Catalina Swim Spa Waterfall Valve

[Carhopper]

Hello all, this is my first post in this forum. I have owned a Catalina C406 Freestyle swim spa for 2 years now. It has (4) waterfall/fountain valves that are popping off occasionally and won't go any tighter without stripping. I assume I need to replace the screw on cap only, but only the whole valve assembly is available for $25 each. Does anybody know where to get just that part. Apparently Catalina uses Energy Saver Spa Equipment for their parts and there are not any results when searching for these part numbers.

 

[waterbear]

Valves and diverters are usually sold as a complete assembly since there are so many variations on the internals.  Have you tried contacting Calalina? 

Waterway neck/fountain waterfall valves sometimes do have parts available and they often an OEM brand in addition to a replacement. If you could post a picture of the valve it could be helpful.

[Carhopper]

Yes I called them, they gave me the site I linked above. Here are the pictures of the valve. The part that has worn out is the clear cap in the picture by itself. It has other parts attached to it, but I don't need them either.

[waterbear]

You will probably have to buy the whole assembly. Have you tried using teflon tape on the threads to see if that might give you a tighter fit?

@RDspaguy, @CanadianSpaTech Any ideas?

[RDspaguy]

I'm confused. You have a lighted valve and a black full coverage handle?

Spa manufacturers do not buy pieces of valves, they buy whole valves. If ordering from them you can usually only get complete valves. Aftermarket suppliers often have parts if available.

The biggest issue is that it's clear, which could make it proprietary in which case you also cannot get parts.

I'd recommend you replace the valve stem/gate and o-rings as well anyway. 

It is fairly common for these valves to slightly warp over time causing the new parts to not fit in the old valve body, in which case you must replace the complete assembly.

Another issue is pull-down. Many of those valves mount from underneath and are held up by plumbing or spray foam and the cap you keep losing on top. If the valve has dropped you'll have trouble getting any cap to stay on it since it can't tighten down. Can't tell from the pic how that one mounts.

[Carhopper]

Good info RDspaguy, thanks. The black cover has a couple of clear inserts where the light shines through. I think I have exhausted every effort to find something to fit without buying the whole valve. 

[RDspaguy]

In most cases it's cheaper to buy the complete valve than a couple of pieces of it anyway. If it's the same model the parts should swap, which is nice when it works since replumbing those can be a PITA.