Hayward S200 Sand Filter Leaks After Deep Cleaning

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superdave5599 said:
Is there a suggested torque value for the bolts?
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I've been looking across the manual and filter sites and not seeing anything specific. I suspect it's the typical "Star pattern until snug, do not overtighten". Just enough to compress the O-ring and keeping the pressure level and uniform around the circumference of the seam.
 
superdave5599 said:
But it is simply leaking from where the filter body halves come together.
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Well this is a whole different can of worms. This is aging of the filter body and poses a risk for splitting or even exploding if enough pressure is built up. The top MPV assembly leak is not ideal but not as risky since its hold in place by the clamps.
 
Note that the suggestion to use silicone sealant is only if you cannot stop the leak and you would otherwise have to replace the filter.

You can use silicone lube on the groves and silicone sealant on the O-ring and then put it together and it will probably hold and you will probably be able to take it apart again.

To tighten the bolts, go around about 5 times tightening the bolts a little bit at a time on each pass.

Get the channels super clean; not even a grain of sand.

Put a light film of silicone lube on the channels.

Coat the O-ring in silicone aquarium sealant; thoroughly coated but no excess.

Push the O-ring; Do Not pull the O-ring to coat it with sealant.

Seal everything and allow overnight to dry.
 
JamesW said:
Note that the suggestion to use silicone sealant is only if you cannot stop the leak and you would otherwise have to replace the filter.

You can use silicone lube on the groves and silicone sealant on the O-ring and then put it together and it will probably hold and you will probably be able to take it apart again.

To tighten the bolts, go around about 5 times tightening the bolts a little bit at a time on each pass.

Get the channels super clean; not even a grain of sand.

Put a light film of silicone lube on the channels.

Coat the O-ring in silicone aquarium sealant; thoroughly coated but no excess.

Push the O-ring; Do Not pull the O-ring to coat it with sealant.

Seal everything and allow overnight to dry.
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Appreciate that. This is what I was thinking about with the thought of if I use sealant.

I've decided I'm willing to try it one time with a goodly amount of lube on the gasket, since I Haven't given the OEM with lube option a try yet.

If that does not do the trick, then I'll use sealant as outlined here.

If that doesn't work, I'll probably kick it over and cry.
 
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The only other thing I can thing of is the top clocked in a different position that it was orginally? Changing up the clocking (top to bottom) might get it to seal.
 
To follow up, I did get the leak stopped this weekend! (Well, what is left is the teensiest drip that may stop on it's own once a little crud or DE finds it's way over there.)

This time, I unhooked the MPV and plumbing to be able to move the fiter away from the house; the way it was installed, the back of the filter was practically touching the foundation of the house, and it is underneath the deck, so any servicing is done from crouched position. This makes tightening the back 4 or so bolts more difficult. So I fully disconnected it and scooched it to a place that made working around the full circle easier.

When I popped the top off, I took a much closer look. Turns out, there were some hairline cracks around 4 or 5 bolt holes, mostly in that back area. Some of them looked dark or dirty, so I presume that they have been there for a while and I didn't necessarily cause them, but knocked the dirt that was plugging them loose. (At least that thought will help me sleep at night!)

Anyway, I cleaned everything up, greased the o-ring channel in the lower half really well and greased the o-ring well. (Pro tip I haven't seen: This time, before doing those things, I laid some shop rags/towels gently on the sand bed to keep the potentially greasy o-ring from popping out and touching sand and getting that stuck on it. Then I carefully picked up the towels so as not to disturb the o-ring.)

Because of the cracks, I skipped ahead to the aquarium silicone sealant. I silicone-ed the cracks. I also did a thin bead around the bolt holes, because for some reason that made sense at the time. And I did a bead in the "half-channel" that is on the top dome of the filter. Then I carefully placed the top half on the bottom and bolted it together. I did at least 3 full "stars" of the 24 bolts to ensure as even of clamping as I could, hooked everything up, and let it sit over 24 hours. I also addressed a couple previous-homeowner-induced leaks in the pipes to the setup.

And when I fired it up last night, I only had a teeny tiny seep around one bolt's threads-the one that is next to the foundation and theoretically would be hardest to torque evenly, hence possibly really cranking down on it to "make sure." I also did a bead of plastic weld epoxy up top where there is a seep.

I think all the grease in the o-ring groove and ring itself should allow the top to pop off fairly easily should I decide to open it up again for some reason. I also realize that this filter is getting long in the tooth, but I think this will at least buy some time to save for a new one. I'll keep a close eye on the pressure gauge and maybe clean it just a little more often than I might otherwise to help keep the pressure a little lower.
 

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I am going through the same ordeal. On my fourth attempt. I wish there was a torque spec. I will give it one more try just snugging the bolts. If that doesn't work its time for the permanent silicone fix. I wish i neve took it a apart. What a pain
 
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zioedo said:
I am going through the same ordeal. On my fourth attempt. I wish there was a torque spec. I will give it one more try just snugging the bolts. If that doesn't work its time for the permanent silicone fix. I wish i neve took it a apart. What a pain
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I wish you luck! The silicone did a lot to slow my leak way down, but there is still a dribble.

Today while I was backwashing the filter, I was thinking that maybe instead of pumping the water to waste when I close the pool in the fall, I will backwash through the filter the whole time (or at least an extended period) and get it nice and clean that way!
 
superdave5599 said:
I was thinking that maybe instead of pumping the water to waste when I close the pool in the fall, I will backwash through the filter the whole time (or at least an extended period) and get it nice and clean that way!
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Extended periods is not going to make it cleaner, if you cycle between backwash/rinse 2 times or 3 at the most that would do it. As long as the sight glass is clean that is enough. Use waste as waste, no pressure to the tank.
 
Flying Tivo said:
Extended periods is not going to make it cleaner, if you cycle between backwash/rinse 2 times or 3 at the most that would do it. As long as the sight glass is clean that is enough. Use waste as waste, no pressure to the tank.
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Fair enough, that makes sense. Thanks!
 
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