Very old sand filter, do I bother to repair leaks

[johnw11]

Hi,

I have a very old pool sand filter, I think over 30 years old and by the looks of it has not been well maintained. e.g. the Pressure pump was not working and the previous owner said it had been like that for years and all he did was do a backwash once a week.

The filter is a Purex Triton Tageulus TA-35.

It has a number of leaks in it and I am working out if it possible to repair this filter or bite the bullet and get a new filter, which is not in my budget this year. I have found a couple of US based sites that seem to supply spare parts, e.g. www.inyopools.com and www.intheswim.com

 

[mknauss]

When you say leaks, are these just at connections or is the shell leaking/compromised?

 

[johnw11]

Just at connections. The shell looks OK.

 

[mknauss]

If the shell is sound, then repairing the connections makes sense. If you can get parts.

Post a few pictures. Some of your equipment experts can guide you.

 

[johnw11]

Here are some photos of the unit and the multiport. Ignore the O ring drapped over the handle.

 

[mknauss]

What is leaking? Does not look all that old. Is it in an enclosure?

 

[JamesW]

Looks like it was made in August 2009?

Edit - It says Purex and Pac Fab. In May 1999, Pentair acquired Pac Fab.

So, maybe it's older than that. The punched out "09" might mean 1989 or 1999.

I don't think that Pentair kept using the Pac Fab label up to 2009.

 

[johnw11]

I have managed to get a photo of the main leak. I hope the jet of water is clear enough. It is coming from a crack near the pressure guage, my neighbour as a short term fix is going to use a soldering iron to melt the plastic and then cover with some epoxy resin.

What is leaking? Does not look all that old. Is it in an enclosure?

The main leak seems to be a crack in the multiport valve, near the pressure guage. That maybe me as I have just replaced the guage and possible over tightened it. The other leaks seem to be around the multiport.

 

[johnw11]

I do not know when the sand was last replaced. I can imagine several years ago. I have seen a video on how to replace the sand and wondfering if when I take the multiport valve of that I need to replace any o-rings to be safe.

 

[johnw11]

Looks like it was made in August 2009?

Edit - It says Purex and Pac Fab. In May 1999, Pentair acquired Pac Fab.

So, maybe it's older than that. The punched out "09" might mean 1989 or 1999.

I don't think that Pentair kept using the Pac Fab label up to 2009.

Hi JamesW

I'm pretty certain it was not installed in 2009 as I know the previous owners and it was pre them buying the property in 2009. The house was built in 1986 so my guess would be 1989 for the pool being done. I have found an aerial photo of the property from 2001 that shows the pool being there. So I think the most we can narrow it down to 1989 or 1999.

 

[sktn77a]

Looks like somebody cracked the orifice for the pressure gauge by screwing it in too hard (that's where than main leak appears to be coming from). May well need a new MPV. If that's the case, I'd replace the whole thing.