I’ve got a 3-way Jandy valve with an electric valve actuator. I
removed the actuator and took the valve apart to see if there was a
blockage in the line. When I reassembled it, the valve leaked badly
and no amount of tightening of the screws will get it to stop.
I thought about making a gasket to put between the cap on the valve
and the valve body but there are so many screws and a narrow ring that
would require more precision than I’m capable of.
Then I thought about using a liquid gasket product. Some are made of
silicon and perhaps just plan old silicon sealer would work. Has
anyone tried this? Any tips on how to do it? And once I tighten the
unit down, will I ever be able to open it again?
Thanks for any suggestions you can offer.
Bob
Leaky Jandy valve?
March 3rd, 2007 · 4 Comments
Tags: pumps
4 responses so far ↓
1 Adeline Sang // Mar 4, 2007 at 5:57 am
was it leaking before you took the valve apart? make sure the oring is
in good shape. There is one oring under the lid - you should lubricate
it before putting it back and if it is stretched or worn, you should
replace it.
If it is leaking thru the handle shaft, take it apart and check those
orings. there are 2 that go around the shaft. same thing with them.
when retightening the 8 screws, tighten them down evenly and do not
overtighten. if you strip them out, your gonna be out of luck and gonna
have to replace the entire valve body and replumb it in.
paul
2 Neva Marjory // Mar 4, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Thanks for responding, Paul. I didn’t realize there was an O-ring
under the lid. I’ll check that out. In the process of trying to stop
the leak, I reinstalled the lid without the electric valve actuator
(EVA), using the original short screws in the four holes where the
EVA’s longer screws went. Then I tightened them REAL tight, so tight
that I stripped a screw in one of the four EVA holes. In examining
the screws, I realized that the EVA screws had different threads than
the shorter screws that they replace on the valve. These provide a
deeper bite so when I reinstalled the EVA, the longer screw did bite
in the hole that was stripped. But even tightened firmly (I didn’t
want to repeat my mistake), it still leaks.
I’ll take the valve apart and check for an 0-ring. I have O-ring lube
and Vasoline. Some of the O-rings on my equipment call for Vasoline;
other say ONLY use 0-ring lube. Do you know which is appropriate for
the Jandy valve’s 0-ring? It’s a “Never Lube” valve, if that makes a
difference.
Replacing this valve will be a huge pain so I’m trying to avoid doing
that at all cost. But my equipment is in an enclosed room and,
although the room has a drain in the center of the floor, I don’t want
to live with a constant stream of water across the floor.
Bob
3 Adeline Sang // Mar 5, 2007 at 8:54 pm
i don’t know of any oring that requires vaseline and in my experience,
vaseline is not recommended for any orings.
Use the oring lube. Make sure there is yo clean the oring, and the
crevice the oring sits in so it seats properly. The never lube valve
refers to the diverter portion of the valve. That is the internal part
that actually turns, and it doesn’t require lubrication. The oring
under the valve cap does however, especially if its leaking.
paul
4 Neva Marjory // Mar 6, 2007 at 11:51 am
Thanks, Paul. I’ll give the lube a try on Tuesday after our house
guests leave.
FYI, the owner’s manuals on my Sta-Rite pump and the Jacuzzi pump for
my fish pond both recommend using petroleum jelly on the O-rings for
the strainer basket lids. Sta-Rite says to use it every time you
replace the lid while Jacuzzi says “when needed”. The Jacuzzi pump
was sucking air into the lines once but when I applied Vasoline to the
O-ring, I got it to finally seal properly. By contrast, the manual on
my Pentair chlorinator says to use only O-ring lube on the lid’s
O-ring. I put some Vasoline on that O-ring before reading the manual
and it stretched out so badly that I had to replace it. Apparently
not all of these O-rings react the same to Vasoline.
Bob
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