Pentair 261050 2-Inch HiFlow Valve with Plumbing Replacement Pool/Spa D.E. and Sand Filter

Fit perfectly into my sand filter. Panic'ed originally because the filter said on it DE only...but once I investigated more, realized that it was designed for the sand due to the output location side. Item works perfectly as expected.

This replacement product worked without any problems and resolved a vacuum leak. Would purchase again.

After about 5 years (with a QUAD DE 60), the old mulitiport value became hard to operate - I should have quickly realized that it was time for a new one. A degraded multiport valve's noise level starts going up, and it will eventually start leaking water (mine did from the top, and its gasket was degraded). A well operating multiport valve apparently makes the water flow more steamlined. Replacement was easy - even for someone who had not done this kind of work or any plumbing work previously. A hack saw and 2" PVC pipes/elbow joints/couplers/primer/glue is all you need, and some some sense of where to cut and create new joints. At around $150 here, and about an hour of work, is a significant cost saving compared to professional installation and purchase from a local pool store. It's probably better to replace the whole valve than to replace the gasket alone (even if that can be done with any precision).

As someone else wrote in his comment, when my original valve started leaking after 9 years, I've made the same mistake, first I've ordered rubber gasket, however, the original valve had it glued in! Spent a lot of time removing glue and pieces of rubber, but the valve still leaking, now the water was coming out of drainpipe even the valve was set to "Filter". So, we decided to to a little bit more DIY and ordered this replacement valve. Unlike the other reviewer, the valve fits right into the filter outlets, no misalignments. Got proper cement (Weld-on 705) 2" pipe and elbows, sleeves and after a few hours my pool was operational again.

UPDATE: Slight design issue. If tiny rock particles (pebble-tech pool surface and incidental) get through pump filter mesh they will wedge inside of this valve and you have to disassemble and clean out or lever won't rotate. I have to do this practically every month, maybe 6 weeks. ------------------original review below-------------- Are they pricey compared to simple push/pull/turn solutions? Yes. Are they 10 time easier to switch for back flush? YES! I've gone through 3 push/pull/turn units in 5 years. I even put in extra lube but they still end up eventually getting to hard to work and break. These are designed for more complicated/robust swimming pool configurations/filters but worth every penny. Not only are these ten times easier to work but are serviceable if you need to lube. As always, these need to be protected from harsh sunlight. Do so and these will probably last the life of your pool.

After replacing the spider gasket in my old valve which last about 2 weeks I broke down and bought a new one. I went with a brand name replacement as the reviews of the off brand ones were horrible. This worked fine, for great, and haven’t had a problem since I installed it two months ago.

SHORT VERSION: If you own a Quad DE filter, beware! Even though this is the exact same model number as the one it replaced, the bulkhead ports are offset on the new valve by about a half inch, whereas they were vertically aligned in the old one. Numerous side-by-side comparisons and measurements confirmed. This unexplained change prevents the new valve from seating properly on my filter (which is from 2009). Pentair support were unable to solve this for me, despite my having purchased literally thousands of dollars of their equipment. FULL REVIEW: I'm a hard-core DIYer, and am no stranger to major work on my pool system, which I've maintained for 10+ years. I purchased this valve as a direct replacement for the last one I had. I have the Pentair Quad 80 DE filter, and this is one of the standard recommended valves. It served me well for many years, but developed a slow leak out the backwash port, which I attributed to wearing of the primary gasket. I wanted to replace the gasket on the old valve, but realized too late (after tearing it) that it was glued in, and essentially impossible to remove. (See photo.) I'm handy, and am used to detailed work like that, but after a few sessions with different tools, I concluded there was no way to remove the gasket without damaging the valve surface. That was effectively issue #1 with this valve. Rather than a $15 gasket and a simple fix, I had to replace the entire thing. Replacing this valve is a major undertaking, akin to bypass heart surgery. I found the exact model number matching my old valve on Amazon -261050, and ordered it. While waiting on the order, I cut out the old valve and bought all the parts I'd need (numerous slip and other joints, and new 2" pipe) to install the replacement. When the new valve arrived, one of the first things I did was try to dry-fit the valve on the filter. I realized immediately that something was wrong - it would not seat properly. I went into trouble-shooting mode. I looked at the part numbers, and they were indeed identical. I put the old valve back on, and it fit as expected. I swapped in the new one again, and again saw the same problem. So then I compared the valves side-by-side, and realized the problem with the new one - the lower bulkhead union was set back about 1/2" from the upper one (see photo). With the old valve, the unions are vertically aligned - to match the ports on the Quad DE filter. I went through the phases of grief. In my denial phase, I thought maybe the"minor" offset wouldn't be a big deal. Maybe there was enough give that I could get the bulkhead valve to line up, splitting the difference in the gap somehow. No luck -- the securing rings seized up quickly when I tried that approach. Given this is a high-pressure system, the whole point is to have tight, squarely fitting connections. I made the most obvious conclusion - I had simply received a defective valve, and this offset was missed in the quality check. After several back and forths with Pentair support, including sharing photos and describing my troubleshooting in detail, they agreed to ship me a new valve. I was frustrated, but could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Imagine my dismay when the new valve arrived and I found it was identical to the first. In the end, Pentair was unable to explain what was going on, nor to offer any recommendations. 90% of my pool system - controller, valves, pumps - is Pentair equipment. I feel let down, to say the least. At this point, after nearly 2 weeks without water flow in Atlanta heat and rain, my pool was not usable. In desperation, I took matters into my own hands. I won't go into specifics, but I came up with a way to extend the lower pipe on the valve to make up for the offset, using a slip joint. I do NOT recommend others try this, as there is very little margin for error. But, luckily, it has held up for me. CONCLUSION I could have possibly looked for other valves to replace my old one, but time was not on my side - I'd already had to cancel one family pool party. My hack fix seemed like the lesser of evils, and it seems to have worked. If you found this helpful, please click the helpful link.

Hi, I answered the is there 6 settings question. I have the sand, not DE yet there were a few sticker labels saying only use with DE. The box said Sand the unit operates perfectly. I didnt use sand, I used ecoSmarte's GlassPak. The learning curve of using sand vs the Cartride filter was the only issue. Pool is sparkling today. I had never used clarifier before this setup, this is key for the sand startup. Super pleased.

Very good price for this valve assmbly. As mentioned by others, this lacks decent instructions, so being knowledgeable in pool operation and setup would be an asset when plumbing this up. Inlet and out connection are faintly market via cast plastic indications. Otherwise fantastic value