New Filter? New multiport? Bubbles?

[smcclurg]

Good evening all:

I had the pool opened this year (I'm not yet confident enough to open/close myself, so I still rely on the pool company) and it turns out that my multiport is bad AND I had a hole in one of my suction pipes. The hole has been resolved (my pipes are still about 1" below the earth, which I assume is not the best, but...I'll deal with that later as it's, likely, an expensive undertaking and, like most things in my poor house, appears to be a handyman "special" (as in a special pain in my patootie!))

I have two options - (1) replace multiport or (2) replace entire sand filter. I didn't really have any major issues with the filter last year besides wishing it captured pollen and other things better; however, with the suction side leak fixed (I think), the filter/pump seem to be working much better (my rear skimmer is actually showing signs of life).

First, to clarfiy, would a bad multiport/holes in the multiport pipes cause air bubbles in my return? Note that the pipes coming from the filter have holes in the them that are constantly spraying water (we attempted a patch and it failed). When I backwash, my pump runs fine for a few hours and then small bubbles start coming out of one or both of my returns.

Second, should I replace only the multiport for a few hundred or the whole thing for about a thousand (again, relying on others to do the installation)? Is the multiport something I could do myself (note I have ZERO experience with anything plumbing related, etc.)? I don't think I'm ready to tackle installing the filter if that's the route I opt to go.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Shawn

 

[JasonLion]

Replacing a multi-port valve is fairly complex PVC plumbing. Now, even the most complex PVC plumbing is within the range of a DIY type, but if you don't have any PVC plumbing experience, replacing a multi-port valve is probably not the best place to start.

It is quite unusual for the entire multi-port valve to need replacing. Usually they can be rebuilt with just a few replacement parts. However if the main valve body is cracked, then the whole thing usually does need to be replaced.

You didn't mention anything about why the sand filter might need to be replaced. If the filter is working, why replace it?

Leaks on the suction side of the plumbing do tend to result in bubbles coming from the returns.

 

[smcclurg]

Good to know, thanks Jason!

I don't think the entire thing is bad. The only part I see leaking is the pipe indicated below, but it doesn't look easily removable. Is this pipe fixable/replaceable?



It seems to be working fine to me. They just mentioned replacing it might be more cost-effective than finding the new multi-port for an outdated filter and replacing it (and something about microns which, truthfully, is nonsense to me). I'm, unfortunately, at the mercy of the pool store folks, which I know is not the best position to be in, so I wanted to ask more knowledgeable (and trustworthy in my opinion) people on this site.

 

[DeeMac]

My husband just installed the same multiport valve and a new pump about 2 weeks ago. Here is a pic of our setup....