New Sand Filter water diffuser question.

[compumasta]

Hello TFP!

I am getting a pool that has been empty for a couple of years back in shape. The plaster was redone earlier this month and I have been limping the system along with the old cartridges that are at least 5 years old. They are a pain in the behind here in Las Vegas. It's a pain to clean four of these big guys and replacing them costs a small fortune. I am in the process of plumbing in a new sand filter, the information for which should be in my signature below.

I have a question about the design of this filter. I cannot seem to get the neck of the diffuser to swivel to one side or the other, and I have been unable to get information from Hayward on whether or not it is supposed to. The manual makes little sense, at one point saying to cover the diffuser to add the sand, but in another section they somehow expect that someone with really skinny arms can reach in and ensure that the laterals are tight.

Does anyone know if it should rotate, or come off? How about cutting into the pipe and adding a swivel of some sort?

Here is a picture of the diffuser through the top hole:


Thank you, I have already learned so much from lurking for about one month!
-Cody

 

[compumasta]

And I will apologize now, I noticed after I posted that this probably would be best served in the pump/filter section. First post, and I already made a mistake!

 

[Patrick_B]

No sweat!

Moved to pumping station. Welcome to the forum.

 

[compumasta]

OK, so after 2 hours of hold time with Hayward I finally got to talk to an actual person in support. I'll add the information here so that it can become part of the general knowledge base for TFP. The Hayward HCF302 commercial sand filter has a single diffuser right at the opening as pictured above. It is glued in and unable to be removed directly. The way to remove it entails loosening the side coupling and swinging the arm out of the way. I have included pictures below to show what needs to be done. This is the official way to access the bottom laterals for any reason. The larger models, the HCF362 and HCF363 are also commerical fiberglass units but they have a three-way diffuser setup because they are 36in models. Those are easier to reach past, since the diffusers themselves are located out of the way of the center opening. The HCF302 is a 30in. model.

Here is the picture showing the side connection that must be loosened. The one to be loosened would be the top gray connector right by the filter body itself.

 

[compumasta]

One more follow up to complete the instructional guide. The ring next to the pump can be loosened without removing the multivalve, but the valve will have to be at least disconnected at the top to rotate the diffuser arm. A 4.5in pair of channel-locks worked great for loosening the connection. I have included a picture of the part loosened and the diffuser arm rotated below. Once it rotates, you can get down in there and tighten those connections. I found that the middle ones were not tight by about 3/16" so it was good to get down there and tighten everything up. Once done, simply rotate the arm back to the upright position and tighten the outside connector. Worked like a charm!
Pics: