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Sean
I have a PoolPilot digital that I left outside for the winter. After opening the pool this year, my PoolPilot is chlorinating, but my manifold assembly is leaking just before the split for the overflow valve, and is also leaking at the top of the manifold assembly (by the "flow" sticker, near where the two Philips-head screws are located).
Was this caused by water expanding in the manifold assembly, and what can I do to stop the leaking?
can i take a shot at this? if on warranty, then wait to hear from sean..or you may want to wait anywhere..maybe he's the "pool angel" and can help you out:) failing that, assuming it's not going to affect any unions, i would suggest jb weld. fyi, i remove mine for the winter (for exactly that reason..don't want to take a chance of freezing and cracking and it's so easy to remove the pipes. (i have a section that matches the union ends that i put in place for post season and startup until i've got my pool basically clean and chlorine shocked..then i put the poolpilot manifold back in.) anyhew, i had the manifold and pipe on the bench..and didn't realize that i had plugged in a soldering iron resting against it and melted part of the pvc pipe (not all the way through but it was ugly and i was sure it would burst under pressure) i contacted sean to discuss a few permanent fixes including fiberglassing and jb weld. he and i agreed jb weld would be best so i put a bunch on in a few layers (hardening and curing in between layers..used a putty knife to put the layers on) and worked great and adhered with no issues to the pvc pipe. i've been running it this way for 3 days now and no problems at all..my only concern was whether the jb weld would stick..and it did..there is no way you could scrape it off without destroying the pipe with it's molecular bonding.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bbb
Hi BBB,
The leaking is probably from expansion due to freezing conditions. The leak on the bottom might be fixed by turning the pump off. Dry off the leaking joint. Use PVC primer (clear if you can find it) and Wet/Dry Glue at the leak. With the pump off, there's a good chance that the leak may draw air into the plumbing at this point. Applying the primer and glue with the pump off may also allow some primer and glue to be sucked into the leaking area. Apply the glue in layers, allowing it to dry inbetween layers. Not too thick.
The top leak may be just the o-ring being damaged or cracked from the cold. Remove the two screws to take the tri-sensor out. This is kept in place by compression of the o-ring and the two screws to hold it in place. If it's just the o-ring, that's a simple fix. If it's not, you can use a 2" slip plug to cap off the leaking tri-sensor location. Cut and glue a new 2" sxsxs tee right above the union screen (on the inlet side of the manifold) and place the tri-sensor there. MAKE SURE TO NOTE THE DIRECTION OF THE FLOW SWITCH PADDLE.
Take care to winterize properly for next year. Tenax's suggestion of putting the unions to allow the removal for storage is a good idea.
Let me know if it works. Unfortunately freeze damage is not covered under warranty - but I might be able to do something for you ; )
Thanks, everyone. I bought some PVC glue (but need to buy some primer), some marine grade epoxy from Home Depot, and some Plumber's Goop.
I will work on the leaks this weekend and let you know how everything works.