Ortega Valve Repair

[rsaritzky]

Hi,

I'm not that familiar with pools, but I'm a savvy DIY'er with plumbing experience. My dad past away a few years ago and so I've been taking care of my Mom's pool with the help of a pool maintenance guy. He told me that one of the Ortega valves (the one on the return side that sends the return water to either the pool or spa) didn't seem to be working. He said there was some air in the lines and when he switched the valve, nothing seemed to happen.

Now, the valves haven't been turned more than once or twice in the last 5 years. I went to a local pool supply house and bought the inside parts to the Ortega valve - it seemed simple enough. But the pool maintenance guy said he didn't usually replace individual parts - he usually just bought an entire new valve, pulled the stem/valve assembly out and replaced it. Certainly less time to do that but a little higher in costs.

Anyway, he's been procrastinating replacing the parts. I don't know if he's not confident that he can put the new parts in right or not. So I'm trying to decide if I should do it myself. I'm certain I can pull the cap and replace the diverter and stem. My concern is opening the valve and exposing it to air (of course the pump will be off when I do this.) Logically, to me, there shouldn't be an issue - since it's on the return side, I would expect that the water from the pump would continue to push water out the Ortega valve and the air in the line would simply be pushed out once it reached the pool or spa. Am I missing anything here?

[Pool Clown]

Once you open the system, water will begin to seek the level of the pool. IOW, the water will begin to drain out of the system, not necessarily out on to the ground. Go ahead and do your replacement. The hard plastic diverter should have a rubber gasket on it. It may come loose in the package with the diverter. Apply some Teflon based lube to the rubber part so it will slide into the barrel easily.