for the watts of your pool lights. If it's an on/off and not a dimmer you should be fine, but always good to check. All the smart switches I have seen that don't require a neutral...

Thinking about your leak and my own past leak experiences. I don't have a warm fuzzy feeling that this is the only leak. For such a small hole and on the suction line I am a bit surprised the water dropped as much as it did in the time you noted. If it were on the return side I think I the...

Moving the filter a bit and maybe changing the orientation of the inlet/outlet. Also there should be a 6" to 12" of straight pipe before the flow switch. A vertical mounting of the cell probably going to help plumbing layout. You might also need to install a post to secure the plumbing to or...

If you have room to add a sand filter, I would add one (plumb it in parallel and not series) using a couple of 3 way valves in so you can choose which filter to use. This would also give you the option to filter to waste. Kind of the best of both worlds. Once the initial opening is cleared up...

I would guess it's just pushed in (not sure from the inside or outside). Below are a couple of images from the manual. 2006 and newer look like the strainer is threaded in. Kind of looks like the back side of the cap can be used to install and remove the strainer.

You have to weigh the difference in cost for replacing or rebuilding. I don't think the cost is that much to replace. But be aware that you might have to mess with the PVC plumbing if it's not easy to swap over. Or time to add some union to make servicing easier in the future.

Kudos for diying this project. I did this on my steel wall in ground pool, I can imagine how much more work it is dealing with concrete. Surprised to see copper, my pool is from a similar era (it's had a couple of sets of black poly line and a couple of sets flexible PVC and I replaced it all...

I would not trust this bucket test. Concrete is like a sponge. If that paver was not saturated before this test was started it's going to absorb water and make it look like the level in the bucket dropped more and make you think you have a lot of evaporation.

Lid on the pump, some threaded connected on the inlet side, the union the inlet is letting in the air. Or maybe a glue joint is failing. If any gasket is stiff, cracked, hard, has marks, etc replace them. Also look over the sealing surfaces, check for cracks, nicks, dirt, etc. Yeah looks...