popdogg

Wound up swapping the mushroom from the top of the blower (where it doesn't really do anything) with the one in the path of the water, and stopped a leak that was losing me a good 10% of the water in 24 hours. The problem is that this mushroom is just going to fail again in a year or two, and then I don't have another spare to rotate in. I don't think wrapping it in latex is going to work as a long term solution, that stuff degrades in hot water and can't handle chlorine. The new "Lazy Valve" thing on facebook looks alright, but a £35 expense every couple of years isn't great, and I'm not convinced of the effectiveness over time, or the mating surfaces. If the rubber was easily replaceable, it'd probably be the best option. The option of fitting an existing non-return valve is the most promising, because those are only £20 and I'm betting I can just buy a chunk of rubber and cut it to size every year if it perishes, but I'm not sure about how to create a removable connection for storage in the winter on one of those, if I have to cut off and re-apply mastic every year I'm better off just putting balloons over the mushrooms at the start of the season and hoping it lasts a few months.