Pump outlet connection leaking slowly

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M

miamicuse

Well-known member
May 26, 2019
126
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
I have a pump with a leak at the outlet where it connects to a 2" PVC male adapter.

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In order to fix the leak I did some reconfiguration - raised the pump, added in two unions. and remade the threaded connection.

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I did the threaded connections using RectorSeal T Plus 2 pipe thread sealant. No leak after that...or do I thought.

Today I fired up the pump and I after it primed, I observed no leak. An hour later I came back and I saw a slow leak at the outlet again. Same exact spot.

Since I have added two unions, I took them apart and I noticed the male adapter is not TIGHT-TIGHT into the housing. I know I hand tight that connection, then used a pipe wrench to go one more revolution. Now it is a bit loose. Hmmm, I suppose the vibration and movement of the pump worked the connection loose?

In the reconfigured plumbing, I have three threaded joints, one between the suction side manifold and the union (#1), one at the inlet of the pump (#2), and one at the outlet of the pump (#3). They were all made the same way, yet only the outlet side is leaking. Of course the other two are being subjected to negative pressure, while the outlet connection is subjected to positive pressure.

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After I took apart the unions, I remove the male adapter, cleaned both the female connection at the pump and the male adapter real well, and used MEGAMAX tape instead.

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Then I remake the connection, started the pump, and it leaked again.

Any idea what else to try? Use pipe sealant AND tape?
 
Should I try to coat pipe dope over the male threads then wrap a few revolutions of tape?

Trying to figure out how tight is too tight, but if it's leaking then it's not tight enough right?

It was leaking when I bought the house, and it's leaking after I remade the joint. Not sure what else to try.

I do know right after I fixed it it wasn't leaking for at least a day, then I took the unions apart a few times for different reasons and now it is leaking. Could the movement of the pump (vibration, my opening and closing of the lid, taking apart the unions and putting them back together) loosen the outlet connection?
 
Pipe dope should be all that is needed. Tape is not there to seal, just make it easier to tighten.

I have a few drips too, but compared to the amount of evaporation, it is negligible.
 
I remade the connection again with tape plus pipe sealant.

Once I started the pump no leak. Checked after two hours no leak. Check the next day (after the pump had shutoff and restarted in the morning) I see a slow leak again.

I examined the outlet and there is no crack. But may be the female outlet connection has expanded from perhaps overtorque of the male adapter into it?

Would putting a hose clamp on the outside of the outlet help at all?

Not sure what else to try except silicone? What kind of silicone? 100% pure silicone?
 
Not sure if I read everything correctly but Teflon tape and pipe dope should not be used together, just making something worse.
I also seem to think the leak is at the outlet part of pump, once you thread pipe into it, it expands the plastic slightly.
If it is the point of leak, pure silicone might work, but eventually will also fail from constant on and off pressures and environment. Have you tried a new male/female adapter or reusing the original one ?sorry if I missed that.
 
I used a new male adapter, not the original one.

I am new to pool plumbing, but experienced in residential plumbing, so originally I used only pipe sealant on the male threads. That didn't get rid of the leak, but the leak was slower than before.

Next I cleaned up all the sealant and used MEGAMAX blue tape. That did not stop the leak either.

As a large ditch effort I tried both together. That seem to hold for half a day, then leak started.

Just out of things to try. That's why I am thinking either a hose clamp around the female plastic fitting, or use silicone. If I do use silicone, how easy is it to take it apart again? and silicone would require say 6 hours for it to set or overnight before I pressurize right?
 
Also the leak is coming from the "seam" between the male adapter threads and the female connection. I used a towel to wipe it clean and watched the leak. If it's crack I would think it will lose water through the crack right?
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can you post a close up pic with while leaking
 

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