Maintenance needed...

[chelpiper]

Good morning,

I need to change the shaft seals for my pump. My manual states that I can push my gate valves ("T-handles")(I have 2 of them) down and turn to lock them, and that will enable me to work on the plumbing? The last time I tried this water kept coming out of the lines, but after it was all drained, I noticed I had forgotten to twist the handles to lock them down. Anyway, is this the proper way to work on the plumbing, to simple push down and lock the handles? Or should I just drain it to be safe?

Thank you

Chad

 

[Chuckiechan]

Is your pump below the level of the pool water? The point is you want to disconnect an empty pump and not have a flood when you disconnect it to repair it.

So if you are above the water level, the valves aren't doing anything for you.

I'd shut off the pool, open the vent on the filter the night before and it should be drained and reasonably empty for disconnect.

... or am I missing something?

 

[JVTrain]

Is your pump below the level of the pool water? The point is you want to disconnect an empty pump and not have a flood when you disconnect it to repair it.

So if you are above the water level, the valves aren't doing anything for you.

I'd shut off the pool, open the vent on the filter the night before and it should be drained and reasonably empty for disconnect.

... or am I missing something?

Other than it's a spa... no. Hard to tell from the post but it's in the spas forum.

Sometimes the gate valves are good enough to seal off the pump location, sometimes they aren't. If you're able to stop the flow completely, then you could service without draining. If you're unable to stop the water completely with the gate valves, then you may have to drain or just allow it to drain as much as it allows while you complete the repairs. It depends on the installation location and whether you're OK with the water dripping under the tub while you complete the repair. If you can't get it to seal off and you haven't drained/refilled in quite some time, you may be better off just draining.

 

[chelpiper]

Thanks for the reply. You are correct, the pump is below the level of the water. All of the parts (pump, heater, etc.) are all inside a maintenance panel for easy access and everything is below the water level. So, in addition to your last instructions to "shut off the pool, open the vent on the filter the night before and it should be drained and reasonably empty for disconnect", after I do your instructions, I also want to close those gate valves and lock them before I start unscrewing the lines to the pump, correct? Do you feel that the reason I had water still running out was because I didn't twist and lock the gate valves? They were pushed all the way down, but they were not twisted in the lock position.

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks JVTrain....I may just drain it, I don't know. I kind of want to test to see if those gate valves truly work as they are supposed to. I know the last time, when the water was still flowing, my hands were all wet and it was hard to close the split-nut unions back on. I may just drain it.

 

[OldPoolMan]

Those valves you have should stop the water flow unless you didn't close them all the way. The twist lock feature is designed to make sure they are closed all the way. Also the valves could leak if the gasket in them is worn out. Your pump has a removable threaded plug on the lower area of the pump pot that can be removed after closing the valves to determine if the water is truly shut off.

 

[chelpiper]

Those valves you have should stop the water flow unless you didn't close them all the way. The twist lock feature is designed to make sure they are closed all the way. Also the valves could leak if the gasket in them is worn out. Your pump has a removable threaded plug on the lower area of the pump pot that can be removed after closing the valves to determine if the water is truly shut off.

Thanks for that information. I saw the threaded plug last night. I will shut the valves off, bleed the air out, and then unscrew that plug to see if it leaks a lot. I'm sure some water will come out. Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[Chuckiechan]

my hands were all wet and it was hard to close the split-nut unions back on. I may just drain it.

I have found that using nitrile gloves increases grip friction greatly, wet or dry!