installing waste shut off valve vs replacing spider gasket

[riegal]

Searched the forums & did not see this issue addressed.

Replaced the spider gasket in my multi-port valve 9 months ago. Now when backwashing, the water empties out of the waste line. The valve assembly itself (spring, plate, etc) is in good shape, but the spider gasket seems a bit raggedy.

Before I replaced the the spider gasket the 1st time I researched the internet & I seem to remember several recommendations to install a shut off valve on the waste line because spider gasket, reportedly, can be problematic and often leaks.

And, from an engineering perspective (yes I am one of those, an engineer) the whole multi-port design seems pretty dodgey at best anyway. So I was wondering instead of replacing the spider gasket (there is no leaking when with the valve in the filter mode) are there any ramifications to installing instead a shutoff valve on the waste line then turning it off when backwashing? Would this adversely affect the backwash function or other filtering functions?

Thank you.

 

[JohnT]

It works, but it's easy to forget the valve and deadhead your pump thinking you are backwashing. A bad gasket can also end up allowing water to bypass the filter, and you may not notice that happening. The leak to waste is the most noticable sign of spider gasket damage.

 

[riegal]

Figured that the spider gasket was damaged ... it didn't look too good. Just hoping to avoid the tedium & expense of replacing it ... last time it took an entire afternoon what with scraping out the old gasket & those gaskets aren't cheap about $80 or so. But I was wondering about the possibility that filtering could be adversely affected. So thank you for the information.

 

[riegal]

Another question: There was sand inside the valve compartment. Would that indicate that there is something else wrong with the multiport valve? Thank you.

 

[JohnT]

Another question: There was sand inside the valve compartment. Would that indicate that there is something else wrong with the multiport valve? Thank you.

Before hazarding any guesses, can you post some details about your pump and filter?

 

[solarboy]

I once split a sand filter by forgetting to open the waste valve whilst Backwashing...expensive mistake.

 

[waste]

Another question: There was sand inside the valve compartment. Would that indicate that there is something else wrong with the multiport valve? Thank you.

Welcome to TFP!!

I'll go against John T's advice and hazard a guess

As long as the troughs that the spider gasket (A/K/A - wagon wheel) sits in are good, I'd suspect a wrecked gasket that allowed the sand in the tank to enter, and thereby further ruin :grrrr: an already suspect gasket

The truth is that installing a valve on the backwash port will delay the inevitable only if the only bad spoke on the gasket is the one that separates the 'waste' line from normal filtering

We'll be happy to help you figure this one out :-D