I have an older Hayward S200 sand filter and I'm replacing the multi-port valve because it is cracked internally which allows water to leak past the "spider" gasket out the waste line.
Additionally, it has always leaked where the PVC threaded adapters screw into the valve body and I was curious why.
After cutting some of the PVC piping and unscrewing the adapters. It appears that the threaded portion of the adapters are nearly 1/2 inch longer than they need to be. Whoever assembled it originally put about 10 layers of Teflon tape on the threads (not an exaggeration) and then added a thick bead of clear silicone around the joint between the valve and the PVC adapter to fill the gap. And it STILL leaked. The valve definitely wasn't cracked from over-tightening. It appears that water was just leaking past the threads.
I'm suspecting that the reason this didn't seal was because it didn't get far enough up the taper to make a good seal (assuming PVC threads are even tapered). But I could be completely wrong.
Do they make PVC adapters with different thread depths and/or tapers? I've looked at a ton of pictures online and it looks like they do, but it might be an optical illusion from the way they are photographed.
Before I spend a bunch of time re-piping this back together with the new valve, I want to make sure I use the correct adapters so this doesn't leak again.
Any ideas?
Additionally, it has always leaked where the PVC threaded adapters screw into the valve body and I was curious why.
After cutting some of the PVC piping and unscrewing the adapters. It appears that the threaded portion of the adapters are nearly 1/2 inch longer than they need to be. Whoever assembled it originally put about 10 layers of Teflon tape on the threads (not an exaggeration) and then added a thick bead of clear silicone around the joint between the valve and the PVC adapter to fill the gap. And it STILL leaked. The valve definitely wasn't cracked from over-tightening. It appears that water was just leaking past the threads.
I'm suspecting that the reason this didn't seal was because it didn't get far enough up the taper to make a good seal (assuming PVC threads are even tapered). But I could be completely wrong.
Do they make PVC adapters with different thread depths and/or tapers? I've looked at a ton of pictures online and it looks like they do, but it might be an optical illusion from the way they are photographed.
Before I spend a bunch of time re-piping this back together with the new valve, I want to make sure I use the correct adapters so this doesn't leak again.
Any ideas?
