leak from salt cell union

[crackers8199]

what is the best way for me to fix this? i have no experience at all with pvc plumbing so i’ll probably have to call someone if it’s not a simple fix…

i have tried a new o ring and lube, as well as the blue thread seal tape…no luck. it’s still leaking both from the front and back of the union nut.

https://imgur.com/a/Ds2ILqN

 

[Texas Splash]

i have tried a new o ring and lube, as well as the blue thread seal tape…no luck. it’s still leaking both from the front and back of the union nut.

That's odd that both ends are leaking at the same time. Did this just start happening? Was the cell removed or something that potentially resulted in this leaking from both ends?

 

[crackers8199]

That's odd that both ends are leaking at the same time. Did this just start happening? Was the cell removed or something that potentially resulted in this leaking from both ends?

to be honest i’m not sure how long it has been happening but i noticed it a few weeks ago. the cell is brand new, just replaced it in early may. we went to europe on june 1 and when we got back two weeks later is when i noticed it was leaking…

 

[Texas Splash]

the cell is brand new, just replaced it in early may.

Did you replace just the cell at that time and use the old unions, or were those replaced as well?

 

[crackers8199]

Did you replace just the cell at that time and use the old unions, or were those replaced as well?

used the old unions because to my knowledge they were fine. the old cell wasn’t leaking, it just wasn’t producing anymore.

 

[Texas Splash]

used the old unions because to my knowledge they were fine. the old cell wasn’t leaking, it just wasn’t producing anymore.

I certainly understand that logic. I would've probably done the same thing unless I read in the manual or somewhere to change them. But now with this issue happening, it's very possible there's a slight variance in the design between the old and new unions. That's the only thing that makes sense at the moment. They might be closed by now, but you could try calling either Discount Salt Pools or InyoPools to ask them that very question - Is there a design difference between the unions from old to new? Phone call can't hurt.

 

[crackers8199]

I certainly understand that logic. I would've probably done the same thing unless I read in the manual or somewhere to change them. But now with this issue happening, it's very possible there's a slight variance in the design between the old and new unions. That's the only thing that makes sense at the moment. They might be closed by now, but you could try calling either Discount Salt Pools or InyoPools to ask them that very question - Is there a design difference between the unions from old to new? Phone call can't hurt.

i'll try that on monday (or tomorrow if they're open), but to me they seem to be the same. i used the o-rings that the new one came with and they fit just fine in the old unions (changing those out was the first thing i tried to solve the leak).

 

[Texas Splash]

to me they seem to be the same

Yeah, it's a coin toss for sure, but unless the cell itself is somehow canted and not aligned properly, it's about the only thing that I can think of that makes any sense.

 

[TinFoilHat]

I had my lower cell union (vertical cell) replaced for the first time about a year ago. It wasn't perfectly aligned and the cell would leak at that union unless I turned it 180 deg. That told me the cell ends may not have been square with each other. Anyway, the top union cracked a year later so I told the tech to make sure there were no misalignments that time and it worked. No leaks.

 

[crackers8199]

i guess my next question then is is there an easy way to replace the unions with little to no pvc experience without making things worse? i’m all for fixing stuff myself, but also trying to know my limits…

also trying to try everything i can do myself first before calling someone…

 

[trivetman]

This looks like a great candidate for your first pvc work!!

Seriously…pvc is something anyone willing to try can do, and it looks to me like youve got enough room to work woth on both sides so it won’t be a hard job.

 

[crackers8199]

This looks like a great candidate for your first pvc work!!

Seriously…pvc is something anyone willing to try can do, and it looks to me like youve got enough room to work woth on both sides so it won’t be a hard job.

how would i go about working backwards though to make sure everything fits back together tight? i’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this.

and i’ve been reading and watching videos about unions, should i put them on each side here to make it easier to swap the salt cell unions in the future if they break again?

 

[trivetman]

Before you go cutting anything….The first thing I would do is to figure out what changed so that now you’re leaking.

is the new cell exactly the same length as the old one

Did the new cell come with union nuts? Are they exactly the same as the old ones? Look at the threads very carefully.

With the cell removed, does the space between the coupler ends look exactly right for the cell? Is the alignment off at all?

How hard have you wrenched the nuts? I know advice on this site is always finger tight. My nuts are slightly out of alignment. I’ve always needed to do a quarter turn with a strap wrench to get a seal. You don’t want to go too hard and crack anything but the little bit of strap wrench has always done it for me.

You don’t want to start cutting things apart without knowing what you need to change

 

[crackers8199]

Before you go cutting anything….The first thing I would do is to figure out what changed so that now you’re leaking.

is the new cell exactly the same length as the old one

i mean it should be, it's exactly the same model. i can't see any difference on visual inspection.

Did the new cell come with union nuts? Are they exactly the same as the old ones? Look at the threads very carefully.

it did. they also appear to be exactly the same. as i said, i did use the o-rings from the new unions when i first noticed the leak...they fit inside the old unions just fine, which also backs up the idea that they're the same.

With the cell removed, does the space between the coupler ends look exactly right for the cell? Is the alignment off at all?

i'm not 100% sure what you're asking here. i don't see anything misaligned, though.

How hard have you wrenched the nuts? I know advice on this site is always finger tight. My nuts are slightly out of alignment. I’ve always needed to do a quarter turn with a strap wrench to get a seal. You don’t want to go too hard and crack anything but the little bit of strap wrench has always done it for me.

You don’t want to start cutting things apart without knowing what you need to change

i've always done them hand tight, with both the old cell as well as the new one. never used a wrench.

one thing i will say is that the leak only seems to present itself when the pump is on higher speeds. at the lower speeds it runs at most of the day, there doesn't seem to be a leak...i only notice the water dripping when i either run a quick clean to add some acid or if it's running at the higher speed to run the vacuum. lower speeds seem to be fine.

 

[trivetman]

Id probably try to tighten with a strap wrench before doing anything else. That little bit tighter is probably all you need.

Definitely get a strap wrench to do it. It will press evenly on all sides of the nut and let you tighten it without bending it out of shape

 

[TinFoilHat]

Be sure you put some pool silicone grease on the o-rings.

 

[crackers8199]

Be sure you put some pool silicone grease on the o-rings.

did that. multiple times.

 

[crackers8199]

Id probably try to tighten with a strap wrench before doing anything else. That little bit tighter is probably all you need.

Definitely get a strap wrench to do it. It will press evenly on all sides of the nut and let you tighten it without bending it out of shape

still leaking after tightening a little more with a strap wrench.

 

[trivetman]

Thats too bad. I was hoping.

We can guide you through redoing the pvc if you want to put the new nuts on. But….it might not fix things. If the new nuts are exactly the same as the old, and the current space fits the cell perfectly, then what are we gaining by recreating what’s already there?

 

[crackers8199]

Thats too bad. I was hoping.

We can guide you through redoing the pvc if you want to put the new nuts on. But….it might not fix things. If the new nuts are exactly the same as the old, and the current space fits the cell perfectly, then what are we gaining by recreating what’s already there?

i mean i don't know what else it could be. it wasn't leaking before i put the new cell in. if there is some slight variance between the old unions and the ones that came with it (which i can't imagine being the case based on what i've read, but i am out of ideas at this point)...

i mean it has to be the unions, right? that's where it's leaking from...what else could it possibly be that changing the unions wouldn't fix? nothing else has changed.

after the strap wrench didn't work yesterday, i took everything apart one more time, added more lube to the o-rings on both ends, and put it all back together...that seems to have at least lessened the drip, but it's still leaking. strangely enough, only from one end. the union on the far end is dry, it's the one where the flow enters the cell that is leaking.