Last year you saw me winterize a pool for the first time. So a few weeks ago I felt like the weather was getting warm enough that we were going to have to open the pool back up. Those winterizing chemicals only last for so long before the algae starts to grow and water turns murky.  Before opening the pool however, I had to deal with some issues with this filter. Due to the fact that the valve on the top of this filter would start leaking out the top when I would try to move it to any other setting besides "filter", it needed some sort of repair. For the couple months of use we got out of it last season, it was never backwashed due to this problem.

![FilterBefore.JPG](https://images.hive.blog/DQmXrPvXdp5X6UEUEgqd6qkWb5dpTukUHcA5vwWi5Y5rs2m/FilterBefore.JPG)

Another problem here as you may notice if you look closely is that the previous owner didn't install any removable couplers and just hard piped everything together in here. I guess whenever he needed to service the pump or filter he would just cut the pipe and then just cement it back together with a new coupling. That doesn't sit right with me, so I felt the need to install some unions after I hack this setup apart.

![CuttingPipe.JPG](https://images.hive.blog/DQmXiybyysYsR1jZL2Ph5FAMw5qA2Az2qek7iUWkqtoCZsR/CuttingPipe.JPG)

I used to cut these large PVC pipes with a sawzall until I found this little folding saw at the hardware store one day. You actually have a lot more control over the cut and even though it's a manual saw, due to the softness of PVC, it can cut nearly as fast as a power reciprocating saw. I find it easier to use and easier to get square cuts.

![Clamp.JPG](https://images.hive.blog/DQmeY8rGwdMm66rQy1Yytit5aX4yR3EcqNRKzsnvHswcwUj/Clamp.JPG)

With the pips cut free, this clamp holding the filter head on was removed. It's got a pair of #3 Phillips head bolts into square nuts that hold the two halves of the clamp tight.

![FilterEw.JPG](https://images.hive.blog/DQmeF3yyPe5XF6fCCbuieESJMnUsxZGiQA7P9q8wc1LBp7d/FilterEw.JPG)

This disgustingness awaited me once the filter head was off. Due to the heat we were experiencing mid-April, the seeds that had been filtered out end of season last year were beginning to sprout inside the filter and the rest of that muck on top was starting to ferment. Yuck. As can be seen by the hole in the middle of the sand there, the stand pipe came out with the filter head. 

![StandPipe.JPG](https://images.hive.blog/DQmQaEExrXCzXX8y6TKuqWxqYFvii2Qjz2F5A7RfYoYJPBc/StandPipe.JPG)

I found out later that there's a manifold at the bottom of the filter housing that the stand pipe is supposed to stay attached to. Great, more stuff to fix.

![RemovedSand.JPG](https://images.hive.blog/DQmbBdFopYuZtvLEtQ29ZtUDYjgvsrGJ6cV47MdhJh1yL1m/RemovedSand.JPG)

In order to get to the manifold and to be able to reassemble everything, the sand had to be removed. I found a plastic cup and scooped it out by hand until I got to the bottom. The rest of this sand was removed and the housing was rinsed out. I also just threw the top layer with that muck on it into the yard.

![FingerBend.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmafivmDHMxUizXSehvDYWVQCigDhzProHVsViUJPFtNvs/FingerBend.jpg)
 
Here's what the manifold looks like as it's removed. Those fingers on the manifold fold up so that it can be removed and inserted into the filter housing. When this is all together, the water is forced from the top down through the sand, then into these fingers, up through the stand pipe and back out into the pool. Last season I was getting some sand back out into the pool from the filter, and after seeing the stand pipe fall out of this manifold, I think I found the culprit.

![FilterLabel.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmcG1JEoVHUQqH8xpvtLMKoTRjvjd7LDN3TD8g7y3Abjy8/FilterLabel.jpg)

Some research showed that being about halfway filled with sand, this filter had only about 2/3 of the needed sand in it (it's supposed to be 3/4 full, so half is actually at 2/3 of capacity). Being that this is a 300 lb sand filter, I ordered another 100 lbs of the #20 sand it calls for.

![SpiderGasket.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmVjNjfZGvctkVairrRuA7YPEQSucKjnZFJ7G56croEJB4/SpiderGasket.jpg)

Before starting work on this, I ordered a new one of these spider gasket kits because it seemed like some of the leaks I was seeing were due to this gasket failing. Turns out that the gasket itself was in good shape, so I left it alone.

![Shims.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmP3PhDfZynJdhHu7sBad8X2r1XsjsK2VaXqFcAwefzmMa/Shims.jpg)

In order to disassemble the upper portion of this valve, I had to push the top of the shaft up so that the retaining pin holding the handle on could be driven out. These shims were placed here and the valve body was reassembled with them in place.

![PinRemoval.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmc3tPdTfgdJuT3oCw6qihtGVBo4joKTq4b3Q4KciKE5bu/PinRemoval.jpg)

Then the pin was driven out with a drift and the handle was taken off, allowing the shaft to slip out of its bore and access the o-rings.

![Spring.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmbH9QKoPdEK3GRH78AmWY8Yk4oHwqpXuokW34Mg9mWTDv/Spring.jpg)

This spring here is on the other half of the valve. When assembled, it pushes that bell shaped portion down onto the gasket and seals it. Over time this spring lost the ability to do this from spring fatigue. Unfortunately the kit I bought didn't have a new spring, but it did include a PTFE washer not anywhere on my setup that I could use as a spacer to add a little more preload to the spring. I cut it to size and slipped it over the shaft here before reassembly. The o-rings here were also replaced because they were obviously bad due to the leaking out the top The deteriorated state of these o-rings and the lack of lubrication on the shaft didn't help the spring's ability to perform here either. The pump head was reassembled with all o-rings and gaskets lubricated using silicone grease.

![PipeAssembly.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmXgu714utNG9zRGUpDE7AmvQqg4DFEi3RFzPTBPuFkXSv/PipeAssembly.jpg)

I fretted over this for a while, but eventually I just broke down and tried PVC glue on the stand pipe and manifold to attempt to glue them back together. This worked great. The glue was compatible and the two pieces were firmly welded together by it. This is the assembly being lowered into the filter housing before filling with sand. Notice the 1.5" PVC pipe cap that's slipped on the top of the stand pipe. That was temporarily placed there to keep sand out of the pipe while filling the housing. This assembly needs to go in before filling with sand so a cap is the only way to keep it clean.

![NoSand.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmd23XNLhCrF5XHipFbxJ5xd4XvfL1ad1VzK6RbesHA3xx/NoSand.jpg)

Here you can see the stand pipe/manifold assembly with the fingers folded down and placed into the housing. The old sand was added back in with the plastic cup method, and the remaining 100 lbs of new sand was poured directly from the bag on top of it.

![CutPipes.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmWBD5fJYiHe9tY28rrHnMKb2z7L48HmDk1gKr6bGxuNRv/CutPipes.jpg)

With the filter head back on the filter, now it was time to address those pipes that needed to be cut by adding in removable unions. These pipes needed to be shortened about two inches to make room for the new fittings. Then they were all glued together. 

![UnionsInstalled.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmeae2KnwytNhNtVq6KafPj9GxBDQ2d7Umy3tuXCkJcm4P/UnionsInstalled.jpg)

Here it is with the unions installed. Now if I need to service this again, I can actually get it apart without hacking into the pipes.  The next step here is to fill the pool with water and start adding chemicals while running the filter to clean it up. Look for that in Part 2. Until then, keep the hive buzzing!

[POSH](https://twitter.com/RandR10/status/1257797798428278792)