How to fix crack in PVC

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lichen

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Jun 25, 2012
15
It would seem that I've got a little situation on my hands. I came home from lunch and noticed that the pump pad was wet, and traced the leak back to a crack in the pvc return right after the filter.

This picture is to illustrate the area:
oYxv9.jpg


And a closeup of the crack. I didn't have my camera on me, so the red line is an artist's rendition of the crack:
YqLi8.jpg


It didn't seem like it was leaking real bad. The pump was on for a few hours and the pad wasn't even soaked. I turned the pump off until I can figure this out.

What are your thoughts on the best way to fix it? I suppose the best solution would be to replace that section of the pipe. However, are there any mid-term or even short-term solutions that would work? Some sort of PVC epoxy or compound? Please let me know any sort of input you have.

Thanks!
 
That is a PVC union joint - I wonder if the ring can come off (I'm not very literate in PVC yet). If so you could replace the ring. But looking at the pics - it looks to me like the pipes are under stress and bending - so this fix may require some additional work to get this to stop long term.
 
Yup. that is a union. It should just screw apart. Sounds like the crack is in the "nut" part which really has nothing to do with keeping a seal. But, as pointed out, there appears to be a bend. So, o-ring inside may not be making a seal ... possibly because the pipe bend cracking the "nut" portion.

Unscrew it and take a look inside. You may need to replace that half of the union .. and while you are at it, make the vertical pipe a little longer to reduce stress.
 
That pipe has been repaired between the union and the chlorinator and it doesn't fit right......causing the leak in the union.

Cut those two couplings out where it was repaired and replace that section with a new one more carefully cut and the union will fit together nicely and the leak will be solved.
 
Well, like I said, it's not that it's leaking from a joint or a coupling, there's a crack exactly where that red line is in the second picture. It's cracked down the side of the union. I'm guessing this happened because the back side of the plumbing isn't really supported by anything and flexes and torques every time the pump comes on. Over time I'm guessing it got brittle and cracked when the pump came on.

It looks like those unions are pvc glued on. So, I'm guessing the best way to fix this is to cut off the union at either side, and then couple in another piece of pvc?
 
You want to cut the vertical pipe below the added coupler and replace from there all the way up and over to the union. The crack is just in the screw part, so you may actually not have to replace that ...but while you are at it, may not hurt. If you find the same union, you will not have to replace the half that is attached to the filter.
 
jblizzle said:
You want to cut the vertical pipe below the added coupler and replace from there all the way up and over to the union. .
Click to expand...

Ditto...the 90 deg elbow coming off of that vertical pipe is not high enough and is putting stress on the union.
 
Thank you everyone for your input, and point taken on straightening out all the poorly laid out plumbing. Maybe I'll take care of that when I have a spa heater installed.

However, for the time being, I lightly sanded the area with 80 grit, cleaned it with acetone and generously applied JB Weld "Waterweld". So far, it looks like it's holding like a champ! Additionally, I braced up that looped section in the back which greatly reduces stress across that arm on the top, so I think this will at least get me by for a while.

On a side note, do you guys ever have nightmares about coming home from work to find that some critical pipe has split and it drained your entire pool into your back yard?
 

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lichen said:
On a side note, do you guys ever have nightmares about coming home from work to find that some critical pipe has split and it drained your entire pool into your back yard?
Click to expand...

No... not before, but now I will! :hammer:
 
lichen said:
On a side note, do you guys ever have nightmares about coming home from work to find that some critical pipe has split and it drained your entire pool into your back yard?
Click to expand...

Happened to me ... Only it was not a pipe, the lower half of my filter split and drained the pool :shock:

Always had reasonable pressure, the split was on the shaded side, and it was only a few years old. Manufacturer sent me a new filter case.
 
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