Why are my laterals leaking sand into my pool

Hey Texas Splash. On closer inspection of the laterals I notice a trail of soot down the side of one of the laterals. See photo

It appears that sand is getting past this lateral into the hub assembly. Probably best if I just replace everything but parts are hard to come by these days, especially for my old filter. Don’t really have the extra cash to buy a new filter right now. Would you use this flexible sealer (photo) around each lateral to ensure a tight seal? I know that will pretty much prevents me from ever changing my laterals again but it would probably be time for a new one anyway once that times comes around. Thoughts?

Is there a minimum amount of sand to use when testing? I do t want to load all of the sand back if it doesn’t work. Thanks.

1poolman1 said:

Silicon sealant (RTV) will seal just as well and will still be removable. Just let it cure a bit before reassembly.

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I will give that a try

I’ll let you know how it goes.

After looking at everything I realized how dirty the centre hubs inlets were so I figured I’d give them a good clean with a magic sponge and a small edge screw drive to clean out all of the edges and channels.

I should’ve done that the first time but didn’t. As I was cleaning each inlet I could see where dirty/sand was passing into the hub obviously from even before I changed the laterals. Perhaps if I had done that first I won’t be in this situation but not sure if I just put everything back together again my problem will be solved. There are a lot of micro scratches inside the inlets, probably not the first time the laterals were changed on this filter. (But I don’t know that for sure as I bought the house with the pool and filter.)

Any one’s experience say that cleaning should do the trick? Or should I continue with my plan and use the RTV silicone?


I just don’t want to unload 300lbs of sand again and make sure when I finish this time it works.

Thanks for sharing any advise and experience.

S

Done and dusted.

I’ll let it cure for the recommend 24 hours and then load it up. Hopefully have it back up and circulated by tomorrow afternoon.

I am feeling confident that it will have solved the problem. I’ll post the outcome when I know how it is working.

Had a question about filling. Would you put the laterals in on a small bed of sand with the centre hub still touching bottom, and then fill, or fill around the laterals?

Was able to get all of the sand back in today and the pump has been running for about an hour with the pool filtering and so far no signs of sand. I put a skimmer sock over the first jet and did not see any sand. Fingers crossed I’ve solved the issue.

Some lessons I learn by having to do this job over again.

1. Replacing laterals is not as straight forward as most other things we do with our pools. Working through the small opening at the top of the filter creates some unique challenges.
2. Removing the sand needs a strong vacuum and a strong back as the filter holds approximately 300lbs of sand.
3. Removing the old laterals takes a good grip to move the laterals out of there locked position to unlock them.
4. Cleaning the centre hub of all caked on sand and grime helps with the proper installation of the new laterals.
5. When replacing sand it’s critical to ensure that the laterals stay lateral and dumping the sand on top of them doesn’t help with that outcome. It is easy for a lateral to get dislodged during the refilling process.
6. Adding a bit of sand to the bottom of the filter first makes it easier to ensure the laterals stay in place when adding the remaining load of sand back into the filter.
7. I found by adding a small amount of sand back into the filter at a time and then adding water to level the sand down helped keep the laterals in place as I loaded back all 300 lbs of sand.
8. The job can be done but it is time consuming and needs a bit more precision to ensure success the first time.

That was my experience anyway. Thanks for the help as always TFP.