Why filter pressure suddenly went up?

[Water_man]

This is mid season, and I already had one backwash. Water has been crystal clear and I haven't used the pool for a few days. Suddenly within one day the filter pressure went up by 5. What could have caused this sudden jump? FC has been steady at about 2.5. CC =0. CYA 30-35. pH 7.3.

 

[X-PertPool]

the pressure gauge might also be malfunctioning.

 

[Water_man]

the pressure gauge might also be malfunctioning.

It's less than one year old.

 

[anonapersona]

I once lost the tail scrubber to the Polaris, guess it went down the drain towards the filter but I never saw it there. Hoping it is not stuck in a valve somewhere.

 

[Water_man]

I once lost the tail scrubber to the Polaris, guess it went down the drain towards the filter but I never saw it there. Hoping it is not stuck in a valve somewhere.

Couldn't happen in my pool. My drain is shut off and the skimmer has a basket. Haven't done vacuum cleaning for a while. What's a tail scrubber?

 

[TizMe]

Try back washing and see what happens. It could be the guage going bad. I have had to replace mine twice since we owned our pool and its 3 years old.
They arent expensive and easy to replace.

 

[waste]

Tiz is a great guy! But if you want to test the filter, all you have to do is put it on 'recirc' - if you don't have that option - follow Tiz's advice

 

[amjohn]

My gage would do that. One day it would suddenly decide it wanted to read 5psi higher. Then a couple days later, it was lower. Do check your filter, but the gages that are sold in pool stores are very cheap. We knew ours was no good because it filled up with water every time it rained (and of course the random reading variations). I bought a higher quality Harvard gage on-line and we installed it carefully. It reads 5 psi lower than the old gage, but it is rock steady, not changing at a whim. Hopefully it will last longer and be more reliable. The pool is only a year old.

 

[Water_man]

I bought a higher quality Harvard gage on-line and we installed it carefully.

Do you have a link for this Harvard pressure gauge?

 

[amjohn]

http://www.intheswim.com/Pool-Equipment ... em-Gauges/
I got the 2 inch, 0-60psi back mount pressure gauge. The website does not say that it is Harvard, but that is what they sent. It is still made in China, but is much heavier and higher quality than the ones that I found in pool stores. You can call and ask them about what brand they will send for your particular one. I like intheswim because you will talk to English speaking human beings that seem to be located in this country and because their shipping is super fast for me in Texas.

 

[anonapersona]

Couldn't happen in my pool. My drain is shut off and the skimmer has a basket. Haven't done vacuum cleaning for a while. What's a tail scrubber?

The Polaris pool cleaner ahs a tail that whips around and has a sponge on it, so it scrubs the pool as it runs randomly around.

 

[Water_man]

Filter pressure went up again by 5 psi a day or two after the initial 5 psi increase.
I backwashed and reloaded DE. Filter pressure went back to original value and it's holding. Incidentally, the increase in pressure occurred when we had a lot of rain. I'm still wondering what could have caused it suddenly. It makes sense that unless you treat a massive algae bloom, the filter pressure should go up gradually and slowly. My pool looks clear with no visible fine solid particles in it.

 

[CurtisT]

When my cartridge filter started climbing by about 15PSI in a week, I posted a similar question...

what-s-clogging-my-cartridge-filter-t15069.html

The answer I was given was that perhaps algae was clogging it. I was skeptical at first because the water was clear, but I bumped up my chlorine levels and the pressure stopped climbing. I don't know that that's the case with you, but perhaps the rain started a bit of an algae bloom, which your chlorine killed off but still clogged the filter with dead algae.

 

[Water_man]

When my cartridge filter started climbing by about 15PSI in a week, I posted a similar question...

what-s-clogging-my-cartridge-filter-t15069.html

The answer I was given was that perhaps algae was clogging it. I was skeptical at first because the water was clear, but I bumped up my chlorine levels and the pressure stopped climbing. I don't know that that's the case with you, but perhaps the rain started a bit of an algae bloom, which your chlorine killed off but still clogged the filter with dead algae.

Maybe, maybe not. I also have 50 ppm borates which is supposed to be a good algaecide and I hadn't seen any algae growth in places of low circulation like stairs. Still a mystery. At least the problem was solved and my pressure gauge is reliable.