pressure side blowout

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midtngal

midtngal

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Oct 26, 2007
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Hello ya'll! :wave: My pressure side cleaner pipes certainly have a lot of pressure going on lately! I woke up Sat morning to this.....
dfb42256-9249-47fd-aa72-cc1460c799f7.jpg~original


It's hard to tell from the pic but that valve should be on top of that open pipe! I wasn't sure what had happened since it was overnight and I didn't hear anything. So tonight I glued it back together. As soon as I turned it on, it blew!!! I mean completely off like you see here! What is the heck would make this happen? I thought it would be a super easy fix! Maybe more than meets the eye is going on here.. Any ideas? Or should I have waited 24 hours and let it dry? The old man that works on my pool when I need someone had told me in the past that I didn't need to let it dry (I had always waited 24 hours to let it dry before then...)

TIA
 
Can you add larger pictures and some that show the full setup?

PVC solvent should set up pretty quickly. The bottle should tell you how long you need to wait ... some it longer than others.
 
jblizzle said:
Can you add larger pictures and some that show the full setup?

PVC solvent should set up pretty quickly. The bottle should tell you how long you need to wait ... some it longer than others.
Click to expand...

Hi Jason. Here's a pic from a while back...same set up though...only now I have a shut off valve on that pipe. (more enthralling information below the pic...)
DSC_0115-1.jpg~original


Directions?? You mean I'm supposed to read the directions?? :) Well, now that I've done that, it says 15 min to 2 hours! NOT, the 2 min max that I waited! Ha! WHY do I listen to these dang pool people when I know better?!?!?

This is just the regular clear PVC cement. Should I be using the heavy duty for this? After seeing how hard this blew, I sure don't want that happening again! Good thing I wasn't standing hear it!

Thank you!
 
PVC solvent is not glue, you don't just stick it back together. The solvent will soften the PVC and when you twist them together, will cause the two soften sections to "flow" together creating what is for all intents and purposes, a single piece. Part of that involves a half to quarter twist of the pipe to get it to get full contact between the parts. It doesn't look like you could possibly do that here. I'm also a little weary about adding more solvent to the already-cured solvent. It advises against that right in the instructions. I would be cutting that piece out and cementing a piece into the valve, then attaching the line coming out of the ground to the line coming out of the valve with a butt-joint union. If you do both sides at the same time, you can twist the union (might need someone to give you an extra hand) as you push the pipes in to get a nice bond. Don't presurize it for 2 to 24 hours.

Here's a good resource on some dos and don't for working with solvent cement: Dos and Donts of Solvent Cementing Pressure Pipes - Vinidex

Sent from a tiny keyboard.
 
Well, I'd love to come back and report that all is well...but...this wouldn't be my world if I could! I re-cemented it all, let it dry overnight. Then I turned it on and it blew again! So, I went to Lowes and bought all new parts cemented them all together and let it dry overnight. I turned it on yesterday and it blew yet again! What in the world is causing this pipe to blow off these parts??? No matter if they are new or not, it is not holding. Help! I've tried to get a "professional pool person" to come fix it but he can't get to me until the end of this week at earliest! And so now, I have a had a mustard algae outbreak! That will be another thread! :brickwall::brickwall::brickwall:

TIA for any help!
 
pooldv said:
What solvent did you use? Blue is best. Did you check the in line filter as James recommended? It sounds like something is clogged up.
Click to expand...

I used the yellow one/heavy duty. The blue is the medium one, right? I would think this is even stronger, but maybe not?

I don't think I've ever checked the inline filter. [I should point out that when I built my pool 8 years ago, I never got a final "pool school" from my builder because I had to fire him!] Where is this filter located?
 
Mine is located in the pool wall fitting. The Oatey yellow 1-step? That is for CPVC not PVC. Maybe that is the problem. The med blue rain-r-shine will cure in the presence of moisture.
 
I am wondering if there may not be an inline filter since the booster is pulling water after the main filter.

Unless you were using the wrong solvent ... I too am suspecting a possible clog.
 

