In the process of replacing the tubing in my Stenner pump setup, I inadvertently tore the suction line grommet on the tank. The grommet is not available as a stand alone part (per Stenner) and it's been difficult to find one exactly the same size. Just wondering, does this connection need to be air tight or is the grommet simply needed to protect the tubing and ensure that the weighted strainer does not shift in the tank? If the latter, there are probably ways to rig something. Any suggestions?
Stenner tank grommet replacement
- Thread starter MBPooldiy
- Start date
Flying Tivo
TFP Guide
- Jan 24, 2017
- 2,969
- Pool Size
- 7500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
The grommet is simply there to hold the fumes and exit them through the tubing. You can easily find grommets sets on amazon. If your tank is outdoors it doesn't really matter much.
The problem I ran into is that most of the standard grommets are intended for thin sheet metal and don't accommodate the tank's wall thickness. I then attempted to try and reuse the original grommet that broke by removing the torn flange completely and just pressing it in from the front. But it seems to be a bit oversized and once inserted into the tank the hole was too compressed to get the tube back in. According to Stenner this is intentional and they advised against opening the hole in the tank because it might let in dirt and water. I was hesitant to go ahead with altering my tank and tried several other grommets (and was thankful for Amazon's free return policy) before finding this grommet plug (with a 9.5mm ID x 6.5mm hole) which turned out to be a perfect fit! Amazon.com
As far as with the other poster said even if the tank is outside it DOES matter. Without that grommet in place the tank will vent directly wherever it is, which in my case is close by to my equipment which brings me to this thread. I noticed corrosion of screw heads and other metal parts close by to my tank due to this grommet breaking down. I've called Stenner and they've replaced the grommets but the problem is they eventually break down due to the muriatic acid fumes. I'm trying to find a solution, maybe coating a newer grommet in wheel bearing grease?? At any rate have you found the replacement part besides calling Stenner directly?
Update just got off the phone with tech support at Stenner and they are absolutely useless with helping with the grommet. The tech finally agreed to me that yes they do break down after first saying he's never heard of it...
At any rate I found these grommets on Amazon they look like they have the proper thickness I'm going to give them a shot I'm also going to coat the grommet in wheel bearing grease to see if that'll help the life of them.
Rubber Grommet Fits 7/16" Hole in 1/4" Thick Panel Buna-N Rubber Grommet has 1/4" Center Hole - Protects Wires, Shafts and Tubing - Dampens Vibration (6) https://a.co/d/38FMvth
Update just got off the phone with tech support at Stenner and they are absolutely useless with helping with the grommet. The tech finally agreed to me that yes they do break down after first saying he's never heard of it...
At any rate I found these grommets on Amazon they look like they have the proper thickness I'm going to give them a shot I'm also going to coat the grommet in wheel bearing grease to see if that'll help the life of them.
Rubber Grommet Fits 7/16" Hole in 1/4" Thick Panel Buna-N Rubber Grommet has 1/4" Center Hole - Protects Wires, Shafts and Tubing - Dampens Vibration (6) https://a.co/d/38FMvth
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I tried that one (fits 7/16" hole, 1/4" center hole in 1/4" thick panel) but the fit was too tight and once I got the grommet inserted into the tank it was not possible to insert the tube. You could try drilling the hole in the tank slightly larger, but Stenner discouraged me from doing that. They advised me I could end up with a poor fitting grommet that leaks. They did also send me a complimentary replacement grommet but by the time I received it I had found this suitable replacement on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLXJB7ZT?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1. The one you want is the dia 9.5mm x ID 6.5mm x H 10mm, which went out of stock for a while but is back now. It's more of a plug than a grommet, so you would need to take care when adjusting the tubing position not to pull out the plug if you have to pull the tubing back a bit. But it worked perfectly for me. I'm using my tank for chlorine so hoping that the grommet/plug will hold for a while. The only reason I had to replace it was because I was careless when removing the suction tube to change it and ripped the original grommet. (Or maybe that happened because the grommet had in fact weakened from the chlorine fumes.) Anyway since the plugs came in a set of 20, I have enough to last a while even if I end up replacing it every year when I do my annual pump maintenance. It does baffle me why Stenner does not either offer the grommets as a replacement part or make the hole in the tank a size that will accept a commonly available grommet.