Pool Jandy valve - is there a way to repair (especially crowded)

[Arklin K.]

Drained my pool to clean it up and may as well fix a long-time leak in a Jandy valve that is very hard to get to.

Here's a picture of the pumps with the dozen Jandy valves scattered about:

And, here's the problem Jandy valve: Looking at how extremely tightly packed the pipes and valves are, I wonder if anyone can repair anything on a pool. Do they normally pack them in this tightly (there was plenty of room to spread it out!)

How can I fix this?

[trader4]

What is missing is what's wrong with the valve. If a seal is leaking, then per the above you can take it apart and rebuild it. If it's cracked from freezing, then it's kaput.

[gonjah]

The screws on the cover come off and they are pretty easy to fix.

This one may not be the right one but just do a image search for the right one: "jandy valve blow up". I think they are all basically the same. The pool store should have all the parts.

Yeah, that is tight. One think I noticed it the exposure. I'd build a

*well ventilated* covering for it. The sun and elements are going to cost you down the road. Don't build anything tight around the heater though. I'd make a small shed like structure. Or a "lean-to".

[gonjah]

"One *thing* I noticed *is* the...."

Must drink coffee.......

[Arklin K.]

I don't know yet what's wrong other than it's leaking. The 'reason' it started leaking is a mistake of mine. I turned the pool on, after the winter shutdown, and I FORGOT to turn all the valves on.

So, the cleaner pump was pushing water into this valve overnight until it finally overheated the pipes and blew a geyser 20 feet into the air.

I replaced the pump and the pipes - but I didn't notice the Jandy valve (which is the return to the pool) leaking until I powered it all up again.

So, I see I'm looking for one of two problems:

1. Hopefully the housing has not cracked - because not only will I need to replace the entire valve - but it's almost impossible to even get my hand in there to do any work so it will be a bear!
2. Hopefully just a gasket has blown. In that case, I still will have a bear of a time opening it up (screws on top) because it's so inaccessible (why they build pools this way confounds me) ...

Thanks for the advice. I hope it's just an o-ring!

I also hope I can fine a replacement o-ring!

[Arklin K.]

Wow. The nice thing about your response is it give me courage to TRY to open it up to see what's inside.

I have a spare (taken from the dumpster at a pool store yesterday that I will experiment on first as it can be opened up on my desktop. I might even be able to re-use parts if I can't get them at the store - but the housing is useless since it's already cemented into the pipes which were cut off when it was thrown away).

[Arklin K.]

Yeah. Not only are the dozen valves, dozen pipes and three motors, one filter and one heater plus solar all jammed together, but many of the valves are less than an inch from each other ... so close that I have to constantly remove the jandy handles just to turn them on or off.

Who builds pools this way? (Answer: Lifetime pools ... so I should yell at them ... but I was just wondering if this was typical).

I mean they had PLENTY of room! They did not have to jam it all in there. The pipes can only be accessed from the direction of all the equipment because there is a retaining wall an inch behind them. I mean couldn't they have put the pipes a foot away from the retaining wall? Jeezus.

It drives me crazy every time I have to do anything around these things.

Oh well, I guess it makes the lean-to enclosure smaller! :)

[gonjah]

Yeah, but you don't want to make it even more difficult to get to.

The good thing is it looks like fairly new equipment. My pool equipment is from the early 80's and everything but the sand filter, pipes and the valve housings have been replaced. Now it needs to be re-plastered. Pools can be real money pits.

[Arklin K.]

Hi Oren, You're always helpful so I trust your opinion.

It 'is' a real mess! This picture shows how hard it is to get to:

Today, it took about an hour just to get the screws off the top.

I first took apart a junk Jandy valve to see what's inside. It's pretty simple. It has only six parts.

1) The lock nut 2) The handle 3) The cover plate 4) The cover-plate o-ring 5) The swinging gate 6) The body

Here's a picture of the junk Jandy valve taken apart:

Then I took apart my Jandy valve in situ. It was a bear. This photo shows that I think the housing is cracked! There is only about an inch between the bottom of the Jandy valve and the ground level. It's a very tight fit, even if I dig.

