Air leaking in my Xp3's.

by Krystle
(Sherwood Park, AB, CAN)

I have three XP3 filters that have been running without problems for several years now. Recently, the water level in all three canisters when they are running has dropped significantly. It is up to 2" below the top of the canister.

This excess air in the canister is causing surging and extra noise, and I'm sure it's not good for the motor for the water level to be so low.

I researched on the rena website and ascertained that my Canister and Quick Disconnect O-Rings needed to be replaced. So I replaced them on all three filters. They ran perfectly for about one day, now they are all leaking air again!

What could be causing this issue, and how can I fix it? I have heard of people putting Vaseline on their O-Rings to improve the seal, do you recommend this? Why would I still be having this problem with brand new O-Rings?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Krystle

A: Although we don't recommend putting petroleum jelly on a seal it might be useful in figuring out where the leaks are coming from. If I had to guess I would say the Quick Disconnects are not being firmly seated into the top of the filter before locking the handle down. You might want to try putting the PJ on the orings of one QD and then firmly with some pressure insert it back into the top of the filter before locking down the handle. This will insure that valves are opening correctly when the handle is closed down. Other items to look at are your method of priming the filters when you restart. Always make sure you restart with an empty canister. Then if you have an air leak it will show up right away as the canister will not completely fill up. Really, anyplace you have a leak on the intake side is a potential problem. What concerns me is that all three filters are doing this. This points me more to a procedural problem than some piece of the filter causing the leak.