I'm pretty sure they are threaded. I had pretty much the same problem with the one that comes out the top. From what I can see in your pictures you should be able to unbolt the four bolts that hold the basket part to the pump part and then just unscrew the basket part from the pipe. You won't be able to do anything to the male end of the pipe but you can put some non-hardening sealer on the female screw threads (perhaps permatex #2) in the basket and put it back together.
I hope to get to this on the weekend, after I buy the boring tool. Thanks for the advice.
Pretty much, I'm positive on all but the Jandy valve problem:
PLAN:
- Move both pumps back about a foot & put unions on both ends
- Wire the electrical to a junction box & rewire the ground
WORRY:
- Jandy valves (I hope to go outside but may have to bore the inside)
I'm not sure how to bolt the pumps down into the concrete.
I'm thinking I need to pick up a masonry drill bit, and then cement in a stainless steel threaded rod.
Is that the standard method?
I'd think lead shields and brass or stainless screws/bolts would be a better idea. You can epoxy the shields in place, if needed. I don't think I'd want something sticking up from the concrete if you pull the pump. It looks like that's what you have, though.
You don't need to bolt them down, the pipes will have no trouble keeping everything in place and the lack of bolts will allow things to move as the slab settles. My pump system is similar to yours, 25 years old, and neither of the pumps was bolted down.
Interesting. Thanks for that advice.
I had not even considered bolts down versus studs up.
I'm not sure if there is a difference, other than, as you noted, the bolts would be removed to leaven nothing if the pumps were removed.
If stainless-steel bolts down is better than stainless steel threaded rod up, then I can do that.
What's there is definitely not stainless, as it's all rusted, so, I would think the availability of stainless at the box stores would limit my choice anyway.
If that's the case, then that will be easier because I then have more time to find the threaded rod and masonry bits, which means it's not the limiting factor.
My limiting factor now is the availability of the boring tool. Hopefully I'll make progress this weekend to report back on Monday.
Danny D. wrote on Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:22:01 +0000:
Would these special repair fittings work on the elbows?
THe box stores here have a fairly decent selection of stainless, though pick your shields and hole depth, etc., based on what you can buy. You can also buy stainless fasteners online. I generally do since it's significantly cheaper.
I don't think the pumps here are bolted down either. They really run smooth, there isn't any vibration, etc so I think just having the two 2" PVC lines is enough to keep them secure.
My original pad was a 2'x3' precast solid concrete about 3" thick with and "X" of rebar plus a couple more pieces of rebar along the outer long edges. Water slowly getting in caused the rebar to corrode and that caused the concrete to crack and basically disintegrate over the last 5 years. I finally got around to replacing it and called the local pool supply to see if they had such pads. They said they did. Went down expecting to need help loading one into the truck. Turned out they are now mostly using Styrofoam with a sprayed on shotcrete on the top and sides, but not the bottom. Can pick it up easily. I'm dubious about it's long term durability but went ahead and used it. Seems to me it's going to distort from the uneven loads the different parts of the pool equipment put on it.
SATURDAY UPDATE:
After looking in vain at all the big box stores today, I think I really should strongly consider one of those fittings above (but I'm not sure which one is the one I need).
In addition to not finding the special fittings, I also could not find the special 2" boring tools at the big box stores.
I did pick up a few of all the standard 2 inch couplings and elbows and pipe though:
And, I bought this tool for cutting 2" PVC pipe:
And, since I couldn't find the 2-inch boring tool at the box stores, I made this 2" pipe thread tap:
I plan on moving both pumps back, but first, to line up my ducks, I may need to buy this 2" boring tool:
And/or this special fitting to go OVER the Jandy valve outlet:
Or, that special 2-inch fitting extender to go INSIDE the Jandy valve outlet (which already has a 2" pipe glued to it):
In addition, today, at Home Depot, the guy helping me cut down a
2" nipple and then I sawed two crosscuts to make a crude 2" tap, just in case I end up screwing a coupling into the Jandy valve:
I wouldn't expect them to have special tools like that. Did you try a plumbing supply?
That's nice to have and easier to use, but if you want to save a few bucks for small jobs like this a hacksaw and file can be used.
I have no idea what you intend to do with that.
The first thing you need to figure out is IF the Jandy valve is designed for a pipe to go over it. Have you pulled up a data sheet? Or cut it apart and find out if a standard PVC fitting is sized to go over it. Real simple, either the outside of that valve is designed and sized to mate with a PVC pipe of a std size or it's not. At least some pool valves are designed that way.
I don't even understand what I'm looking at in those pics. First contrary to what you say above, the first link clearly says it's designed to go OVER a 2" fitting, not inside it. But if you look at the pic, from the relative sizes and what is there, it sure looks like it goes inside. If it goes inside, then what good is it? You could just use pipe.
