Greetings! (Sorry for the length, but this is written to be mildly amusing as well - grab some popcorn!)
I write this post, not to embarrass myself - although that's a distinct possibility - but rather to remind folks of what they already know: You never ever ever operate a pump when the multi-port valve is in the CLOSED position!
March 30th was pool opening weekend for my house. During opening, I generally operate my system in RECIRC position without the salt cell installed to get my initial SLAM going. I use the Autopilot provided caps to seal off the union. Once I've cleared the majority of any debris, I go ahead and bring the filter into the loop. All that was completed on Saturday.
On Sunday, the last step is to remove the caps, and install the salt cell. Because the filter was already primed and loaded with DE, I decided to use the CLOSED position to hold it's contents while I swapped the caps for the salt cell and made connections to the panel. Halfway through the process, it starts raining - of course. The wife appears with umbrella to help prevent the electrical connections from getting wet. I'm working very quickly, finally get everything connected up in a dry fashion, and then...
...simply turn the system back on, right?
As soon as I did that, within 1 second I see water shoot out of the check valve which separates the pump from the multi-port valve. I immediately realize what I have done and quickly shut the system back off. Ugh. I simply cannot believe what I have done, and what a stupid stupid mistake this was!!! 13 years of successful pool ownership/maintenance didn't protect me from making a HUGE mistake.
After beating back those "the whole system is broken" type thoughts - I reckon that if I'm incredibly lucky, simply moving the multi-port valve over to filter will remedy the situation. Except... The handle will not depress at all!!! So much pressure had built up inside the valve it could not be depressed. What to do, what to do?
How about slowly unscrewing the check valve cover? That should allow the pressure to escape, right? It sure did! Once a certain amount of unscrewing was reached, water JETTED past the o-ring in spectacular fashion - pressure washer, anyone? It took quite a while, but eventually the pressure equalized. The multi-port valve released and I was able rotate it fully and select the filter position. After re-tightening the check valve, power was ready to be applied...
The wife moved a safe distance away from the pad as I applied power.
Much to my amazement, everything started up normally!!! Filter showed correct pressure... except...except... wait for it...The check valve was now compromised - water was escaping in the exact same location as the initial water escape. (when the initial problem occurred) Additional tightening of the screws did not stop the leak, any further tightening would've stripped the screw holes.
I figure the situation is hopeless... Nearly ready to accept defeat, the wife calmly makes a recommendation to disassemble the check valve, clean, inspect and re-install. I could have easily taken a stance of, "No!!! That's not gonna help anything!!!" - but in my then-state of self-doubt, defeated, I was willing to try anything. So, my reaction was a more calm, "Ok, good idea - let's try that."
I'm almost at the end - need more popcorn?
Upon removing the check valve, I was inspecting the screw holes, checking for flatness and feeling for any obstructions that might prevent a tight seal with the o-ring and cover. I found one!!! In the exact location where the initial breach occurred, there was a raised piece of plastic sticking out of the screw hole. After locating an EXACTO knife I carefully trimmed away this imperfection - returning the surface to a flat obstruction-less surface.
We cleaned up the check valve cover, o-ring, re-lubed the o-ring and finally reassembled the check valve in near silent fashion. We were both cautiously optimistic, as I completed the tightening process. With the wife once again at a safe distance from the pad, time to apply power...
SUCCESS!!!! System started up normally, filter pressure shows normal, and amazingly... NO LEAK in the check valve!!!
Afterthoughts: I'm thinking the initial over-pressurization event is what caused the obstruction to be literally "pulled out" of the screw hole in the check valve. Water is in-compressible, and every component in the loop must have a specific PSI tolerance. The one with the least tolerance lost. I'm just glad it was a fixable deformation of a screw hole!
Mitigation: I always like to take away some "lesson learned" from these situations, and take steps to ensure this exact thing never happens again. My ideas range from a simple sign to hang over the power switch, up to an elaborate mechanical switch such that the multi-port CLOSED position actually kills power to the pump.
Finally: I feel incredibly lucky to have come out of this unscathed. The wife deserves serious credit for her calm "let's work the problem" demeanor.
That's all for now, I hope the few of you that read enjoyed the tale!
