Leaking filter return!

[zapados]

Hello friendly folks!

I'm having an issue with a leaky filter return.

In the picture below, there is water leaking out of where the black hose connects to the outlet. There is also water leaking out of where the outlet connects to the body of the filter.

Any recommendations for repair?

 

[zea3]

I would examine the hose and the fitting for cracks and pinhole leaks. If the filter was removed for the winter you may need to check if the fitting and the screw clamp are tight enough. The fitting should be hand tight, and the screw clamp should be snug enough that the hose doesn't move, but not so tight it deforms the hose or fitting.

 

[Richard320]

The O-ring inside that fitting is either cracked, shrunk, or missing. Part #17 There are two of them.

 

[zapados]

How in the nine hells do I remove that fitting (#21/#16, which appear to be 1 part) to check the O-ring? I can rotate it, but nothing seems to be happening.

 

[Richard320]

How in the nine hells do I remove that fitting (#21) to check the O-ring? I can rotate it, but nothing seems to be happening.

It's a captive nut from the looks of that exploded view. As it unscrews and moves out, so does the hose connector. Part 15 is a clip that locks 16 & 21 together. You should see the gap behind the edge of the nut and the filter tank growing wider as you turn. Jiggle the hose as you turn and you might detect more movement.

 

[zapados]

Yes, thank you!

After some serious elbow grease, I got it opened up.

And the O-ring looks fine, no cracks, in it's fitting happily. Everything looked fine. I slapped a bunch of silicone lube in there to maybe seal up any weird stuff, but no luck, still leaking. I slapped some silicone lube on the end of the tube, and that took care of that leak.

Any recommendations? It seems to stop when the pump isn't on, but once the pump is on with that extra pressure, it's dripping out again.

 

[Richard320]

Yes, thank you!

After some serious elbow grease, I got it opened up.

And the O-ring looks fine, no cracks, in it's fitting happily. Everything looked fine. I slapped a bunch of silicone lube in there to maybe seal up any weird stuff, but no luck, still leaking. I slapped some silicone lube on the end of the tube, and that took care of that leak.

Any recommendations? It seems to stop when the pump isn't on, but once the pump is on with that extra pressure, it's dripping out again.

New O-ring. The way they seal is by deforming under pressure. Over time, they get hard and shrink and they never ever sit in the same place again, so they leak. A new O-ring may be noticeably thicker, but it will be more flexible and better able to conform to irregularities. And you shouldn't need to wrench on that nut, either. Hand-tight should be enough to smash the new one.

 

[zapados]

Hi Richard320, OK, sounds good...I'll give it a shot!

Any recommendations on where to pick one up?

 

[Richard320]

Hi Richard320, OK, sounds good...I'll give it a shot!

Any recommendations on where to pick one up?

Pool store, since they don't usually use conventional sizes you can find at a hardware store. That would be too convenient.

 

[zapados]

Wow, I screwed the pooch on this one...bought the O-ring, went to go put it in today, and ended up breaking the return piece off trying to get to the O-ring! Snapped plastic off the bottom of the filter body, so now I'm stuck buying a whole new bottom, LOL.

Any good places to buy pool parts online?

Also, what do you guys recommend using for lube on pool parts, like O-rings?

I'll keep you up to date as the saga progresses! Thank you for your help!

 

[zea3]

Any silicon pool lube is fine. https://www.poolpartsonline.com/p-106420-pentair-easyclean-de-filter-parts-2014-beyond.aspx may have the part you need, but I have never bought anything from them.

 

[zapados]

So ended up getting a whole new bottom from intheswim.com, which was great, best price I could find. Put that in and it fixed the leak at the filter return union! Then I used plumbers tape to "fill out" the filter return to plastic pipe connection, and that fixed the leak there! I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out, but it cost me way more than I thought it would. Moral of the story: hand tight is all that should be needed!