Tagelus diverter / spider gasket

[RobDHW]

Hi - I've got a Tagelus TA-50D sand filter that needs a new spider gasket. I'm getting water leaking out of my backwash hose. I understand that this also may be the cause of dirt getting back in my IG pool (please confirm). I've pulled off the top part of my filter and seen the bad gasket. It does appear to be glued on. Now, I suppose that I could scrape out the old one & glue a new one in, but I haven't seen a part number for it, and Pentair only sells the diverter. I'm happy to buy a new diverter (as opposed to the whole thing) but I can't figure out how to get the old diverter off the handle / spring thing. I know my local pool store won't give me a straight answer. Could someone help? Thanks in advance.

UPDATE - so, 2 more things. At the pool store today I found out that once I pull off the handle / valve assy. (which I had w/ me) if I rotate the handle between the Closed setting & Backwash setting then I can take the handle off by removing a phillips head screw. My new diverter will be here Wednesday - stay tuned. Also, when I reinstalled the handle /valve assy. - what do I use to lube the spider gasket? Pentair wants me to use 3M 847 Gasket Grip but don't I want to use the pool lube / teflon stuff? Pentair specifically says "Don't Use Vaseline"?

Thoughts?

-Rob

[Watermom]

Rob, did you get your problem solved? Welcome to the forum, BTW.

[Poconos]

Answer to your first question, yes. Bad gasket can cause unwanted flow paths. I never heard of any lube on these things as I would suspect it would quickly wash off unlike O-rings or other gasket seals. They are glued in so you have to scrape out the channels it sits in before gluing the new one in. You can use a small flat blade screwdriver that fits in the channel for the scraping. When I replaced mine I also got in there with some sandpaper to rough up the channel before using silicone seal to stick the new one in. I know, most say don't use silicone seal. That 3m 847 looks like it would work fine. It's what glues it into the channel. Not a lube.
Hope this helps.
Al

[RobDHW]

So, I'm actually not sure if I have fixed my problem, for couple of reasons.

1) The handle unscrews from the diverter assembly by putting it in the filter position. Then there's access to the screw.

2) I bought the whole diverter, since I couldn't find just the spider gasket. The gasket comes glued into the diverter, but I was told to "lube it" like an O-ring.

Now... virtually nothing has changed. I still have dirt in the pool - no more or less than ever. I do have 1 tree near the pool, and our neighborhood is like a squirrel resort - so maybe it's just the squirrels knocking stuf into the pool from the tree.

BUT - I'm still kind of getting water out of my backwash hose in Filter mode... but if I take the backwash hose & bend it at a right angel to the ground (pointing up at the sky) it only seems to fill up to the level of the pipes running out from the pump to the pool. I'm surmising that it's because my pool level is higher than the pump.

That's where I'm at...

Thanks for te welcoming greeting.
-Rob

[Poconos]

Rob,
Strange. First on the gasket, if the manufacturer says lube it, I guess do it. I still have never seen any reference to doing that but I don't know everything. If I read your post right it looks like the water in the turned up waste hose reaches the level of the pool water. Is this with the pump running? If the pump is off I would understand the levels. Pump on, the water in the waste line is at some pressure so I think it would be a lot higher than the pool water level. However, should not be. The waste port should be closed. The only time that port should be connected to anything is in the backwash, waste, and rinse positions. Something still isn't right with that valve. Only thing I can suggest is open it up and look again.
Al

[RobDHW]

Poconos - I REALLY appreciate your input! I'm with you. You're reading my post correctly. Something is messed up. I do know that with the pump running, the water in the waste hose does go to what, I think, is the pool level. If I leave the multi-port set to "rinse" with the pump off it might as well be called "drain the pool".

I'm actually out of town right now, but I have taken the thing apart a few times, poked around and can't find anything wrong. What this means is that I'm missing something. All I can think of is that I need a new multi-port. I'll be back home on the weekend & will go back at it then, but I'm totally mystified.

It is nice to know that I'm on the right track...

-Rob

[Poconos]

In the rinse mode you would have a siphon going. Skimmer to pump to filter to waste line.
In the filter position that waste line should be totally blocked. Put it in that position and with the pump off try blowing into the waste line and see if you can move air. If you can then something is leaking which I suspect. Sounds like you can take that valve off easily so you may take it off and blow in the various ports to help isolate the problem. In filter mode, waste port blocked. Rinse, backwash, and waste positions, outlet to return line blocked. If you had it plumbed wrong you would have major problems, not these subtle things. This problem will be solved eventually. Keep at it.
Al

[RobDHW]

I agree with all you've said Poconos. As I remember, a few years back a local pool company was trying to figure out a problem we had & they "couldn't". I think they were pressure testing the lines & their readings weren't making sense. I know that a skimmer was "moved" long before we bought the house. The former owner and former pool company were useless. short of ripping up the yard, I'm think I'm stuck w/ the way it is, at least until the filter dies, or we get an underground leak (knock wood - I hope that's decades from now). Thanks for confirming what I've always suspected : our pool was plumbed by Mario & Luigi... the Mario Bros.

[Watermom]

Rob -- I just had to tell you --- I am the one who moderated your post in after you posted and when I read it, your last comment made me laugh! Thanks for the chuckle. That was great!

[RobDHW]

Glad that it got the desired effect. Gotta have a sense of humor...