Advice on Seemingly Constant Repair of an A&A Tsunami Valve

[GoGrabTheNet]

I have a 6-port, low-profile Tsunami valve for pop-up in-floor cleaners in my pool. Inside is a gear-set that can be seen here (https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-540277-6-Port-Low-Parts/dp/B00HEAPGZ8).

After the impeller/gear (top right in the picture) wore out, I replaced the entire gear set in March of 2017. One cannot just buy the impeller gear and be done with it. No, you must be the entire set; about $100 at the local pool supply place--shop local!

The top impeller-gear appears to be worn out again, and curiously, another failure is occuring: the actual stainless steel shaft is wearing down in the middle where the impeller-gear spins! This, in turn, causes more wobbling of the impeller-gear, more noise, and basically seals its fate.

So how often do these gears need to be replaced? Seems like every 3 years is a bit much, especially since I run my VS pump at low speeds most of the time. Furthermore, I think the wearing-away of the SS shaft is crazy.

 

[jonpcar]

Check out the link provided by @proavia in this thread:

A&A Magnasweep - replacement of gears on Water Valve assembly

Does anyone have experience replacing just the gears on the water valve assembly? The teeth on the underside of a couple gears have worn off and the unit no longer rotates. I'd rather just spend the $40 on new gears rather than the $100 on a new unit if possible.

www.troublefreepool.com

Replacement gear sets can be bought for $35 and includes the impeller gear. You can probably have your local pool shop order them. And, though I don’t do it because I have a free lifetime warranty, you CAN save those smaller gears and reuse them. I think the bottom ones usually have the least wear. I believe I replace mine about every 4-5 years. I haven’t had a problem with the spindle as you describe, can it be turned upside down and reused? I don’t see that the spindle is sold separately.

Do you have automation with your In-Floor-Cleaning-System? At lower speeds, I recommend returns be done exclusively through the wall returns if possible (some systems don’t have that option). In my system, the “head” introduced by the popups at low speed (which are not even popping up and down at those low flows) is SIGNIFICANT, reducing flow and the Energy Factor of my system by about 2/3. I do all my low speed skimming exclusively through the wall returns (which also helps with pool swirl). This would apply to SWG use as well, but I don’t have one of those. See this post for my numbers:

Infloor cleaning system, troubleshooting tips and maintenance desired

So now we know...those "relief" SDX drains are simply plumbed in parallel to the main drain. Luckily, they seem to be plumbed so that there is minimal water going through, unless of course there is a blockage of the main drain that occurs during entrapment. This is consistent with my...

www.troublefreepool.com

Using the wall returns exclusively at low speeds also would help with your issue: unnecessary wear on those gears which are not accomplishing anything at low RPMs anyway.

 

[GoGrabTheNet]

Thank you, Jonpcar. I appreciate the thorough reply.

I will definitely have to look into buying just the gears. I needed to get up and running, so I bought (for the second time now) the complete rebuild kit at $125. I usually shop at AZ Pools up on 43rd and Bell, but they are permanently closed; only their Scottsdale location remains. I don't recall ever seeing just the gears there. I bought my new rebuild kit from Grand Pool and Patio, close to home. Wish I would have done that first, but I didn't know A&A was sold there. I bought an extra impeller gear as well for $23.

You are correct, the spindle cannot be purchased separately. Thanks for confirming that.

So you bring up an interesting point with the low-speed pump vs. the pop-ups and head pressure. They still pop up slightly and leak through. Furthermore, I don't necessarily think that applies to my situation, however, as I do have a Quick-Skim(?) whose valve is open 100%. So any backpressure should be relieved through that, which is upstream from the Tsunami. No automation. I wish I had a wall-return jet or two. Would be nice, indeed.

I don't know what is causing seemingly rapid wear of the gears. Every 3 years isn't bad, I guess. Who knows.

Let me ask you this though: the two, SS washers...both below the impeller, or one on top and one on the bottom? Per the instructions, it seems like BOTH below the impeller, but want to make sure. Beats having to email A&A for confirmation. Thanks!

 

[GoGrabTheNet]

You can disgregard my question at the bottom of my post. I watched a video on the replacement. Both washers BELOW the impeller, so I'm good!

 

[jonpcar]

Sounds like you are off and running...one last/obvious question that I didn’t ask: you aren’t the original owner of the pool are you? Because then those parts are usually covered by a free lifetime warranty. I knew my popups were, but it took me 10 years to realize that the gears were covered too.

Sorry about no wall returns...that is unfortunate as it does hamper your options. The quick skim “feature” changes the dynamic a bit, but introduces issues (not necessarily problems) to the high rpm cleaning that occurs using the popups. Full open on that quick skim valve is probably not your most effective option for getting the most out of your IFCS.

Without automation, an intermediate setting on your quick-skim valve plus an intermediate setting on your skimmer/main drain suction might be your best bet but could only be determined by trial and error over some extended periods. In any case, if you are happy with the way everything is working, no need to tinker with it. Good luck!

 

[GoGrabTheNet]

Not the original owner. No lifetime coverage for me. No worries though. The pool is 15 years old, and eventually I may get it redone, but right now...it's good enough! I will check into and experiment with the Quick-Skim valve. I think the valve is in the same position as when I bought the house 5 years ago. I do like the added suction it creates in the skimmer, especially when the pump goes down low for the on-peak, power period. That way, I can focus the pumps energy on running the skimmer to help gather everything our windy days bring, especially during monsoons. I used to just shut the pump off for on-peak, but I have found that even a low setting on the pump, let's say 1550RPM, helps dramatically with top-water cleanliness during this time, and only drawing about 280W of juice!

The floor/skimmer suction valve is usually kept at the 10:00 o'clock position where 9PM would be full-closed on skimmer and 3PM would be full closed on floor; so about 1/2 open on the skimmer.