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I can only suggest you use the correct solvent for the correct job. CPVC cement and PVC solvent are not the same thing. Also don't skip the primer. A PROPERLY welded PVC join WILL NOT come apart. (I would expect the pipe to fail first.) properly welded meaning joined using the correct primer and solvent, applied as directed and twisted together. There's also no way you'll be successful applying PVC solvent over cured CPVC cement. That will absolutely fail. If you can't get the pool guy out, do you know any plumbers? They should be able to connect some pipe for you.

Sent from a tiny keyboard.
 
Okay...I was wrong about the solvent. I used the green Oatey Heavy Duty Clear PVC Cement. And yes, I did use the primer and turn it before holding it in place for 30 sec. So this should have held, correct? And as far as the in-line filter, there's not one in the wall, but there is one in the attachment and it's not clogged. I don't understand how something could be clogging it and it blow with such force. I guess I'm going to need to make some calls today.. Thanks for all your help!
 
I don't fully understand the pressure side piping, but is that line typical always full of water before, during and after operating the cleaner/booster pump? If so, you might be experiencing a 'water hammer' where the pump starts pumping water into an air filled line until it hits a restriction near the pool or cleaner. Then the air contracts under pressure, acting like a spring, and forcibly pushes the water backward towards the pump and hits the restriction of the newly glued fitting with exceptional force/velocity. I have seen water hammer on several occasions, including blowing apart a fitting on a newly glued 90 deg elbow. It can create pressure surges much higher than normal operating pressures.

After your next repair try to fill the booster line with water before you turn on the booster pump if at all possible if this is not already the case. If this doesn't sound right, completely ignore me ;)
 
JohnT said:
Try blowing air through the line with a shop vac. That will tell you if the line is open.
Click to expand...

Okay..this sounds like a good idea! But, I have a pancake compressor that is easier to get to than my shop vac...could I use it as well? If so, should it be pretty low pressure to keep from damaging anything? Is there a special attachment I need in order to do this? And, since the pipe is open at the pad, that's where I want to blow it from instead of a skimmer, right? Or...I just remembered that I have one of those "drain king" adapters for the hose...could I use that as well? I know...too many questions! :wink: :D
 
An air compressor gives high pressure, low volume. You might have better results with a shop vac which is low pressure, high volume. You'd blow air from the pad to the pool to see if you get bubbles. If the air isn't making it out, you've got a blockage somewhere.

Sent from a tiny keyboard.


Edit: mmm... Pancakes.
 
You can use the pancake compressor - they are low volume, high pressure type so the shop vac may work better. Either way there is a regulator on the pancake, just be sure to set the max pressure to around 20 or 30 psi so it doesn't over pressurize the line. I would start at 20 then only move up to 30 if you find a blockage.

As for the location, again I am not to familiar, but where does the pressure line go? To the skimmer? To a separate hole somewhere else? Best case would be to introduce air from the opposite end of the equipment pad and blow back toward the pad. Thought here is that if there is something stuck against a fitting, etc. that the air from the opposite way will help dislodge it. It will be difficult to adapt the compressor to the drain king without running the hardware store to find a hose type fitting. Generally the compressor hose or shop vac hose stuck in the pipe then wrapped tight with a hand towel will provide sufficient seal for what you are trying to accomplish.

You could try the drain king with a your garden hose since you already have it in lieu of a compressor and see what happens.
 
During this thread, primer has gotten little attention. a PVC joint is quite easy to make as long as you do it right.

1. Both ends must be perfectly dry

2. both ends must be primered....thoroughly. (I don't like the glue and primer as one)

3. both ends must be coated thoroughly, but not heavily with PVC glue.

4. Now, depending on temperature, you have about 10 seconds to fit those two ends firmly together. the quarter twist further helps set the two pieces but you should feel them fit firmly and then harden within 30 seconds to a minute.

That's it. That your work has failed 4 times means you must not be doing it correctly. Even a booster pump does not produce enough pressure to affect a well made PVC joint. Done properly, the pipe will burst before the joint and your pump cannot produce nearly enough pressure for that to happen.
 

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