Broken Hayward valve SP-711

[Mckyjns]

We have recently purchased a house with an in-ground pool. The pool did not have a cover and the water was a nasty green. Once we got the water and electricity on I started to try to clean up the pool. The pool had not been winterized. The lines between the pump and the heater had frozen and split. The biggest problem I have is that the filter had not been drained and the flange at the bottom of the valve on top of the filter had split. The valve is a Hayward SP-711 and I have not been able to locate one. Does anyone know if they make a replacement valve for this model?

[Poconos]

Welcome to the forum.
Since none of the system has been winterized I suspect there is more damage than you think. From what I'm told (I was looking for a spider gasket for my SP-711 a couple weeks ago) the SP-711 isn't made anymore but there is a replacement. But, if the filter had water in it and it froze then the internal guts may have been damaged too. You need to take the sand out and pull the guts and see what condition the piping and laterals are in. Now we talk about the pump. Did that survive OK? And the heater is another high $$$ item. The underground piping may be OK. Owensboro isn't that far from Charleston, WV which I know about and last winter there was a lot of nuisance snows but not bitterly cold, sustained temperatures. If the piping froze and cracked it would be right where it comes out of the ground as I don't think the ground froze that deep. If the piping is just a couple inches under the surface then things are iffy. Check the skimmer housing for cracking too.
I guess what I'm saying is you may be looking at replacing a lot more than the SP-711. I guess if it were me I'd just start pulling things apart and inspecting the best I can visually to try and get a better handle on the task. The warer level tells a lot. How far down is it in relation to the skimmer and return jets?
Hope this helps and Good Luck.
Keep us posted and we'll do our best to help.
Al

[Mckyjns]

Thanks for the reply. So far I have cleaned the pool of all leaves and trash, the pump seems to be OK and pumps very well. For the present I am bypassing the heater, the filter seems to be working because when I first tried it out after emptying the pool the pressure from the jets dropped off pretty quick so I back-washed the filter and it worked great after that. My biggest problem now is leaking around the base of the valve, a really bad leak.

[Poconos]

Sounds like you got lucky if the valve is the only problem. Only thing I can suggest is to pull the valve and see what happened. Could be as simple as a new gasket. There is a big O-ring that may need replacing. The clamp band has to be on pretty tight. I snug mine up every spring when I put it back after winter and of course it will leak, then keep tightening until the leak stops. But, I would check that O-ring first. If the body is cracked you should probably just get a new valve but trying to seal it from the inside with JB Weld may work too. Can't lose anything by trying.
Al