Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Spa Draining Addendum A Leaking 3 Port Vavle

This is meant as an addendum to the previous article "Why does my Spa Drain" that can be found here

Click on any picture to see a larger version.
Although unlikely it is possible for water to flow through a closed three-way valve with or without an actuator attached. This happens when the raised rubber seal breaks or becomes deformed, allowing water to flow past a closed seal. On a perfectly working system, when the system is turned off there should be no sounds coming from the pipes.

I have only seen this happen twice and each time was with a Waterway TruSeal 3 port valve.

Below is a picture of a valves insides that allowed water to pass through even when closed.

The rubber seal around the edge has torn.

The fix is to replace the insides of the valve. Once the screws holding the top are removed, the top plate can be pulled up and off.


A new TruSeal valve is shown below


Saturday, May 24, 2014

Changing A Jandy Swimming Pool Light Bulb

This is a write up covering how we changed the light bulb on a Jandy pool light (Jandy part number WPHV500WS100, also known as Jandy Pro Series Large White Light) and a Jandy White small light. These are similar and the steps below will sometimes show both in the same steps for clarity.

Three of the largest swimming pool light manufacturers are Pentair, Hayward and Jandy. The process of changing a light bulb in a swimming pool/spa varies between these different manufacturers. We have a previous write-up on the Pentair Amerlites that can be found here

Most lights can be identified visually through the water without opening the light fixture. Jandy lights have a smooth rim with oval-shaped holes around the middle of the rim.

Starting:
The breaker to the pool and spa lights needs to be turned off before doing anything with the lights.

To get access to the bulb, the light fixture needs to first be removed; this is held in with a single Phillips-head screw located at the top of the rim of the light.

Most fixtures can be removed by reaching into the water and removing this screw with just a screwdriver. In certain cases someone will need to get in the water to remove this screw.

If a spa is connected to a swimming pool (and higher than the pool), the spa can be drained into the pool using the filter pump to gain access to the spa light fixture.



Once the single top screw is removed, the light can be pulled out to either the pool deck or spa seat (if it’s the spa light).

Notice the sticker marking the top of the light fixture with the securing screw hole directly above it.
This will be important later when reassembling the fixture.

The Jandy lights use a plastic clamp assembly held down with 6 screws. These were removed with a Phillips-head screwdriver.



Once removed, the front steel face ring can be pulled off from the light fixture.


Clamp assembly removed from the fixture.


The lens can now be pulled away and off of the fixture. A flathead screwdriver was used in this specific case to wedge the lenses out of position.


(Pool)



(Spa)

The light bulb is now accessible and can be removed.

A standard 500W 120V swimming pool floodlight was used for the pool light.



 A 39W 120V medium base halogen light (part number PAR20) was used for the spa light.

Note: Once the new bulb is in, now is the time to test the new light bulb; however, only leave it on long enough to check if it comes on correctly or not. These lights are water-cooled and are not meant to be used out of the water for an extended period of time.

The lens gasket needs to be replaced whenever the light fixture is opened.
Pool light gasket part number: R0451101

Spa light gasket part number: R0400501

Note the two sides of the gasket. One side has a raised bump and the other is straight flat edge. The new gasket will need to be installed exactly like this one is shown here.

The old gasket can be pulled off of the lens.

Always replace the gasket.

The gasket has two sides: One has a straight edge.

The other side has a bump.

The new gasket is pulled over the edge of the lens. There is a raised bump on one side of the gasket; this should face back towards the light.


The lens and light fixture need to be pressed together. The top center screw hole on the outer steel face ring needs to line up with the top position of the fixture marked by the sticker around the outside.


Now the plastic clamp assembly needs to be lined up with the back of the fixture with the clamp opening at the top and held in position with the 6 original screws.

(Spa)




(Pool)

The fully assembled light fixture needs to be placed back into the pool/spa wall.
The extra cord can be wrapped around the light fixture and pushed into place with the top (noted by the screw hole on the face ring and sticker around the fixture base) up towards the sky as shown below.

A single screw is used to hold the fixture in place.


Note: Whether you are leaning over into the pool or completely in it, getting this screw into the correct position and started can be difficult. Patience is a virtue.