Help with pool filter

Paul A.

Paul A.

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I come to you guys/gals with this basically because there's a vast amount of knowledge and experience with a bunch of things in simply everyday life...

My pool filter filter tank has a small crack in the head cap. I have priced a replacement and can't get just the head cap. The entire unit exceeds $500! The head cap is the top of the filter canister and hosts the relief pressure valve and the pressure gauge. Because it is the one thing removed for my weekly filter cleanings has no doubt suffered a stress crack from removing it every week for about 10 years.

The filter canister and head cap looks like fiberglass. Is there a way to repair the crack so it doesn't leak?
 
What pressure is it holding in operation? I would be surprised it it's actually fiberglass, it may be some glass-filled injection-molded plastic. It may be quite difficult to patch. If it's a clean crack possibly some good superglue might help. Pictures?
 
Thanks setec. It reads 22 on the pressure gauge when operating. Not sure what that is measuring...PSI? Will get a picture up later but it is about an inch long and is such a fine crack that it is throwing out a very very fine single stream needle like spray about 15' feet above the tank. It certainly isn't threatening to drain my 13,000 gal pool but it's annoying. I was also thinking superglue to see if that would hold it for a while. I think i may just bite the bullet and replace the entire filter cartridge tank. I am sure there are more cracks just waiting to bust through.

Again, thanks brother for taking the time to offer some help.
 
See if you can buy epoxy that is called Splash Zone. We used it all the time when I was a union commercial diver. Clean the inside real good. Put it on the inside. It is made to withstand very high pressure. Awesome stuff
 
Wow! Great recommendation eaglefan! Thanks a bunch.
 
Found it locally sourced here. About $40 and a 2 part epoxy. Looks super easy and beats the heck out of $500+!!!

Thanks again. This place is amazing :dblthumb2:
 
Body shops may have a plastic welder.
It uses hot air to heat a plastic rod and melt it.

Don't know if anyone uses them any more.
 
Get some fiberglass sheets in the body shop section at an auto parts store and then look for epoxy resin gloves paint brush and sand paper. Home depot also has these things as well.

Sand the area that has the crack. Take the fiberglass sheets and lay it over the crack. Using the paint brush apply a generous amount of the epoxy resin till the fiberglass sheet is saturated. Repeat until desired height is achieved and the cap is no longer visible through the sheets. Let cure for the specific cure time (most likely 24 hours) then sand the area down for appearance.

If it's just a small crack epoxy resin alone should seal it.

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Your welcome
Mix the epoxy 1 part to 1 part. It will not take a lot. It will be like play dough. Let it set up with no pressure on it. feather the edges somewhat. Just don't gob it on. Seal it up real tight when done. Shelf life is like a year from what I remember. Had a fellow diver fix his exhaust manifold with it. Was on there for over a year when he got rid of the truck. Another guy took a tennis ball size on it and put it on the company truck's bumper. It took a 12 lb sledge to knock it off and it bent the bumper a little when it came off. I can't remember the exact numbers on it but when tested it was harder than the concrete that we were pumping. You can patch, or protect like we were using it for, many different things with it.
 
Let me close this one out with you guys that have been so helpful. Turns out my local supplier did NOT stock Splash Zone and after explaining my situation they suggested i try JB Weld WaterWeld. Another 2 part epoxy product very similar to Splash Zone (according to them).

Brought it home, throroughly cleaned and prepped to filter tank cap and applied exactly per the directions. After it fully cured and hardened i reinstalled the filter canister and bammmm!!! Still leaking. While inspecting the cap where the leak was i found more cracks just waiting to fatigue through and decided to bite the bullet and replace it. But wait...

Let me see if i can source JUST the cap for my unit. Sure enough i found a source online for just that piece - $75.00! Much better and easier than $500+ for the whole can. I figure i would be only buying a short amount of time with a crack repair before another one pops through so decided to do it right now and not mess with...just replace it and now at a substantial amount less.

Thanks again, guys, for trying to help me out with this. I truly appreciate your interest in helping me out :dblthumb2:
 
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