Pool Leak at Intersection of pipe, looks like a failing of the glue/primer

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hyperchord24

0
Jul 4, 2009
79
Upstate New York
Hello,
I have a leak and its coming out from a flexible PVC pipe fitting that's attached to my heater. From what I can tell, there's no cracks in the pipe itself, and it might be because there wasn't enough glue applied. This new plumbing was installed late last season and wasnt used that much. How do I fix this problem?
 

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It could be a glue problem, or if the heater wasn’t shut down properly. You should practice a cooldown period or set it in your settings if it’s not. Once the heater is shut off the pump should run for a few minutes after to purge all the hot water out.
You can most likely go over the union with a 2.5” coupler and drop it down to what looks like 1.5” or get a new union and replumb it the way it is.
 
Flex PVC is not as strong as rigid PVC. Especially for a heater output.

2" FlexPVC has a working pressure of 60 PSI. But if you look at the table on the bottom of the page at 100F the hose is only at 62% of its rating.

It is likely the glue joint is coming loose with the hose flexing with the thermal cycles.

Flexible PVC Pipe Specifications, Minimum bend radius, working & burst pressures, vacuum ratings, weight per roll, weight per foot, roll size for FlexPVC®'s Flexible PVC Pipe.

flexpvc.com flexpvc.com

An inground pool should be plumbed with rigid schedule 40 PVC.
 
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hyperchord24 said:
Thanks for the responses. However, my set up isn't really conducive to rigid. There'd be a lot of elbows.
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Elbows don't matter, Rigid is still better with lots of elbows.

Post pics of your setup.
 
Ill post pics soon when it stops raining. But this is a pool builder problem, right? He installed the wrong pipe, might not know its the wrong pipe, and I just look like an angry customer making more work for him. You know how this goes. I'm really not sure how to resolve this, other than disconnect the heater all together.
 
Which heater do you have?

It's less than a year, so file a warranty claim and tell them to do it correctly.

Use rigid pvc schedule 40 or CPVC near the heater.

You should also use a timer with a built in heater cooldown option.

Never use flex on a heater.

Also, flex needs at least 12 hours to allow the glue to fully set before pressurizing or it is likely to fail.

It looks like it was pressurized too fast.
 
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hyperchord24 said:
Ill post pics soon when it stops raining. But this is a pool builder problem, right? He installed the wrong pipe, might not know its the wrong pipe, and I just look like an angry customer making more work for him. You know how this goes. I'm really not sure how to resolve this, other than disconnect the heater all together.
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If a pool builder did this he is lazy and maybe incompetent to rely on FlexPVC.

I will comment more after seeing pics.

You should demand proper workmanship and materials used for what you likely paid for your pool.
 
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Idk if there is any warranty anyway since this was added on well after (10 years) we had the pool installed. It was a separate purchase. I live in upstate NY. Are there any reputable pool builders who can do this right. I don't have the energy to chase down these idiots anyway, they'll likely do Darn work again since they aren't making money

Edit: here are pics
 

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Easy to hard pipe the pump to filter, filter to heater, and heater out to the hard pipe to your SWG. It will not take excessive 90s.

Find a plumber who can do PVC work. Tell him you want all schedule 40 PVC used and all schedule 40 fittings. Not DWV fittings he can buy in Home Depot. You may need to get the fittings over the net.

PVC Repair - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
sktn77a said:
I take it your pool builder is MIA? He should fix this. Maybe his employee wasn't up to it, but he should fix it no matter what. That's simply awful!
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How do I go about proving did it incorrectly? He's not MIA, its just not likely he's gonna fix this. What do I do? Text him and tell him people on the internet told me you did it wrong and then he'll say youre crazy and I'll never hear from him again
 
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Can you show the writing on the PVC hose?

Does it show any of the following standards?

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) hose, ASTM D1785; ASTM D2241; ASTM D2672; CSA B137.3.

2018 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING POOL AND SPA CODE (ISPSC) | ICC DIGITAL CODES

ICC Digital Codes is the largest provider of model codes, custom codes and standards used worldwide to construct safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures.
codes.iccsafe.org codes.iccsafe.org

In any case, it's leaking, so it was obviously done incorrectly.

Also, the pipe needs to be supported; it can't just rely on the endpoints to hold it up especially flex.
 
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Making someone redo something that they did incorrectly is not easy if they refuse to even admit that they did anything wrong.

Maybe file a complaint with whatever clown college the builder got their degree from or the BBB or Yelp, Google etc.

Or the contractor licensing board or any trade association the builder belongs to etc.

For example, if the builder's website says something like Member of the Pool and Hot Tub Association, file a complaint with them to see if they find the work to be acceptable.

File a complaint with Hayward and ask them for their opinion about the workmanship especially if they claim to be a Hayward authorized dealer.

Maybe Hayward will revoke their status as an authorized dealer if this is the quality of their work.
 
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