I broke the stem of the pool filter backwash valve. I attempted to remove it to inspect the o-rings on the two discs, and to relubricate them. The valve piston was stuck, and I applied too much force in trying to pry it out. I ended up with the bottom disc stuck 12" down from the top opening of the valve body. ARGHHHH! This sucks.
After spending 15 minutes contemplating the task of cutting the valve body off the 2.5" PVC pipes to which it was glued, and then mounting a new valve onto the Rube-Goldberg-like mess of PVC pipes, I had an idea.
What if I drilled a hole in that stuck disc, and tried to hook it and pull it out with a long rod?
A quick drive to Harbor Freight, and I was a proud owner of a 20" long drive bit of 1/2" diameter. It took a hell of a long time to drill through that 1/4" thick plastic disc. What did they mix into that plastic when they molded it? Tungsten or titanium powder? You would not believe it until you had to do it yourself, I kid you not. I have had much faster time drilling through 1/4" steel. I think the water down there acted as a lubricant, and made it harder for the drill to bite into the plastic.
After getting myself a 0.5" hole in the 2" disc, I needed something to hook that disc and pull it out. I went to Home Depot to get a 24" long threaded rod of 1/4", and put a couple of nuts on one end. When the nuts got threaded through the hole in the disc, they allowed the rod to hook the disc, to pull it up. This part was easy.
A replacement stem costs $60 on Amazon. Cheap enough, but lemme see what's on eBay. Son of a gun! They have a stainless steel one for a mere $99. The stem, which broke, and the two valve discs welded onto the stem are all SS. I wanted that!
Installing the new stem was a 2-minute job, and I can run the pump again.
What started this fiasco was that I observed that I had to refill the pool water more often than I did during the summer. The difference was that I had the pool mostly covered with shade sails, which have been removed. The shade sails kept the pool out of the sun, but it was hotter then, and it is cool now. Is evaporation affected more by sun/shade, or by the air temperature?
Or could it be that the backwash valve suddenly leaked water into the filter backwash outlet, causing water loss when the pump ran? Hence, the attempt to pull the stem for inspection, and the fiasco that followed.
The valve appeared to work OK, by inspection after I pulled the stem out. Prior to my breaking it that is.
And the 3 days when the pool pump was not run while waiting for the part, the pool water dropped just as fast, proving positively that the valve had nothing to do with it.
Darn! I spent one grievous morning and $130 total for nothing. In the old days, I would regret wasting money, but nowadays, I swear at the lost time and wasted effort.