Advice please - Silicon VS Gasket?

[djfremen]

Hey Gang,

First post here. Thanks for having me. 

My parents have a 1980's Jacuzzi Swim Spa with Hayward parts. It's been leaking for years from the jets.

I finally bought the combination tool to remove the old hayward bulkheads and re-ordered 8 new SP1434 Vari-Flo Nozzles.

On the bulkheads, the new ones come with gaskets, honestly I really don't want to replace all the bulkheads if I don't need to but will remove and potentially use silicon or gaskets to affix to the tub.

Is one method better than the other?

Here's my suggested workflow:

1. use heat gun to to loosen silicon

2. remove bulkheads and clean up

3. use razor blade to clean bulkhead tub surface

4. apply gasket / silicon and use tool to tighten (any specs for tightening?)

Does this sound good?

Thanks much,

 

[djfremen]

bump

[Jersey Hot Tub Repair]

The gasket is to prevent water from getting behind the jet and leaking through the tub into the inside of the cabinet.  The silicon is to prevent the mounting hardware from vibrating lose, and it does provide some water-tight protection, however not as much as the gasket.

There's probably a torquing guide somewhere out there, but I would say tighten until the gasket begins to lose it's shape and squeeze out around the edge of the jet.  In other words, go as tight as you can but make sure the gasket lines up with the jet edges perfectly.

Dave