Time to redo pump and filter plumbing lines?

[Diannapool22]

Hi all,

I've noticed a couple slow leaks in the PVC joints at my pump and filter. I've tried applying silicon caulk at the joints as a bandaid, but still seeing drops of water. See attached below, red arrows are the joints where I've observed leaks.

I'm guessing it's probably best to cut out everything and start fresh?

I'm pretty comfortable with DIY, working with PVC, but haven't done any repairs with pool equipment. I would appreciate any pointers! And if I'll need to replace anything other than PVC, advice on where to get parts.

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Thanks,
Adam

 

[Diannapool22]

 

[Jimrahbe]

Dianna,

Not sure how far you want to go...

You are somewhat between a rock and a hard place, as the leak at the lower arrow is right at a T fitting and it is connected to a 90 degree fitting with no place to cut it. ☹

I am not a fan of ball valves, so I would dig the rocks away and cut out both ball valves and replace them with Jandy valves and then plumb them back to the backwash valve. It looks like you have enough extra pipe at the bottom of the backwash valve.

I can't really see where the pipe at the upper red arrow goes, so can't tell what kind of room you have there.

Depending on how much they are leaking, it might not be worth the effort..

A note of caution.. If your equipment pad and pool are both at the same level, cutting at ground level or lower may result in pool water flowing out of the cut pipe.. Depending on where you cut, it might make sense to drop the water in the pool about a foot. Just something to keep in mind as I was quite surprised when it happened to me...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Diannapool22]

hey Jim sorry for delay, thanks for the detailed reply! I agree on cutting out the ball valves and running new PVC to the backwash valve. That part is a no brainer for me; i will look into jandy valves. As for the upper red arrow, I'll attach a better picture. I do have room to cut it out, see attached.

The leaks are pretty minimal... just small/slow droplets of water escaping when the pump runs. Actually the silicone caulk seems to have stopped the one by the T/90 section above the ball valve. Other than some water loss, are there risks with leaving these as is? Thanks again