So I'm a complete novice with pools. However, I have the support of a wife and a great friend who have been supporting me.
The trouble started earlier this year when we realized our usual pool service we pay monthly hadn't showed up in a while to clean leaves off the pool cover or around the pool (the only maintenance they do during the winter when the pool is closed). Come to find out the company had literally closed its doors and told none of its customers, but continued to automatically bill everyone. That's another issue entirely.
As a usual DIYer around the house, I declared that was enough, time to manage the pool on our own. We took off the cover, started cleaning out debris, which according to the wife and friend was way more than should have been left in the pool when it was winterized and covered.
Fast forward to starting to vacuum the disgusting debris out, the wife and friend
had everything in the filter system reattached and primed while I stood around gawking, trying to learn everything I could.
We started up our robot, typically reliable but now seems less than able to clean with how much excess debris has collected.
The trouble came when they switched the multiport valve to FILTER. Sand starting blowing out the return jets. So I looked that up, emptied the sand filter. found out the standpipe was cracked and so were three of the laterals. So I emptied filter and replaced them, replaced sand, reconnected - all's going well.
Decided to clean my SWG, that's when another major problem happened. Took it apart, cleaned with acid, SWG not really very dirty at all, in fact was fairly prisitine. So I figured no harm no foul, at least I know how to do that.
I reattached the PVC unions and the upstream union had a leak, a big leak when I reattached it. As we had the big filter leak, there was some lot sand in pipes prior to reattaching the SWG, I figured some of it must have abraded surfaces and I probably over tightened, maybe tried tightening it three times trying to get leak to stop without luck and with adding silicone tape, so I figured I damaged the old union. So I cut it out and replaced it with new one.
Today. Still a huge leak with new union and new PVC connections.
My only guess now is:
1) cleaning SWG with acid damaged it and now water not flowing properly?
Or
2) there is some blockage creating too much pressure build up downstream of SWG, like sand in pipes or leaf debris
I don't know
Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.
The trouble started earlier this year when we realized our usual pool service we pay monthly hadn't showed up in a while to clean leaves off the pool cover or around the pool (the only maintenance they do during the winter when the pool is closed). Come to find out the company had literally closed its doors and told none of its customers, but continued to automatically bill everyone. That's another issue entirely.
As a usual DIYer around the house, I declared that was enough, time to manage the pool on our own. We took off the cover, started cleaning out debris, which according to the wife and friend was way more than should have been left in the pool when it was winterized and covered.
Fast forward to starting to vacuum the disgusting debris out, the wife and friend
had everything in the filter system reattached and primed while I stood around gawking, trying to learn everything I could.
We started up our robot, typically reliable but now seems less than able to clean with how much excess debris has collected.
The trouble came when they switched the multiport valve to FILTER. Sand starting blowing out the return jets. So I looked that up, emptied the sand filter. found out the standpipe was cracked and so were three of the laterals. So I emptied filter and replaced them, replaced sand, reconnected - all's going well.
Decided to clean my SWG, that's when another major problem happened. Took it apart, cleaned with acid, SWG not really very dirty at all, in fact was fairly prisitine. So I figured no harm no foul, at least I know how to do that.
I reattached the PVC unions and the upstream union had a leak, a big leak when I reattached it. As we had the big filter leak, there was some lot sand in pipes prior to reattaching the SWG, I figured some of it must have abraded surfaces and I probably over tightened, maybe tried tightening it three times trying to get leak to stop without luck and with adding silicone tape, so I figured I damaged the old union. So I cut it out and replaced it with new one.
Today. Still a huge leak with new union and new PVC connections.
My only guess now is:
1) cleaning SWG with acid damaged it and now water not flowing properly?
Or
2) there is some blockage creating too much pressure build up downstream of SWG, like sand in pipes or leaf debris
I don't know
Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.
Last edited:
