I’ve noticed that I’ve been having to add water to the pool a lot lately. Well, it’s been over 100 degrees for several weeks, so that makes sense, right? Well, after paying attention to the pool equipment yesterday, I noticed water leaking from beneath the pool filter. Since I was planning on cleaning it anyway, I took it apart as I normally do a couple of times a year for a thorough cleaning.
Inspecting the bottom of the tub, I noticed a stress fracture as the source of the leak.
Checking around for a replacement bottom housing, I found that part number DEX2400AIT is no longer available. I guess after 10 1/2 years they want to sell you a new filter. Well mine is still in good condition. It even has all the original elements with no tears or holes!
Leslies pool supply has a special right now. I can get an equivalent filter for only $799 less 15%! I can shop around online and find one in the $500-$600 range. Ouch! Did I tell you I’m cheap? So, I decided to attempt a repair. It is fiberglass, after all, and fiberglass gets repaired all the time.
I went to Lowes and found some repair epoxy that stated it was suitable for fiberglass. It cost about $15.00. I probably could’ve lived with purchasing the $5 amount in the syringe, but what the heck, it was a lot cheaper than $600 or $700.
After removing the lower pipe from the tub, you could also see the crack from the inside. I took some 50 or 80 grit sandpaper and roughed up the area and blew out the dust and debris. Then I mixed up some of the two-part epoxy.
I applied the epoxy patch in a highly unprofessional manner, using a plastic putty knife that I purchased for 84 cents. I allowed the epoxy to cure overnight, as I had some additional work to do on the concrete slab the filter sits on.

Due to the excess water from the leak, the slab had sunk down on one side, so I used a 6’ long pry bar (Harbor Freight, one of my favorite stores) and had my wife pry up while I tamped sand underneath. Appears to have worked well, as it is now much more level with the other end.
I assembled the filter and fired it up and, so far, it is water tight again. I’ll let you know if it continues to hold.
Savings for this project:
- $799 less 15% for new filter $679 + 0.0825 sales tax = $735 to replace the filter
- $15 for patching epoxy
- $14 for 120 lbs. of sand (only used $7 worth)
- $735 – $15 – $14 = $706
Update 2012-01-08
I noticed it was leaking again, except this time it was leaking around the seal area at the midsection of the filter body. Externally, I could see a crack that was forming around the midsection. After taking it apart, I could see the area that was leaking.
I sanded the entire area with 80 grit sandpaper and purchased some marine epoxy from Home Depot. This stuff says it will actually cure underwater. I mixed some up on a piece of cardboard and used a popsicle stick to apply it.

Continuing with my highly unprofessional repair, I spread it across the entire area that had a stress line showing. The actual leaking area was only about 4 inches in length.

You can see my previous repair has yellowed, but it is still holding!

I’m going to check out a stainless steel filter body that I found on Craigslist. If it connects to my backwash filter and accepts the same filter elements (which I believe it does), I’ll probably replace the fiberglass body with a stainless steel body.