Filter Repair TR-100

[PanamEric]

Hello All,

I have to change the bulkheads on my sidemount TR-100 due to a cracked/leaking external spacer. I am not familiar with the inside of it as it came with my house.

Since I only have access to exploded parts lists I am a bit worried about emptying the sand only to find out I cant undo the internal locknut. From the exploded list it appears to be threaded and I am assuming that it is probably really tight.
Given the very small opening I don't think I can fit both arms in there to undo the locknut and there is no way that the pipe wrench I have fits in there.

If someone has experience with changing a bulkhead on a TR-100 I would appreciate some insight on how to do it.
Maybe (I hope) I am worrying for no reason.

Thank you for any input

 

[Poolschoolgrad]

Most of the Tritons are secured with a 2" locknut.
Pentair offers a special 2" bulkhead wrench for this task.

On the larger Tritons, Pentair has a special wrench combination to hold the 3" flange spacer and to tighten the 3" adapter.

Pentair customer service/ technical support
Phone: (800) 831-7133

 

[PanamEric]

Re: Filter Repair TR-100...they gotta be kidding!

Hello Poolschoolgrad,

Thank you for your reply.
However I am still looking for a more reasonable solution. Here is why...

I did manage to track down the right part numbers for the wrenches you mention by calling Pentair as the part number they have on their web site is wrong.

This might sound hard to believe but both wrenches come to more than it would cost to buy a brand new TR100.
There is one for inside and one for outside. Here is what I found on them.
151600 WRENCH BCK OVAL BULKHD $410.17
151604 WRNCH FRNT OVAL BULKHD $541.43
I had to read it twice to believe that I was reading the actual prices.
This is somewhat ridiculous considering that I can pick up a new TR100 for $595. Of course it would be ridiculous to change the whole canister because of a cracked external bulkhead spacer that is worth maybe $5.
Maybe those wrenches are gold or titanium plated? I hate to think what would be the price of the 3" one.

I am thinking that maybe I have to make a wrench...there is no way I will pay $950 for two wrenches.
In any case I am still looking for a suggestion. Anyone here has ever done this without these Pentair wrenches?

Thanks for any input

Eric

 

[Poolschoolgrad]

Eric

I agree with you, those prices are crazy.

The plastic 6" wrench for the top is around $15- $20.
Part # 154512

Here is a good picture of the Pentair 2" bulkhead wrench for $176.
http://www.poolplaza.com/P-PAC-051-2798-T2.html

Here are some other sources: Part # 151602
http://www.poolcenter.com/parts_filter_ ... triton.htm
http://www.poolpower.com/bulkhead-wrenc ... p-528.html
http://www.poolpartsonline.com/p-11178- ... rench.aspx

You may be able to make a bulkhead wrench by bending a much cheaper wrench.
Look for a 2" Angle service wrench or sometimes called a pump wrench. They are around 8" in length and sell for $25-$35.

Please post your results.

 

[racket]

I typically just snug them down snug with channelocks

I grab the inside, and turn the outside. The tank and fittings flex enough to deal with the contour issue.

I have done literally hundreds of these and never had an issue doing it this way.

 

[PanamEric]

Thanks for the replies guys,

Well the guy who's gonna sell me a piece of less than a foot of 1/8" scrap metal for $150 is not born yet, even if $150 sounds like a deal compared to the other prices I found.
As you might have guessed from my sign in and user name I am in Panama. Some things are really easy to find for really cheap (PVC fittings, steel bars, tube etc) and others (pool parts and specialized tools) ...well that's another story.

Although I am pretty sure I could find this pump wrench or even a large enough channellock if I devoted a full day to it I decided to solve the problem quick and easy. I just made a wrench using 5/8 square bars cuts that I had lying around.
Although I had not found a picture of the $500 wrench (thanks for the links) what I saw is pretty much what I expected.
Here is a picture of the one I built yesterday. I used scrap pieces of steel bar from another project (cost $0) and one welding rod ($0.25) and probably $0.50 of electricity with half an hour of my time.
Hard to see on the picture but I gave the handle about 15degrees bend which I figured would be enough to allow space for the fingers. That lock nut can't be that tight, but with 5/8 bars I think I can apply considerable pressure on it.

