Val-Pak Ultra-Flow Lid (After 11/94), V38-162

The Val-Pak V38-162 is the strainer trap lid for Pentair American Products Ultra-Flow pumps of the new style, meaning units built after 11/94. It replaces the original part numbers 39301700 and 39301799.

Check which lid you have

Ultra-Flow pumps changed lid design in November 1994. This part covers the design used from then to the present. If the pump predates that change it takes the older lid, so confirm the style on the pump rather than going by the pump name alone.

What a bad lid does

The lid is the first place to look when an Ultra-Flow will not hold prime. Sun and repeated tightening craze and warp the plastic until it no longer seals, and the trap draws air instead of water. The locking ring and the lid o-ring are separate parts, and the o-ring is worth replacing at the same time if it is flat or hard.