Question about pressure gauge and Nature 2 Express

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ned8377

ned8377

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LifeTime Supporter
Apr 30, 2015
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Wake Forest, NC
Let me start by saying, I'm not drinking the cool aid about Nature 2. I bought this house in 2013 with the pool - didn't know anything. Replaced the Nature 2 in spring 2014, found this site about the same time and quit going to the pool store. I have learned my lesson about letting the chlorine fall too low the hard way. So, I want to get rid of them and know that it will be pretty easy.

My pressure gauge starts off at about 27 psi after a backwash and I think that is too high.

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If I remove these two Nature 2's should my pressure go down? How much water actually goes through the Nature 2's? Some or all of it?

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Well, not many people here have them so it is not surprising to me that we haven't been able to respond.

Removing any resistance will reduce pressure but by how much I don't know. My WAG is not much.

What size is your pump and filter?
 
Ok, I have 5 eyeballs that are about 5/8 inch in diameter. Also have a booster pump outlet that water flows through when the booster is not running. There are 3 skimmers and a main drain. Do not have in floor cleaning system.

Here is the info on the pump and filter:

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Thanks Bama Rambler and duraleigh!
 
Removing those two Nature²'s may help a little because they're in series, but I bet the majority of your head pressure is the filter. That's a very small filter for that size pool and that's one big honking pump.

You could also change those eyeballs out to 1", but that isn't going to make a real big difference.
 
Well - I have 1 Nature2 Express, the same model/size of sand filter, a 1.65 SFHP pump, using 1.5 inch plumbing (2 eyeball returns) , and my "usual" pressure is about 16.5-18 PSI. With that big pump, you would be better off with 2 inch or even 2.5-3 inch plumbing (not really practical to refit bigger plumbing). Since changing plumbing size is not practical at best and more likely impossible - a smaller pump would be in order.
 
wjr75 said:
The nature 2 I use to have before I had it removed allowed you to remove the cartridge and just run it without one. Might give that a try.
Click to expand...

Won't work on the Nature2 Express - the filter part HAS to be screwed in. The only way to remove it is to remove - literally . Cut the fitting out and fit in a pipe with connectors. I used to have a Nature 2 Premium inground, before it sprung a pinhole leak.
 
So, Bama Rambler, you are saying the sand filter is too small for the pump? I'm not sure but I think they may have changed out the sand filter right before we moved in and the original pump is still here. Anyone else care to comment about the size of the sand filter relative to the pump? Thanks.
 

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Oh, it's definitely too small. On a 45,000 gallon pool you need much bigger than a 3.1 sqft filter.

Having said that, If your filter isn't giving you any problems, I'd entertain fixing your pressure problem by getting creative with the plumbing.

Here's one thing I'd consider.
1. Remove the nature²'s.
2. Plumb a bypass around the filter so that you could divert part of the flow past the filter.
3. replace all the small eyeballs with larger ones.

That should get your pressure down a little bit without great expense.

Another idea would be to install another filter parallel with the current one.
 
Actually it won't. The greater head is actually making the motor draw somewhat less current than it would at maximum flow with less head. Which means it runs cooler. There's not a big difference but at least it's not hurting the pump itself.
 
Thank you Bama Rambler. Just to be clear, the filter I have is the S244T2 which is made for 2" pipe - don't think that would make much difference since I think it has the same filtration area etc. I actually called Hayward yesterday and they said that the filter is too small for the pump and actually said I needed one of the larger ones they make for the size pump I have. Then I called the PB and they said that they put the S244T filter in on a lot of pools they build. I tend to believe Hayward on this. You can't tell what happened though. Maybe the guy who owned the house in 2009 wanted to save money and maybe they had recommended a larger size.

Bama Rambler, you recommended plumbing a bypass around the filter so I tried an experiment. I put the filter on recirculate and the pressure was still bumping between 22-24. Since I'm getting a lot of pressure even on recirculate wouldn't that mean that I do have problems beyond the sand filter like the Nature 2's. I also have a heat pump and wish I could divert the water around that just to see how much of a change that would make. Would also like to divert around the salt cell and pressure guage to see about that. I did go out, this morning and took off all 5 eyeball outlets and the pressure went down to 26.5 PSI. so not much help with that. I do seem to have really good circulation in the pool. I mean it moves around in a circle pretty fast with the jets pointed correctly.
 
The problem with putting the multiport in recirculate is that the water path is still through the valve and still has a lot of restriction. A physical bypass would increase the flow path by actually bypassing the filter assembly with part of the flow.

Once you install a physical bypass, eyeball size will have a little more effect than it does now. But probably not a lot more.
 
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