Pentair Tagelus 60D sand filter leaking at drain plug after attempt to deep clean

[mau]

Wanted to deep clean sand filter according to instructions on sticky on this forum. Watched the videos, asked my husband to help. First mistake, he watched a couple seconds of the first video where they are putting the drain plug on and by the time he got to it thought we were supposed to take it off.

Tried the deep clean method. Probably never done before on this filter and it took hours, possibly longer because of draining at bottom.

After drain plug put back on, didn't thread correctly and some leaking at bottom. Steady stream but not enough to make a big difference in pool in 24 hours. Bought new plug from pool supply store (right part in the attached picture), husband coated it with teflon, ran pump again and now sand leaking out (see picture). Went back to possibly purchase the other part (that goes inside the filter) but was told probably a good idea to make sure the sand was off the threads and try again. In the meantime husband came back with another part to try to plug it. He put that on but more sand leaking.

He said he's not working on it again, just call someone or replace the whole filter.

Could there be something inside that is broken or should I keep trying? I've found a few other questions like this online about this filter and suggestions made, just no one has ever posted how they resolved this.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[needsajet]

There's better experts than me, but here's what I would do.

1. Order new: Spigot, 3/4" NPT sand drain, part no. 154698 and O-ring drain plug, 1/16" x 1/2" ID, part no. 192115
(it looks like the threads are flattened from over-tightening, try calling Inyopools.com or Sunplay.com for these and make sure the o-rings are included for both)

2. Remove the multiport valve

3. Empty out the sand with a wet/dry shop vac, or by flushing it out the sand drain. If you vac it out, you can save it in a clean wheelbarrow and re-use it. You may be able to leave enough sand in the filter so that the stand pipe stays put, but you'll need to remove it near where the drain fitting goes, otherwise sand will keep fouling the threads and the drain fitting can't be put in because of the sand inside the filter body. Yep, you're right, there's normally no need to remove the plug for deep cleaning. I would definitely avoid removing the drain fitting in the future.

4. Once the sand is out, you'll be able to clean the threads in the filter body, and re-install the drain fitting. All threads need to be clean. These are both o-ring fittings, so don't bother with teflon tape, but do be sure to lubricate the o-rings with silicone lube, before re-installing the fittings. Hand-tighten the drain fitting, and maybe add no more than a 1/4 turn with pliers. Hand-tightening is all you need for the drain plug.

5. Cover the stand pipe with a rag before replacing the sand, to keep sand out of the stand pipe and laterals. Start with small amounts of sand by hand around the laterals until they're covered and the stand pipe is centered. Add the required amount of sand, replace the multiport valve, and you're done.

 

[mau]

Thanks for reply - no one answered the first day or two and I thought I had replies sent to my email so I thought no one had responded and just now checked.. I will look this over. Have just been recirculating while I research new filters so I'll see if this helps at all.