The second link is to a fitting that goes OVER the 2" pipe. I don't know why you'd need that because if the valve will take a pipe or fitting over it, then you can find the appropriate pipe/fittings at HD, Lowes, etc. If you have a special fitting that really goes inside a 2" PIPE, then I see how THAT could be used to go inside the pipe that's left glued inside the Jandy valve.
The valve is a female glued fitting. That is why you were looking for the special boring tool. I don't know why you're wasting time off in lala land....
UPDATE:
No matter how many plumbing or irrigation supply places I visited in San Jose today, I couldn't find this simple 2.5" to 2" reducer:
So I picked up a standard 2.5" coupling + a bushing:
And I cut the 90 degree elbows off the Jandy valve:
The 2.5" coupler and bushing should fit perfectly:
I think I'll move the motor back and to the right a bit:
I put the pump in a vise and easily spun off the inlet fitting:
I'm not sure if the new bushing takes pipe dope or not?
I think I bought the wrong electrical box, because the 1"-to-1/2" elbow was connected to a one-inch conduit but I seem to have bought a 3/4" conduit box.
Tomorrow I should wire it up - but I'm confused about the following:
Q1: Do we use pipe dope on the pump threads? (What kind?) Q2: What gauge do you think the electrical wire is? Q3: If I buy a 1" box, can I hook both pumps to the same box? (i.e., two conduits in, and two conduits out, each a separate line) Q4: How do we tie the lines together at the box (wire nuts)?
Note: I've never done 220V wiring before.
I'd use teflon tape on the threads. That's what I always use, but I think pipe dope is OK too.
You can use 12 gauge. The wire coming out of the motor is probably smaller than that. The pump only draws about 8 amps.
I don't know what you mean by 1" box? One that has 1" knockouts? In any case, you can put all the wiring in one box, provided it's of sufficient size for the number and size of conductors you're using. The box you have looks large enough.
Yes.
If it were me, as I said before, I would forget about the added splice box and just replace the short lengths of liquidtight conduit and wire back to the timer box with new runs. IMO, it's easier, faster, looks better, etc. You said the splices would make the motors easier to remove in the future, but I don't see why. Those existing wires came right off the pump motor, didn't they?
Good to see the project is going well and you didn't find any unexpected problems....
Did you call Ewing? It's not in their catalog but they might have it.
I have teflon tape, and these two pipe "dopes":
- The tube says "slow setting"
- The can says "slow dry" & "soft set"
Other than the teflon tape, is there such a thing as "non setting" pipe dope?
Funny you should mention Ewing!
RV Cloud Plumbing Supply, apparently just around the corner from Ewing, had recommended them yesterday; but I couldn't find their location while driving based on RV Cloud's directions.
I ended up asking someone on the street, who directed me to Lane Irrigation instead, apparently only a few hundred yards from Ewing, where I ended up buying the coupling and bushing.
After reading your message just now, I called Ewing up this morning; I talked to Paul who says that they have the exact 2.5 inch to 2 inch coupling that I want, and, it's less than 3 bucks to boot!
Sheeesh!
Now why didn't I listen to you (and Oren) earlier! I'll head down today to pick them up!
Note: Apparently the one-piece fitting is not "to code" (while the two-piece coupling + bushing is); but should it matter to me if they're to code or not?
You're totally right because I was the one who tried the blue stuff a year or two ago to stop the leak.
Needless to say, it didn't work.
Interestingly, the blue PVC glue didn't really stick at all to the (probably ABS) black pump plastic. It flaked off easily - and you can see it didn't penetrate to the fitting threads in this closeup photo which was taken before I flaked cleaned it off the fitting.
I called Sky Blue Pool Supply, who suggested "Plumbers Silicone" at $7/tube as the pipe dope for the fitting.
Googling for what that really is, I find a confusing array of plumbers caulk/putty/sealant/grease/silicone terms.
I called The Pool Guys, in Saratoga, but they weren't open yet. I'll try Leslie's when they open at 10am but you never know what you'll get from them.
Thanks Oren for looking that up. I'll see if I can get that at Home Depot this morning.
Here's what I have in stock, at the moment:
I added that white silicone glue to the pic mix after calling Sky Blue Pools who said that they use "Plumbers Silicone Sealant" at about $7 per tube; and after calling Ernie's Pool Supply, who said they had two kinds, "Join Stick" and "White Silicone".
If their white silicone is the same as mine in that photo above, I probably have enough. But I'll look at HD today for the Tru-Blu because it seems to be the right stuff from your description (plus, you know huckleberries!).
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