If I slice the Jandy valve off at the bottom, how much pipe do I need to hook another pipe to it so that I can then hook a new Jandy valve to that new pipe?

[trader4]

The depth of the socket on any of these fittings is about 1.5". If you had to, you could get away with the pipe not fully seating. If you got 1" inside it that should be enough to hold it. The pressures are only 20psi or so, and being outside, the consequences of failure probably aren't that great.

Aren't Ferncos only rated for waste system use, ie not pressure rated? Still if nothing else works and since it's a pool might be OK. But if he can get the Fernco in there I would think he could also get a PVC repair coupling in.

For OP, for repairs like this a repair coupling is often key. It's like a regular PVC coupling, except a regular coupling has a ridge inside at the midpoint. That serves as a stop of the two pieces of pipe where they meet. With a repair coupling there is no stop so you can slide it all the way onto a piece of pipe, butt another piece up to it, then slide it back over where they meet.

[trader4]

A PVC repair coupling for $1 is what I'd use.

[gpsman]

I'd kill myself, or re-plumb that abortion. -----

- gpsman

[Arklin K.]

I love the pictures of the options. I'll head over to Home Depot to see what I can find. I'll pick up some PVC expoxy also to see if I can just fix the crack.

[gonjah]

You'd have to redesign the pool plumbing too.

He's got three pumps but no Polaris pump and can't vacuum.

I think I can see 7 Jandy valves. I have a total of 2 for my pool and spa. One for the suction and one for return.

[Arklin K.]

Interesting. Yes, a flexible shaft would have been perfect because I couldn't get a straight shot on most of the screws and there is a pipe right in front (less than the length of a stubby screwdriver) of the Jandy valves!

[Vic Smith]

Get an offset screwdriver. Ratcheting. Should be in your toolbox. Here's some examples

[Arklin K.]

I just went out and counted 20 valves, in toto, although 2 were electrical Compool CVA-24 valves and 1 was unused (the pipe is capped off for a vacuum that isn't installed) and 1 had no diverter as it just had a clear viewing window.

I looked some more and the one that's leaking is definitely cracked! I'm not sure if epoxy would work so I'm going to, sadly, replace it.

Here's a closeup of the inch-long crack necessitating the repair:

[Arklin K.]

I think I'll take you up on this offer!

It's a mess!

Is there any downside by bringing the pipes up higher than they are (they are at knee level or below but I'd love them at belly button level).

Given this is the setup:

I'm thinking of coming up out of the ground, bending (because I have to) to get past the pipe directly above - and then once I bend, I can go straight up to bellow level where I can loop over to the pump.

Is there any problem going to belly level (head?)?

[Arklin K.]

I see. Thanks. I generally don't go for the new-fangled tools, assuming they're all junk compared to the old-style stuff (have they really invented a 'new tool') but this one would have come in handy when I was unscrewing in a tight space!

But usually, I find the new-fangled tools a bit too thick, a bit too wide, a bit too flimsy, and a not robust enough - compared to the basic tools.

[trader4]

If there is a section that you could do naturally as part of the valve replacement to give yourself some more room so it's easier to fix, I'd do that. But I wouldn't raise it up and fix what is not broken. I agree the design there isn't great. But other than the leak it apparently works. To redo the whole thing because you don't like the way it looks, IMO is nuts. As for raising everything up to 4 ft for convenience, there are some things you want to watch out for. If you take the suction line up instead of having it go downhill to the pool, the pump may become difficult or impossible to prime.

And I don't know about you, but I seldom need to fiddle with the valves on the pipes, mainly during winterization. The valve I do use the most is the valve on the filter that selects backwashing. But that mates to the bottom of the filter tank and I'm not even sure you cold move it if you want. And where it is doesn't seem a problem to use at all.