On Tue, 15 May 2012 10:03:18 -0700, Oren wrote:

Yep. My pool solar pipes have two PVC ball valves. I dislike them so
much I never operate them. Full open, instead of shutting the panel
water off from the pump in the winter. Stiff and makes me feel like
they are about to break.

Ah. Thanks for the advice. The standard ball valve from Home Depot was
about 11 bucks while the Jandy valve is three to eight times that price.

But, as you said, the typical ball valve is stiff while the Jandy valve
is smooth.

I guess the good news for anyone replacing a Jandy valve is that the
lifetime warrantee extends to the next pool owner.

I received mine in about a week after proving to them the crack existed
(using pictures over email).

Thanks for the advice.

UPDATE:

The pool is filling (I decided NOT to wash it this time because the
plaster was sitting dry for far too long).

Next time I'll be ready to wash it now that I know the gray is the
plaster, the pretty blue is a copper stain, and the scratchy white is
calcium grains due to lousy pool chemistry.

Maybe with better pool chemistry, I can actually get rid of the sandy
white calcium and pretty blue stain over time without having to re-drain
the pool!

Here's a shot of the pool filling up ...
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/...40/8313067.jpg

Here's one of the repaired pipes with the new Jandy valve:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...40/8313068.jpg

And, here's a closeup of the re-routing of the pipes:
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/...40/8313072.jpg

I'm not a plumber - I just DIY with your help ... so if you have any
final advice on the repair ... let me know so I learn for the 'next' time.

I can't start it up yet (water needs to be at the level of the skimmers)
so I won't know if the screw-tight coupling will hold the pressure (50
psi?) coming out of the cleaner pump or not.

Here is a view of the Jandy never-lube two-port valve with the top
rotated correctly for the inlet side:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...40/8313593.jpg

And, here is the view with the top rotated incorrectly for the inlet side:
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...40/8313594.jpg

In summary, these appear to be the things I learned about the Jandy valve:
a) The valve is guarranteed for life (I simply showed them a picture of
the crack and they sent a new one)
b) It doesn't seem to matter if you get the smaller valve (where the pipe
fits OVER the ends) or the larger one (where the pipe fits INSIDE the
ends)
c) It doesn't matter much if it's horizontal or vertical but Jandy (aka
Zodiac) prefers the vertical position for leakage prevention
d) It won't matter much if it's hooked up wrong - but - the INLET side
should be facing the pressure side of the pipes
e) If you do need to flip the valve, Jandy suggests you also flip the top
cap and inner valve so that the INLET is maintained
f) The proper orientation is for the pressure side to face the concave
end of the flap and the rubber sealed convex side to face the pool

On Tue, 22 May 2012 02:51:54 +0000, Arklin K. wrote:

c) It doesn't matter much if it's horizontal or vertical but Jandy (aka
Zodiac) prefers the vertical position for leakage prevention

ooops. Correction.

c) It doesn't matter much if it's horizontal or vertical but Jandy (aka
Zodiac) prefers the HORIZONTAL position for leakage prevention