Maybe more of a "handyman" question but I'm hoping someone here can help me. A couple of years ago, a big mouse or rat (ugh) chewed the threads on the filter drain valve. He/she chewed a V shape up (widest part of V at bottom) to slightly into the filter itself. I had enough threads to screw on a metal valve (which even Godzilla rat can't chew) and that doesn't leak. My problem is that there's a tiny chewed area that the new valve can't cover - the part in the filter itself and it's extremely difficult to get to. I try to seal that every year with some kind of waterproof sealant and it still leaks a little. I don't remember what I used last, some kind of two part that you mix from HD. It seems to dry out and pull away from the filter. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I could try that would "stick" to the filter better? Thank you.
Help with sealant for leak around valve on filter, please?
- Thread starter diytrying
- Start date
Pics of hole problem
The tiny hole that I can't get to well is in the Hayward filter itself. The silver in the pics here show the metal drain that I put on coming out of the filter. (The dark brown is the filter) That doesn't leak. What I can't take a picture of is under the drain in the very bottom of the "belly" of the filter. That's where the hole is - where the drain meets the belly of the filter. The brown gunk is last year's sealant. It's messy because I had to glob it on with the stirrer they supplied and even that was hard to get under the valve where the hole is. It seems to stay on the metal fine but wants to peel off the filter material (plastic? resin? what are they made of?)
The tiny hole that I can't get to well is in the Hayward filter itself. The silver in the pics here show the metal drain that I put on coming out of the filter. (The dark brown is the filter) That doesn't leak. What I can't take a picture of is under the drain in the very bottom of the "belly" of the filter. That's where the hole is - where the drain meets the belly of the filter. The brown gunk is last year's sealant. It's messy because I had to glob it on with the stirrer they supplied and even that was hard to get under the valve where the hole is. It seems to stay on the metal fine but wants to peel off the filter material (plastic? resin? what are they made of?)
It sounds like you've tried epoxy (2-part). Epoxy sticks to virtually anything so my guess is it was a little wet when you applied the epoxy.
Might be a huge problem to get it dry enough (has to be completely dry) but I would think epoxy is the best bet.
Emptying the sand and working from the inside would do the best job of drying it and sealing it.
Might be a huge problem to get it dry enough (has to be completely dry) but I would think epoxy is the best bet.
Emptying the sand and working from the inside would do the best job of drying it and sealing it.
Another trick when using epoxy is to cut strips of fiberglass and embed it into the epoxy. Get the epoxy 'wet' with epoxy before applying it. Epoxy with fiberglass is extremely strong and sticks most metals and plastics.
Good Luck
Good Luck
Thanks for the help. It's good to know I wasn't too far afield with what I was using. I'll try the fiberglass idea, sounds like a good trick.