For obvious reasons I did not bother to clean the weldings and paint the wrench, although I would if I were to sell that for $500. heck for $500 I would get it chrome plated.

Sorry about the rant but when you mentioned the special wrench I was expecting to find a sturdy plastic wrench for about $10. So I guess you can understand my surprise when I found them for $950 for both. I wonder if they ever sell any at these crazy prices?

So my gardener is emptying the sand from the filter as I write this. I guess I will be testing my wrench design shortly.
Ciao
Eric

 

[Bama Rambler]

I like your wrench, and something like that is exactly what I would have built if I were in the need of one.

 

[Poolschoolgrad]

Your wrench looks great!

But what I admire most is that "can do" spirit!

Please post pictures if possible of the wrench in use and of the completed project.

 

[PanamEric]

Thanks for the moral support guys...

Unfortunately by the time I got notified of these posts the job was done and closed. I changed the laterals, bulkheads, multiport valve and reconnected everything properly.
It took a while longer than I anticipated because the bulkheads/locknuts were extremely hard to undo. When I say hard I mean hard...it was turning with considerable strain with a 3ft long pipe wrench. Thing is it was impossible to unscrew the piping assemblies. We managed to hold the top assembly with a wrench and were able to unscrew the bulkhead.
On the lower bulkhead my homemade wrench actually broke (well started breaking) at the right corner, where the pressure from unscrewing was.
I had just beveled the corners a bit before welding, thinking I did not need much penetration but apparently I was wrong.
So I cut deeper grooves and welded again with higher amps and this time I added a corner brace on the right side.
It did the job (as in it did not break) but it was still so hard that I had to use an extension...after 5 minutes I had enough space to pass a blade on the outside so I finally decided to cut the old bulkhead, given that I had a replacement.
From what I saw the piping assemblies were installed with teflon and tigthened with a wrench (??)...Whomever installed this (from a local pool shop) had no idea or understanding of what he was doing. The bulkhead threads for the slip-on nuts valve were also covered with teflon and the old (2") valve installed on a 2" pump was reduced to 1-1/2" on both inlet/outlet on the valve and pump as well. The reductors were glued in the old valve, as in they had used pvc glue like liquid teflon. Luckily they had not glued the pump side.
A bit ridiculous...but now I am on 2" all the way, piping assemblies are only screwed on by hand and without teflon, as are the slip-ons.
I could post a picture of the modified wrench but I would doubt that anybody else would encounter a situation where the original design would not be strong enough.
In any case I am now looking forward to enjoyable pool time...

Cheers

Eric

 

[griffths]

I know this is an old post but wanted to share the following information for anyone replacing their bulkhead connector.

I had to replace the two bulkhead connectors on my PacFab SuperFlow 100 filter (uses the same bulkheads as the Triton filter) and didn't want to spend 100's of dollars for the special wrenches. I am not handy enough to fabricate my own but was able to find a large socket on Amazon that works perfectly and was only 23.00 with free shipping.

The socket is from a company called OTC and the part number is 1934. The size is 3 1/8"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00063 ... 00_details

For the outside portion of the bulkhead I used a common strap wrench with a rubber strap from Lowes

http://www.lowes.com/pd_253674-16878-50 ... facetInfo=

Regards,

Jay

 

[maxepr1]

Tool you want for any future jobs is a FORD wrench. Originally designed for the model T, they are today used in aviation. Smooth jaws so they don't damage anything and open all the way up 11" if need be. I use them almost daily and the small one opens to 5" and costs around $30. Strap wrenches have no leverage on "B" nuts, there designed for round surfaces.