DE in pool water......yikes...

[Maxomom]

I took apart and cleaned my Pentair FNS DE filter today as I have done previously with great success. When I removed the cover this morning I noticed that the "sock" on the internal air bleed assembly, which is mounted on top of the manifold, was badly cracked. Went to the pool store and they sold me a similar item that they said would last longer as the sock is made of stainless steel mesh. This is literally the only change from my usual cleaning procedure.

Fired up the clean filter and added 10 lbs of DE and now my pool water is full of DE. It is visible on the steps so I know it's not just cloudy water. What to do now??

Thanks!

 

[JasonLion]

There are a couple of possibilities. The first is easy to fix but unlikely. Is there any chance you had the multi-port valve on circulate instead of filter? The second is, perhaps you did not assemble everything correctly. Are all the grids int eh correct positions and the manifold sealing correctly to the grids? Another possibility is that one of the grids had torn.

Once you have the filter problem resolved, you can vacuum up the spilled DE.

 

[Maxomom]

Jason - Good to hear from you.....it's been awhile... :-D

I have one of the push-pull valves....up for filter, down for backwash....no circulate setting. Didn't touch it.. Checked the grids pretty thoroughly when I cleaned them and didn't notice any tears. They are tricky to reset in the manifold but I got the job done. I can't face taking it apart again today but will do so tomorrow and see if by some chance there was a tear that I missed or to see if something isn't seated correctly.

Barring any of those issues, my Navigator will sweep up what falls to the bottom of the pool and at some point all of the excess DE suspended in the water will simply filter out, yes??? please say yes.... Things like this drive me nuts because I need to understand what went wrong...

Many thanks!

Paula

 

[waste]

Hey Paula

I'm afraid you'll have to reopen the filter and double check that the grids are in FULLY and that the fabric goes up to/ into the manifold and that the stand pipe is correctly sealed.

A little bypass would indicate a small issue, but you've got a bunch of DE in the pool - which, to me, indicates that the grids aren't fully in place or that the new air bleeder is no good

At least you don't have a pool party planned tonight :-D

 

[Maxomom]

Ted -

Thanks so much.....I am on it in the morning and will report back if I need more help. I appreciate your kind response....

Paula

 

[BriceJohnson]

The stainless steel design was tested for DE bypass and performed BETTER than the old sock design (I'm the engineer who changed it). This isn't the source of your issue.

 

[Maxomom]

Brice -

So happy to have your expert opinion! This is one less thing I will have to troubleshoot today and I appreciate it so much...

Thanks again,

Paula