Pool leak pressure testing

[blac1175]

How reliable is the diverter seal in a 3-way Never Lube Jandy Valve? Can I use that valve to isolate certain pipes during pressure testing, at say, 15 or 20 psi?

I'm interested if it can be used in either direction, that is:
1) If I set the valve to close a certain pipe, can I pressurize that pipe, and expect the valve to hold pressure and prevent leaking into the other two pipes?
2) If I set the valve to close a certain pipe, can I pressure the remaining two pipes, and expect the valve to hold pressure and prevent leaking into the closed pipe?

The seal is loaded from opposite sides in the two scenarios, and if either is expected to be a good seal, that could simplify my pressure testing setup a lot.

I ask this because my valve is definitely leaking some currently, and I wonder if it worth trying to replace the seals, or should I just not care. The leak is not an issue normally, because the only effect is that every time my pool pump is on, the spa spillway is dripping about a drop or two per second into my pool. But for a pressure test, this leakage would invalidate the results, I assume.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[Pool Tool]

Are you trying to trying to test that the valve is not stopping flow, that it is leaking out near the handle or the piping in general? Jandy valves are very reliable but not necessarily intended for pressure testing. If you loaded the "normal" side of the valve you should get a good seal, but loading the other side of the valve would counteract the valve sealing and likely not hold pressure and possibly damage the valve.

If you are trying to pressure the piping on either side of the valve, you can remove the screws and guts and gain access to the pipes inside. There is just enough room to get a threaded plug in there rather than rely on the valve to hold pressure.

But if you are trying to repair leaking out of the valve, there is an O-ring that is easily accessible that will fix that and definitely worth replacing.

 

[blac1175]

Thank you! Indeed, I'm trying to pressure test the pipe on either side of the valve. So you say that if I open up the valve, I'll be able to fit something like this: 2" Standard Plug - Open: Anderson Manufacturing Company, Inc. into the pipe and do my pressure test? That sounds great.

(To answer your question, my "leak" is not water coming out of the piping or the valve body, it's just that the water not being fully diverted to the left output pipe (going to my pool), but some (a few drips per second) water is always going towards the right output pipe (going to my spa). And this leak I don't care much about. I assume rebuilding the Jandy valve would fix it, but I have bigger problems to solve first.)

Sorry for the slow answer, it took a while before I could get back to this issue, and thank you for your response.