I have read that it is rare to have a clogged return but I have a question about mine. I have a new to me pool. It is about 9 years old. The filter pressure was 25 psi when I got it. I just took it all apart and cleaned the grids and installed a new gauge this past weekend and the pressure is 22 psi clean. Still seems a bit high. There is one return in the pool and one in the spa that barely flow at all. When I switch to spa mode the pressure goes even higher. So I was wondering if there is a way to tell if those returns are clogged and that may be causing the high pressure. Thanks for the help as always.
Clogged return?
- Thread starter RussellC
- Start date
You can remove the bezel and the eyeball by unscrewing them and check for debris caught behind them. It does happen occasionally. Usually, if there is debris it will make its way to the eyeball/return fitting.
Has the filter ever been run without DE? What is your calcium hardness in the pool? Did you do an acid soak when you cleaned the grids?
I have never run the filter without DE but I don't know the history. There was tons of dirty de chunks in the filter when I opened it. I cleaned the grids with a hose. I did not acid wash or soak them. They look ok and seem to drain fine. I was thinking about replacing them though the next time I do a full cleaning because it is pretty cheap and I don't know how old they are. The CH was very low at about 175 when I took possession of the pool. I raised it to 400-425.
My cartridges (Pentair Quad DE 100) are 2 years old. I've hosed them off (3 times maybe) and then recharged them. Clean pressure was about 10. I finally did an acid soak over night and then clean pressure dropped to 6.
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I think I will just get some new grids in the near future however, that still doesn't fix my return issue. hmm.
Hah fixed. I got my kids to plug the other returns and huge amounts of air came out of the non working return and its flowing now!!!
Congrat but i am not sure that solved it. It seems that air would re-accumulate and it will do it again. That said, you know how to "fix" it without much hassle
I think I'm getting a little air in the system from the pump strainer basket o-ring which I have ordered a replacement. We will see if that works.
Do you have some silicone plumber grease? Grease the o-ring and see if it helps. You can get some in the plumbing aisle at Lowes or HD.
So I am learning more about this. The pool return valve was not all the way open hence the higher pressure. However. When I open it there is less flow through the spa check valve so the spillover is really weak. How I can open the valve (at least mostly) and still have my spillover? I do have the water feature turned valve pretty low too.