Jandy Neverlube Leak?

[Richard320]

I bought a house about 2 months ago and it has a pool. The pool guy guesses it's about 15K gallons; it has a hot tub that spills into the pool. He serviced the pool for the old owner, said it was all redone a couple years ago, only got one summer's use out of it.

I'm not totally ignorant of pool maintenance; I activated and maintained one at a scout camp for three summers many years ago. But I had pool man show me what valves go where and what switches work what rather than risk damaging something. Currently, suction is from the pool, return is to the hot tub, where it then spills into pool. He showed me what valve to move so that I could suck and return just the spa portion so I could heat it without heating the whole pool.

So I tried it. It started emptying the spa into the pool. To the point where the pool almost started spilling into the spa!

I figure the 3-way valve on the return line must leak. They say Jandy Neverlube on them. Do these leak? Is it repairable? I found the exploded diagram online. I see some O-rings that seal the lid and the stem, but nothing on the diverter. Is it soft rubber or something? How does it seal? And more importantly - can it be fixed or do I need to replace the valve?

[Pool Clown]

Hopefully, you just have a valve not quite to where it should be. Any chance of taking and posting a pic so i can see if your valve is in the right position?

Neverlubes don't have rubber sealing surfaces. They are Teflon.

[Richard320]

I fixed it!

The valves were in the proper position. But the other day I thought I'd play with them some more. I noticed sort of a binding, scratching feeling when moving it. So I worked the valve back and forth a few times. Something must have been stuck in there - debris or scale. (The pH was off the scale when I first checked it, been adding acid for weeks, a little at a time and now it's in the safe zone.)The valve seals fine now. I let it run on spa only for an hour, water level stayed the same.

So I fired off the heater. It was ready in about 45 minutes, so the wife and I used our new pool for the first time since we moved in two months ago! My skin feels fine today, so I must have the chemistry pretty close!

[quantumchromodynamics]

Thanks for the update.

You can always disassemble the valve in the future, if necessary. It would probably be better to buy the entire new valve if you need parts.

The diverter gate contains what looks like a silicone rubber O-ring/gasket that is glued into a recessed groove in the diverter gate. I think the gasket/O-ring is impregnated with Teflon or some other lubricant to keep it lubricated.

[Pool Clown]

You probably noticed now that the valve can close all the way, that the valve handle lines up nicely with the plumbing. This will give you future reference of where/how far the handles are supposed to go before they are "home".

If i were to buy any parts for this valve, I would just get the o-rings ( 2 small, one large ) as these newer style (never lube) diverters are pretty bulletproof.

Glad you resolved your issue inexpensively.

Good luck with the new digs!