Hayward multiport Vari-Flo valve leaking out the top

[gworrel]

My Hayward Vari-flo valve is leaking out the top right where the selector is depressed into the filter position. It is a significant steady drip that I need to fix. I took the valve apart and replaced the shaft o-ring that I bought from the pool store but it did not fix the problem. The valve is only a year old. The spider gasket looks fine. It is possible there was some freezing last winter when I tried to keep my hot tub that uses the same filter and heater as the pool going all winter. I ended up draining the tub and all the plumbing (or so I thought), but I did not move the valve selector to the winter position. The pool store guy and I both looked for any cracks or damage in the valve but could not see anything. I hate to spend another $100 on a valve if there is a simple fix I am missing. Any ideas? Thanks.

[Poconos]

Wish I could help but I never had to take mine apart that far yet. Is it possible you missed a crack somewhere in that shaft hole? Might try taking it apart again and looking more carefully with a high intensity light. Sure appears to be something with that shaft seal. Hopefully someone else will kick in with ideas. I assumed you lubed the O-ring with silicone lube before reassembling it.
Al

[gworrel]

Thanks Al. The tip to look at it under a high intensity light was a good one. I found a small crack in the cover just in front of the notch for the filter position. The label has bubbled up where the water was leaking through. I found one place on line that lists the part but I don't know yet if it is in stock.

Now I am wondering if there is any good way to patch the crack. Perhaps with an epoxy? Will that stick to the plastic? I would like to try something since it will take at least a few days for the part to get here. Thanks.

[gworrel]

A follow-up:
Hayward apparently no longer offers just the cover but sells only the complete cover, spring, and key assembly. It was a little tricky to take apart and required a couple blocks of wood and some clamps to compress the spring, and a metal rod to tap out the pin. That is probably why they no longer offer just the cover.

The assembly cost at least $70 so it only made sense to try to repair this one. I used two products from the hardware store from Devcon. One was their marine/plastic epoxy putty. The other was their Weldit product. Both say they can be used to seal leaks and will work on hard plastics and pvc. So I put the epoxy putty on the outside and the Weldit on the inside. If one doesn't hold, the other should. Now I just have to let them cure so I can test it.

[Poconos]

I'll be curious how the fix works. There is another product JB Weld that may be a possibility.
Al

[gworrel]

The epoxy putty worked on the multiport valve.

I have another small leak from the filter bulkhead fittings that has me almost ready to throw in the towel. The bulkhead fittings have o-rings that seal them against the body of the filter tank. The tank and fitting seem to be made of the same material, a hard black plastic.

I have cleaned and lubed the o-rings, changed the o-rings, used two different sized o-rings from two different stores. Nothing has worked. The leak has only gotten worse. It is a Hayward Sta-clear DE filter.

Yesterday I used epoxy putty on it, figuring that if I ever needed to disassemble the bulkhead fittings, I would just replace the filter. Today I tested it and it still leaks past the epoxy putty. I may have screwed up when I applied the putty because I used another sealant/ adhesive first which made it difficult to get the epoxy to stick to the plastic. It kept wanting to come off with my finger.

I cannot understand why I could not get the o-rings to seal. It is like a union fitting. I looked but could not see any cracks though I am not sure what else it could be. Now the leak is so bad that I really cannot even use the filter. It leaks right at the joint where the o-rings should be sealing. I may try some jb weld on top of the epoxy I already put on. The next step seems to be a new filter. Very frustrating.

[algopher]

Haven't been on this forum in a while but always great infomation. I'm pretty sure I have the same problem. I replaced the shaft "O ring" and still have the leak and it appeared to start coming up around the shaft in the area of the "filter" portion of the multiport valve. I've got to take back the cover "O ring" that I was sold as it is much to big. I had seen what appeared to be just the covers hanging ont he pool store wall display. So, I think I'll price them and then see if my JB Weld putty is still good before disassembling the valve again. It is scorching hot out today again. I've got a feeling I've got the crack. I looked during the change out but couldn't see anything. I'll have to put it under a magnifying glass and use a powerful light. Have a great day all and I'll report back.

John

[algopher]

Well, those on the wall a the dealer were a model 710 and it was $64.50 and it is suppose to be a replacement for the 711. It was the whole assembly as someone previously mentioned. I'm going to try and find the crack as it appeared to be in the area of the filter "detent" when I first opened the water up and before turning the pump on.