Broke Filter Drain Plug - Please HELP!

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nikolausp said:
Thanks.... I'm getting one from Amazon on Friday.... I was just trying to get one tomorrow if possible (Thursday), since I've gotta get that pump up and running ASAP... I don't want any algae to start, haha!
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Add some liquid chlorine and mix in with your pool brush.
Dose according to the FC/CYA Levels
 
proavia said:
Add some liquid chlorine and mix in with your pool brush.
Dose according to the FC/CYA Levels
Click to expand...

I just checked Chlorine, and I'm still at 4.5%, so I should be good for today I think. It's overcast and rainy... sun is not out, so that's good.

I just used that Tub Drain Extractor I bought from Lowes last night, and it worked great. (Link: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Superior-Tool-1-5-in-Drain-Removal-Wrench/5013443925 )

I didn't even have to take the filter top off, to attempt to get at it from the inside.... I was able to just press that Drain Extractor firmly upwards from underneath the filter and hold it snug in place with my left hand, while right hand unscrewed the "stuck" threaded plug part with my ratchet. I was pleased it came out smoothly!

Also, I was able to locate an OEM Pentair drain plug with O-Ring that I'm gonna buy later today from a Pool Repair guy that does Pentair Warranty stuff.... He says he has an extra one he said he will sell me later this afternoon. SCORE!!
 
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Save the tub drain extractor … it will come in handy when you have to replace the incorrectly installed tub drain that some bozo plumber put in your home without using the supplied gaskets properly to seal the drain against your very expensive porcelain/cast-iron tub … ask me how I know 🙄
 
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full
 
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JamesW said:
How do you know?
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Because I was the one that determined the Jack & Jill bathroom tub was leaking water and when I pulled the drain it was apparent that the idiot plumber that installed the tub did not install the rubber gasket that seals between the tub bottom and the PVC drain pipe. Instead, the moron tried to pack the space with plumbers putty. When installing a tub drain, you install the rubber gasket between the tub and the drain pipe (sometimes it’s hard to do and you have to use a flat blade screwdriver as a wedge to force the pipe down so you shove the gasket into place) and you use plumbers putty to seal the tub drain to the top of the tub surface. Then, when you tighten the drain into the PVC pipe, the plumbers putty squishes down and the rubber gasket is pulled up and you get a very watertight seal on both surfaces of the tub.

Plumbing101 but, for some reason, these idiots can’t seem to figure it out.
 
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So I put new Drain Plug in tonight, and then I fired my pool back up . And now it's as if "Pool Mode" thinks it's in Spillway mode. I've done "Reset" on my equipment pad control panel 3 different times, and it keeps coming back to Pool mode.... but it's draining from the pool, and returning to the Spa (As if it's in Spillway Mode, even tho it's not in Spillway mode).

If I want to get it to "act" like it's in regular "Pool" mode, I have to actually tell it to go into Spillway Mode, which then makes the valve change to return to "POOL" instead of "Spa".

I'm not sure if that makes sense to anybody, but I've never noticed this behavior before this evening, when I turned my Pump back on (after plugging my filter again).

It's like my Pool Return "valve actuator" now decided that "Pool Mode" is going to be returning to the SPA, instead of returning to the POOL like it used to yesterday and every day for 3+ years with no issues. I'm not sure really what to do about that.

Anybody have any ideas?

Should I start a new thread for this issue?
 
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I just did some YouTube searches.... and I'll I just ordered this from Amazon since there was a short window to get it tomorrow. In case it helps this issue, I wanted to have it in hand so I can try it out tomorrow. (We're going out of town Saturday - Monday). It's a little switch that it appears might need replacing. It might not be my issue, but it seemed like perhaps something good to order while I still can get it tomorrow.

 
I tried flipping the little switch on the back of my Valve Actuator a couple hours ago, and it didn't do anything. (I don't even know what this does, but I saw some annoying "Pool Guy" do it to one of my Actuator's a couple years ago and it seemed to make it move. Nobody actually explained to me what that little switch is, or does when I "got" my new pool).

I just now went outside and flipped that switch back and forth again, and what do you know, the Actuator actually turned back to "POOL" side, where it should be in POOL mode. Maybe that was the fix? I don't know how this stuff works , or what that little switch does, but I went and flipped it a few times, and it finally turned the thing back to "POOL". Hopefully now it's good.

In the mean time, I have a stupid 3rd Party "Drain Plug" in my Filter right now which came from Amazon today. The "Pool Guy" that texted me back and forth earlier today and said he was selling me the OEM PENTAIR EXACT Drain Plug never texted me back this afternoon or this evening, so eventually I decided to pop in a 3rd party plug, which I'm not overly happy about, since it is not the same exact Pentair Filter Drain Plug that came with my Filter. I tightened it some, and it leaked. Then I tightened it more, and it was still leaking, and then I tightened it even more, and it seems to have stopped leaking, for now. I just hope I didn't F' anything up with the threads on my actual filter drain hole. Perhaps I'll hear from the "Pool Guy" tomorrow, and be able to swap out the "3rd Party" plug with the OEM exact "Pentair" plug. we'll see. If not, I have one coming from Amazon tomorrow as well, but it could get here at like 10pm on that from UPS, who knows.

We are leaving town on Saturday, so you can see why I'm urgent to get this all solved TODAY (Thursday), and at least by Tomorrow, at latest (Friday)
 
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nikolausp said:
I tightened it some, and it leaked. Then I tightened it more, and it was still leaking, and then I tightened it even more, and it seems to have stopped leaking, for now. I
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There should've been an O-Ring around the cap of the plug. Was it missing? A little bit of Magic Lube would help with this, if it was there.
 
While true that Magi Lube II is preferable (just because it's less tacky to clean for me), using the OG ML will not cause any issues. Just don't use vaseline or any petroleum based products.
 

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Our recommendation is to use a non-petroleum based lubricant. We recommend it should be a silicone based, non-PTFE lubricant.

Magic Lube II, Dow Corning’s #111 Silicone lubricant, or Boss 820 Lube are the typical silicone lubes members have used.

You should not use silicone SEALANT.

PTFE based lubes gum up and gets sticky. Additionally, silicone lube tends to last longer.

Pool Lube - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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The little switch on the valve actuator has 3 positions: normal, off (center) and reversed. (Which side is "normal" depends on setup details.) A guess is that while you were working the switch inadvertently got flipped from normal to reverse. Then when you tried to fix it the first time you ended up at "off." The third time finally got it to normal. Great!
 
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