I guess that's what you'd call the part. It looks pretty much like this picture:
It's been a slow drip since last fall (but only when the pump runs), and now there's a rust stain on the outside wall below it (a vertical path down the wall). So I decided to try to fix this slow drip. At first I wasn't sure what to do to go about it, and the guy who sold me the pool suggested I replace the part. So I did, and when I took apart the old one, I saw that both the inside and outside gasket were extremely deteriorated, so maybe that was the problem. (Maybe the pool installer didn't tighten it enough, causing water to invade the gasket area? Just guessing.)
Well I still have a leak with the new one, but I don't think it's leaking through the gaskets. I have rigid PVC that I installed myself with lots of unions. Basically it goes skimmer -> ball valve (idea I got from this site, which I find nifty) -> pump -> sand filter -> salt generator -> return jet. All pipes are rigid PVC (as opposed to the flimsier stuff the pool came with.)
Well, the outside of the jet inlet fitting is female threaded (I think it's a 1.5 " diameter). So what I have is a nonthreaded-to-male-threaded PVC adapter I bought last year from home depot (and installed right after I bought it.) (The nonthreaded part was so I could glue to the rest of my pipes.) I think the slow drip is between those male and female threads.
Things I tried: I put teflon tape in there. That stopped the dripping, but only when the pump is off. It still drips with the pump is on.
Then I tried applying rectorseal (a type of pipe sealant) to the threads. I made the mistake when I turned on the pump to test it, that I left in the pipe plug on the return jet that I had put there to allow me to work on the inlet. Just 3-5 seconds later I switched off the pump and removed the plug, but suddenly the the dripping was a bit worse. (I don't know if the high water pressure did something.) I tried again, and now it was leaking from the gaskets. I think when I reinserted the male adapter, I may have inadvertantly twisted the jet inlet fitting, loosening it. So I tightened it again using some channel lock pliers. It looks to me that the gaskets are water tight again - no leak. But the leak through the threads remains, albeit less of one. Maybe one drip every 10 seconds, give or take several seconds. (the period between drips varies from a few seconds to 20 seconds.)
So all in all, not a big problem, but I'd like to figure out how to totally make this thing watertight. Do you think I'll need to replace the PVC adapter that screws into it? I'd think the brand new jet inlet fitting would be okay, but maybe I need a better way to connect a pipe into it.
I dislike the idea of replacing the adapter because the adapter is very close to a PVC elbow joint, and that joint is very close to a union. I think I'd have to replace all three parts and glue the new ones together again. Though if I have to do it, I think I'd relocate the (new) union a bit farther down the pipe it's on, so that if I ever have to replace the elbow joint in the future, the union could be saved by adding a PVC coupler. As it sits, I don't think the current one can be saved if I wind up replacing the PVC adapter.
Anyway, does anybody have opinions on the best way to connect a PVC pipe to this inlet jet fitting in a way such that no drips of water can leak through the threads?
It's been a slow drip since last fall (but only when the pump runs), and now there's a rust stain on the outside wall below it (a vertical path down the wall). So I decided to try to fix this slow drip. At first I wasn't sure what to do to go about it, and the guy who sold me the pool suggested I replace the part. So I did, and when I took apart the old one, I saw that both the inside and outside gasket were extremely deteriorated, so maybe that was the problem. (Maybe the pool installer didn't tighten it enough, causing water to invade the gasket area? Just guessing.)
Well I still have a leak with the new one, but I don't think it's leaking through the gaskets. I have rigid PVC that I installed myself with lots of unions. Basically it goes skimmer -> ball valve (idea I got from this site, which I find nifty) -> pump -> sand filter -> salt generator -> return jet. All pipes are rigid PVC (as opposed to the flimsier stuff the pool came with.)
Well, the outside of the jet inlet fitting is female threaded (I think it's a 1.5 " diameter). So what I have is a nonthreaded-to-male-threaded PVC adapter I bought last year from home depot (and installed right after I bought it.) (The nonthreaded part was so I could glue to the rest of my pipes.) I think the slow drip is between those male and female threads.
Things I tried: I put teflon tape in there. That stopped the dripping, but only when the pump is off. It still drips with the pump is on.
Then I tried applying rectorseal (a type of pipe sealant) to the threads. I made the mistake when I turned on the pump to test it, that I left in the pipe plug on the return jet that I had put there to allow me to work on the inlet. Just 3-5 seconds later I switched off the pump and removed the plug, but suddenly the the dripping was a bit worse. (I don't know if the high water pressure did something.) I tried again, and now it was leaking from the gaskets. I think when I reinserted the male adapter, I may have inadvertantly twisted the jet inlet fitting, loosening it. So I tightened it again using some channel lock pliers. It looks to me that the gaskets are water tight again - no leak. But the leak through the threads remains, albeit less of one. Maybe one drip every 10 seconds, give or take several seconds. (the period between drips varies from a few seconds to 20 seconds.)
So all in all, not a big problem, but I'd like to figure out how to totally make this thing watertight. Do you think I'll need to replace the PVC adapter that screws into it? I'd think the brand new jet inlet fitting would be okay, but maybe I need a better way to connect a pipe into it.
I dislike the idea of replacing the adapter because the adapter is very close to a PVC elbow joint, and that joint is very close to a union. I think I'd have to replace all three parts and glue the new ones together again. Though if I have to do it, I think I'd relocate the (new) union a bit farther down the pipe it's on, so that if I ever have to replace the elbow joint in the future, the union could be saved by adding a PVC coupler. As it sits, I don't think the current one can be saved if I wind up replacing the PVC adapter.
Anyway, does anybody have opinions on the best way to connect a PVC pipe to this inlet jet fitting in a way such that no drips of water can leak through the threads?
My pump is running now, so I'll keep checking it to see if any leaks develop. I think either the old PVC adapter was faulty (but my new is the exact same model), so the other difference is that this time I used a bit more Teflon tape than I did before.