Kelly
I write this post, not to embarrass myself - although that's a distinct possibility - but rather to remind folks of what they already know: You never ever ever operate a pump when the multi-port valve is in the CLOSED position!
March 30th was pool opening weekend for my house. During opening, I generally operate my system in RECIRC position without the salt cell installed to get my initial SLAM going. I use the Autopilot provided caps to seal off the union. Once I've cleared the majority of any debris, I go ahead and bring the filter into the loop. All that was completed on Saturday.
On Sunday, the last step is to remove the caps, and install the salt cell. Because the filter was already primed and loaded with DE, I decided to use the CLOSED position to hold it's contents while I swapped the caps for the salt cell and made connections to the panel. Halfway through the process, it starts raining - of course. The wife appears with umbrella to help prevent the electrical connections from getting wet. I'm working very quickly, finally get everything connected up in a dry fashion, and then...
...simply turn the system back on, right?
As soon as I did that, within 1 second I see water shoot out of the check valve which separates the pump from the multi-port valve. I immediately realize what I have done and quickly shut the system back off. Ugh. I simply cannot believe what I have done, and what a stupid stupid mistake this was!!! 13 years of successful pool ownership/maintenance didn't protect me from making a HUGE mistake.
After beating back those "the whole system is broken" type thoughts - I reckon that if I'm incredibly lucky, simply moving the multi-port valve over to filter will remedy the situation. Except... The handle will not depress at all!!! So much pressure had built up inside the valve it could not be depressed. What to do, what to do?
How about slowly unscrewing the check valve cover? That should allow the pressure to escape, right? It sure did! Once a certain amount of unscrewing was reached, water JETTED past the o-ring in spectacular fashion - pressure washer, anyone? It took quite a while, but eventually the pressure equalized. The multi-port valve released and I was able rotate it fully and select the filter position. After re-tightening the check valve, power was ready to be applied...
The wife moved a safe distance away from the pad as I applied power.
Much to my amazement, everything started up normally!!! Filter showed correct pressure... except...except... wait for it...The check valve was now compromised - water was escaping in the exact same location as the initial water escape. (when the initial problem occurred) Additional tightening of the screws did not stop the leak, any further tightening would've stripped the screw holes.I figure the situation is hopeless... Nearly ready to accept defeat, the wife calmly makes a recommendation to disassemble the check valve, clean, inspect and re-install. I could have easily taken a stance of, "No!!! That's not gonna help anything!!!" - but in my then-state of self-doubt, defeated, I was willing to try anything. So, my reaction was a more calm, "Ok, good idea - let's try that."
I'm almost at the end - need more popcorn?
Upon removing the check valve, I was inspecting the screw holes, checking for flatness and feeling for any obstructions that might prevent a tight seal with the o-ring and cover. I found one!!! In the exact location where the initial breach occurred, there was a raised piece of plastic sticking out of the screw hole. After locating an EXACTO knife I carefully trimmed away this imperfection - returning the surface to a flat obstruction-less surface.
We cleaned up the check valve cover, o-ring, re-lubed the o-ring and finally reassembled the check valve in near silent fashion. We were both cautiously optimistic, as I completed the tightening process. With the wife once again at a safe distance from the pad, time to apply power...
SUCCESS!!!! System started up normally, filter pressure shows normal, and amazingly... NO LEAK in the check valve!!!
Afterthoughts: I'm thinking the initial over-pressurization event is what caused the obstruction to be literally "pulled out" of the screw hole in the check valve. Water is in-compressible, and every component in the loop must have a specific PSI tolerance. The one with the least tolerance lost. I'm just glad it was a fixable deformation of a screw hole!
Mitigation: I always like to take away some "lesson learned" from these situations, and take steps to ensure this exact thing never happens again. My ideas range from a simple sign to hang over the power switch, up to an elaborate mechanical switch such that the multi-port CLOSED position actually kills power to the pump.
Finally: I feel incredibly lucky to have come out of this unscathed. The wife deserves serious credit for her calm "let's work the problem" demeanor.
That's all for now, I hope the few of you that read enjoyed the tale!
Kelly
(I can just see your wife way over there.........................smart lady!)
