Spa draining into pool mystery -

[diamonddog]

I have a spa that is connected to my pool and its is above the level of the pool. It is draining every night now. I will try to outline everything I have done / observed:

I did a remodel about 8 months ago and a Leak Detection company found some screw behind the spa light that was not installed and water was leaking into the ground from that point.

8 months of no leaking! and Thursday the spa leaks.

There is a Jandy check valve on the spa return, and a pentair check valve on the heater and another Pentair one on the pump. The Jandy one was all torn up at the flapper so I replaced all the "guts" and plastic cover with a kit.

1st night the water holds. Every night since then it leaks and the water line in my spa drops about 6 inches. I have taken apart the Jandy valve 4 times to make sure its seated correctly and that there is no debis. It seems ok.

I noticed that when I look through the clear lid of the Jandy, when I turn off the pump it loses water in the check valve cavity. The Pentair ones don't seem to loose water.

I also notice that when the pump is on, the Pentair ones swing way open. The Jandy one doesnt even seem to move. It must move because my spa fills up during the day.

If I wait about 10 minutes after my pump is off, I hear gurgling or bubbles in my system, It comes from the area around the Jandy check valve and pipes (I think). I have tightened down the Jandy lid to makes sure it is sealed.

Before I changed the Jandy check valve guts, it seemed like water trickled through the cavity. The Pentair ones would fill full of water and the Jandy one always seemed half full. I turned all my jets on and ramped my pump up at full speed to try and clear any debris that might be in the pipes. Now the Jandy Valve is full like the Pentair ones when the pump is on (but water leve in the valve drops when off as discussed earlier).

Again the spa was holding water for about 8 months just fine, and for the first night after I replaced the Jandy "guts"

Thanks in advance for any advice or next steps to trouble shoot. I am so frustrated. I am attaching pictures as well. The Pentair check valves are black, the Jandy one is painted beige. Its on the far left. Their is an acuator you cant really see toward the left, That one is suction, the one in the middle closest to the ground is the pool cleaner, the one above it is the return (spa/pool) and the one on the far right is the fountain that spills into the pool

 

[Bama Rambler]

What happens if you close the valve right before the Jandy check valve? Does the spa still lose water over night?

If it doesn't then it's the check valve that's the problem. You may wind up having to replace it but you may be able to rebuild it again and it work fine. Look closely at the inside when you take it apart again to make sure the sealing surfaces are smooth.

 

[diamonddog]

I am beginning to think that its the check valve. I turned off the shutoff valve after the check valve in photo(1), per the advice of Bama. Water seemed to hold.

The frustrating thing is that I bought a replacement "guts" kit just this week and replaced it (of course I threw away the receipt)

I opened the valve one more time. If you look at the picture, it looks like the installers painted all my pipes beige. I think the check valve housing is black like the Pentair ones. It looks like they got overspray inside the unit (many y ears ago). Also you can see where the old flapper stained the opening.

I took a kitchen sponge and scrubbed the Crud around out of the inside witht he plastic scrubbie side of the sponge. The residue still remained. I could not get off the overspray, but it did feel a bit smoother. I then used some silicone pool lube and lubed the o-ring and the rubber around the flapper.

It seems to be holding and there is no "burping" ten minutes later after the pump is off.

But I wonder if this fix will only be "temporary". I wonder if the silicone lube is doing the trick. Won't that wash off after a while? The overspray has been in there for years and I wonder why it didn't affect it before?

When I look inside at the Jandy one, I can't really see the flap moving up or down like my Pentair ones. Do you think it will be easy to cut out the Jandy one and put in the Pentair one?FDo you feel the whole thing need to be replaced ?

 

[Richard320]

I would guess you just solved your problem. O-rings ALWAYS get lubricated. If you didn't lube things the first time, that's probably what caused it all.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Like Richard, I think you've solved your problem.

I'd wait a while and see if it continues to hold before deciding to change the valve. It may last years this time.

If it does start leaking by it's not terribly hard to change it out. You can use whichever brand you prefer if it does have to be changed.

 

[diamonddog]

argggghhhhh... It didn't hold. Looks like I will be replacing it

 

[Bama Rambler]

I can't tell how it's plumbed in, but it looks really tight. You may have to cut out a little extra plumbing to get the new one to fit in correctly.

I'd also take this opportunity to change the block valve to a full port pool valve. I can't tell if it's a 2-way or 3-way Ortega style valve.