Replacing Dome O-Ring on Hayward S240 Sand Filter

[mickey4paws]

Water is leaking all around the dome, so I am going to replace the dome's o-ring. I have the specific wrench to do this and also bought some pool lube stuff. Is there anything else I need to know, any tips or tricks before I attempt this? I know this particular filter can develop hairline cracks around the dome, and I'm hoping this isn't my problem.

Also, in another thread I read where when you turn your pump off, your gage should go to zero. Yesterday when the pump shut off, the gage still read 19 psi (usual psi for this filter). Does this sound right, or should it have gone down to zero?

 

[monkeywrench]

First the replacement should be fairly straight forward when you see it you will understand, make sure you clean and dry all the contact surfaces before reassembly. to use the o-ring lube,just squeeze some in the plam of your hand and pull the new o-ring through it applying a very THIN coat of lube to the o-ring, set it on the housing and then just rotate the ring slightly to help set it.

As far as the pressure goes it should be zero, try opening the vent on the housing (it may have dirt in it or dirt in the gage keeping the needle falsely high,)set your valve to back wash with the pump off and remove the cove to the pump strainer basket, this should relieve the back pressure
(if any) before you remove the filter dome.
If may be time for a good cleaning of the housing, rinse out the gage and housing vent, If the gage still reads 19 with the housing separated, try washing /blowin/vacuuming it out.If that dosent work replace it.

JB :monkey:

 

[mickey4paws]

First the replacement should be fairly straight forward when you see it you will understand, make sure you clean and dry all the contact surfaces before reassembly. to use the o-ring lube,just squeeze some in the plam of your hand and pull the new o-ring through it applying a very THIN coat of lube to the o-ring, set it on the housing and then just rotate the ring slightly to help set it.:

Thanks so much for the reply. So I just make sure lube is on bottom of o-ring where it sits on the housing, and not on the top too where it touches the dome?

As far as the pressure goes it should be zero, try opening the vent on the housing (it may have dirt in it or dirt in the gage keeping the needle falsely high,)set your valve to back wash with the pump off and remove the cove to the pump strainer basket, this should relieve the back pressure
(if any) before you remove the filter dome.
If may be time for a good cleaning of the housing, rinse out the gage and housing vent, If the gage still reads 19 with the housing separated, try washing /blowin/vacuuming it out.If that dosent work replace it.

JB :monkey:

When you say the vent on the housing, are you talking about the thing you twist to bleed out air, or is it the housing for the gage? This gage is a new one. We replaced it because psi never goes about 20 and so we thought maybe it was defective. When we did the Baquacil conversion, it never went over 20 the whole time. I would just stick my hand in front of the returns and if pressure felt low, I backwashed.

Thanks again, I really appreciate your help.

 

[monkeywrench]

You can thinly coat the entire o-ring as you pull it through closed plam of your hand, no need to coat the surfaces of the housing, just make sure they are clean and dry.

As for the vent, yes, i meant air bleed,this will relieve the pressure in the filter housing before opening and the gage should drop to zero. The pressure should no be going above 20 unless the filter is clogged, with the pump running is should read between 10 and 15 psi depending on what your running.

JB :monkey:

 

[waste]

A couple quick things:

Butterfly had a similar problem last year that she (actually her husband - Hi Johnny ) was able to fix by simply tightening the bolts this thread You might want to try this before breaking apart the filter.

An easy way to lube the o- ring without stretching it is to double it over on itself (make it a double ring 1/2 the size) and spread a little lube all around it (it's like a Mobeus strip) then gently work the lube in - if you pull too hard on an undoubled o- ring you may end up stretching it

Follow my advice in the link and it should go very easy 8)

 

[mickey4paws]

Thanks so much for the replies, guys, I really appreciate it. Waste, unfortunately we're leaking from the dome, not where the 2 halves connect so no bolts to tighten. We're going to change the o-ring this weekend. I really hope it's not hairline cracks in the tank but just a bad o-ring. Our filter just sits on the ground with no pad and a small moat is forming

 

[waste]

It is most probably the dome o- ring! 8)

Change that out and let us know how things are :-D

 

[mickey4paws]

Thanks, Ted, I will Now our heater just died but that post is for another thread

 

[mickey4paws]

Just an update: We changed the o-ring this morning. Unfortunately we are still getting leakage, although it doesn't seem to be as bad. You can see where the water dribbles out from underneath the dome. I think we just may have hairline cracks in the upper half of the tank. Is there any way to seal hairline cracks?

Thanks again for the help!

 

[waste]

You can try 2 part epoxy - it'll give you ~ 50 - 50 chance of fully sealing it :| To improve the odds of it working, wet your finger and rub a small bit of the epoxy into the cracks before applying the rest of it --- then wait 12 hours before turning the pump on.

This is a "band aid" and will only last a season or 2, but it gives you time to budget for the replacement 8)

 

[mickey4paws]

You can try 2 part epoxy - it'll give you ~ 50 - 50 chance of fully sealing it :| To improve the odds of it working, wet your finger and rub a small bit of the epoxy into the cracks before applying the rest of it --- then wait 12 hours before turning the pump on.

This is a "band aid" and will only last a season or 2, but it gives you time to budget for the replacement 8)

Thank you so much for the reply, I really appreciate it.

Edit: Went to Home Depot and got 2 part epoxy, as well as something called Aquamend. I'll let you know how it turns out. Will be doing it this weekend. Wish me luck!

Here's the Aquamend: http://polymericsystems.com/epoxies-adh ... uamend.htm