New Hayward Filter Leaking Drain Cap

[Weeklyclean]

Moved from HERE

Have the same problem with the drain cap. Brand new Hayward sand filter. As soon as I run the pump if splashes water from the drain cap. Tried to tighten it but no avail. I am goin to call the pool contractor who installed it yesterday

 

[Texas Splash]

That's a shame, but it seems like just about anything new can have its faults. Hopefully the builder will make things right for you and get the replacement part. Looks like that drain cap kit from the other thread might do the trick.

Welcome to TFP!

 

[Weeklyclean]

Thank you for the welcome
Went out and bought a large clamp to fit around the filter drain cap. Then with a rag around the cap, tightened it 1/4 turn clockwise. The leak stopped. Seems the PB installed it and did not tighten enough. I phoned them and they said indeed those drain caps on the bottom of the sand filters need to be tightened a bit more with a clamp.

 

[Canned Heat]

I've had this same problem for about 2 years....pool we inherited with the house. Plumber of all people was the previous home owner who had made rough work of the drain port threads and the drain cap/grip. Used the new wider teflon tape and that worked for most of last year somewhat well. This year - went to a Fernco cap / hose clamp and lined the rim with Jack's Pool Lube. No more leak. That will be my motus operandi going forward.

 

[Dubmaster]

Moved from HERE

Have the same problem with the drain cap. Brand new Hayward sand filter. As soon as I run the pump if splashes water from the drain cap. Tried to tighten it but no avail. I am goin to call the pool contractor who installed it yesterday

I figured out the problem. When you are removing the drain cap, some granules of sand get inside the cap but in between the rubber insert(like a round rubber spacer) that is in the top of the cap. You need to remove that rubber insert with a knife (or something thin), rinse out the cap and the rubber, then reinsert it into the top of the cap and screw the cap back on and voila no more leaks. No Teflon tape or silicon needed.

 

[Canned Heat]

I figured out the problem. When you are removing the drain cap, some granules of sand get inside the cap but in between the rubber insert(like a round rubber spacer) that is in the top of the cap. You need to remove that rubber insert with a knife (or something thin), rinse out the cap and the rubber, then reinsert it into the top of the cap and screw the cap back on and voila no more leaks. No Teflon tape or silicon needed.

I did that...to no avail. Even bought new cap and gasket and refitted and cleaned everything immaculate. Then tried again with pool lube - still did it. The previous guy roached the nylon threads that the cap screws onto - that's where the issue is....like he used a brass cap and it chewed the Dang threads up. I went epoxy like the guy in that thread did. I'm probably going to pull the drain in the off-season and install a whole new aftermarket drain of some sort.

 

[Cometminow]

Same problem for the past three years, which I remedied with Teflon tape and some plumbers dope. A word of caution for tape users - shortly after my neighbor cut down some trees, I noticed a new leak and, after inspection, discovered two cracks in my drain cap. I attributed this to the entire assembly expanding from increased temps due to more sun exposure. As the drain pipe it oddly threaded the tape tends to sit on top of the threads which limits available expansion space. I theorize, that although the tape helped create a tighter seal, as things expanded, it caused the cap to crack. If I wasn’t keeping an eye on things this could have been a major leak event.

 

[Katielea1980]

Strangely enough I found that putting two nice long blobs of Pool Lube on the sides of the drain plug and tightening the drain plug up really tight but by hand still stopped by problem. I tried everything, checking the threads for sand, making sure I had gaskets, made sure the body of the filter wasn’t cracked. I even ordered a new drain plug assembly and replace that and it still didn’t fix the problem! Out of pure desperation, I decided to smoosh a bunch of pool lube in the filter drain plug, screwed it on nice and tight and I haven’t had a leak yet.