Perflex shaft o-rings

[drow]

I disassembled my filter (Hayward Perflex EC40C75, bump DE) yesterday (see PSA below). I did what I needed, but I couldn't get the tube assembly entirely apart. I hope that someone who's done this before can give me a tip for next time.

The tube assembly is built around a central shaft. Top to bottom, I've got:

Hole in shaft for bump handle bolt.
Smooth shaft
Inset ring in shaft filled with an o-ring.
About an inch of shaft
Another identical inset ring filled with an identical o-ring
Longer piece of shaft
Ring in shaft for E-clip
Washer
Top tube plate
Gasket and tube heads
Bottom tube plate
Washer
Ring in shaft for E-clip
Short trailing end of shaft

What are the two o-rings for? I can figure out why one might be useful, to prevent water going up to where the bump handle connects, but not two. And how are you supposed to get the top tube plate over the o-rings??? I tried dry, wet, lubricated; it just wouldn't go.

It's easy to remove the top E-clip, and if it weren't for the o-rings I could get everything apart that way. But I'm not sure I'll be able to remove (or put back) the bottom E-clip with the tubes there.

Related Public Service Announcement: if you're suspicious of your filtering, it's really not that hard to get inside, and it's totally worth it. I inherited this filter from the house's previous owner. It wasn't properly reassembled at the end of last year, or else it had worked itself free: only five of the twelve tube bolts were connected! The other seven bolts were floating up top and the seven matching nuts were at the bottom of the drain area. Luckily, flushing the filter hadn't ever washed them out. I've been having trouble clearing up my cloudy water, and I think it's related to the ludicrous amount of DE I found caught in the filter this morning after fixing it... I think it's been dumping waste right back into the pool.

 

[waste]

The 2 o-rings keep water from coming out of the top when the filter is running (they seal the hole in the lid that the shaft passes through)

I always just remove the rings when reinstalling the shaft Then I check them for dry rot (replace if needed) lube them and reinstall (TIP - remove the bottom o-ring first and install the top o-ring first!)

If getting the top E clip on gives you trouble, just let me know.

 

[drow]

The 2 o-rings keep water from coming out of the top when the filter is running (they seal the hole in the lid that the shaft passes through)

I always just remove the rings when reinstalling the shaft Then I check them for dry rot (replace if needed) lube them and reinstall (TIP - remove the bottom o-ring first and install the top o-ring first!)

If getting the top E clip on gives you trouble, just let me know.

How do you remove the o-rings? I didn't want to stick something under them in case I ripped them, but maybe they're stretchy enough?

Getting the top E clip back on gave me terrible trouble the first time, took about an hour. The trick for me was to suspend the assembly (from the arms of two lawn chairs, only thing I had handy) so that there wasn't any weight resting on the tubes. Then I could individually press down each finger, and that brought the two plates a lot closer together. Afterwards I was able to tap the clip back into place with a screwdriver and mallet.

I was totally right about my filter, btw. The pool's been cloudy for a week with the pump running 24/7... but today I could see it clear hour by hour. I can see the last of the DE on the pool bottom now and hope to vacuum it up tomorrow. Hooray!

 

[waste]

I use a small 'precision' screwdriver - they've got enough stretch, unless they're dry rotted.

 

[drow]

Thanks, belatedly - that worked like a charm.

 

[strw411]

First post! Google led me to this message board, and this topic is exactly what I needed.

New homeowners. Inherited the Perflex filter.

I've taken the filter apart, but during re-assembly, I can't get that e-clip back on the top of the shaft. It's very close...it would go it I excluded the washer, but that sounds like a bad idea. When I place the washer on, and pull on the shaft as hard as I can, the groove in the shaft where the e-clip goes starts to peek through, but doesn't give me enough meat to grab onto. I just can't see any way I will be able to replace this!

I did suspend the filter from two chair arms, as suggested by another user. I also individually pushed down each finger while suspended. Still no luck.

Anyone have any helpful info on what I need to do/try?

Thanks
Ryan

 

[Isaac-1]

Which model Perflex do you have, EC 40 style or EC 65/EC75 style?

 

[strw411]

Thanks for the quick reply...

I have a EC65/75 model. I actually don't know which I have. The label on the tank gives the specs for both models (as I'm sure is typical), but there's no indication as to which. How are they differentiated?

With that said, to clarify what I was doing:
I put the bottom e-clip, washer and o-ring on the shaft and slid it in from below. Where does that lower o-ring ultimately sit? Maybe that's my problem? Maybe some lube to help it pass into the hole? Just a thought...

Let me know what you think. Thanks so much...