Leaking Hayward S200 sand filter

[sxoob]

Hi There-

I've been a lurker on this site for a while but never really had a reason to post any questions until recently. I'm a newbie pool owner, and learning as I go. I closed up my in-ground pool last winter and I think I made a big mistake... I realized that I left the drain cap screwed in after I drained the filter. That's not good since I live in Maine. I opened the pool about a week ago and I've had a steady leak at the base of the filter while it's running. I can't spot the leak because the base is in the way. The leak appears to stop when the pump is off.

I replaced the drain pipe today (hoping the pipe had some sort of a crack) and it doesn't appear to have fixed anything. The old pipe looked fine to me. Don't think it was an o-ring issue.

I guess my question is, what is my next step for finding the issue? I'd like to pick up the filter and look underneath it, but it's got 200lbs of sand in it, and I know I can't tip it on it's side. Does it sound like I have a cracked casing, or could it be something else? I'd like to avoid buying a new filter but I'm convinced I'll have to at this point. Thanks in advance.

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello and welcome to TFP! Sorry about your trouble there. Since you drained all the water last winter, I would've hoped that there would not be enough water left to expand and cause that damage. And since it's only happening when it's running, I'm wondering if there is any chance the water you are seeing is actually dripping and/or running from underneath the multiport valve (if you have a side-mount)? You don't have your equipment in your signature, so I don't know if you have a top or side-mount multiport valve, but thought I would ask anyways. If there's no chance it's the valve and you're sure it's the filter housing itself, there's not much you can do I'm afraid except empty the filter to inspect and/or replace. If you have any other thoughts or questions, please let us know. Nice to have you with us.

 

[sxoob]

Hello and welcome to TFP! Sorry about your trouble there. Since you drained all the water last winter, I would've hoped that there would not be enough water left to expand and cause that damage. And since it's only happening when it's running, I'm wondering if there is any chance the water you are seeing is actually dripping and/or running from underneath the multiport valve (if you have a side-mount)? You don't have your equipment in your signature, so I don't know if you have a top or side-mount multiport valve, but thought I would ask anyways. If there's no chance it's the valve and you're sure it's the filter housing itself, there's not much you can do I'm afraid except empty the filter to inspect and/or replace. If you have any other thoughts or questions, please let us know. Nice to have you with us.

Thanks Texas. I have a side-mount multiport valve. It doesn't appear to be leaking from the multi-port because it's not dripping down the outside of the filter. The only other thing I can think of is maybe the connection for the drain pipe is broken? I don't know what it screws in to but I noticed that after I put the new one on (and took it back out to inspect it) one of the edges that connected on the inside looked like it was up against something sharp. It had a strange mark on it. Hard to describe without a picture I guess.