Okay, stumped! Any Ideas?

[gooselover]

I originally posted regarding the fact that I seem to have 1/2 the suction I used to when I vacuum. Now the suction when I vacuum is great completely inside the sweeper, but technically there is no suction at the "bristles" of the sweeper. We have checked the hose, no leaks, no leaks in any lines, pool is working GREAT, water is crystal clear, everything seems to be fine!

Okay, so now my question is, could my sand be bad? The sand has not been changed since the pool was new - 5 years this year. How often do you need to change your sand? How do you CHECK your sand? What should you look for to find a need to change the sand or not?

And last but not least, WHY do you, or should you, change your sand?
Thanks.

 

[Durhamhouses]

This is quoted from my Hayward Sand Filter Manual...I bolded the word permanent. I changed my sand when I had to replace a broken lateral inside the filter and it made zero difference in the performance of it. Do you have a neighbour with a pool? Perhaps you could try your vac on theirs and vice versa? Are you using a adapter over your basket in the skimmer or plugging the hose directly into the suction port? I've forgotten to close the flap over the main drain port in my skimmer while using an adapter and it doesn't work well at all as it draws water from the main drain instead of the vacuum head.

"Your filter uses special filter sand to remove dirt particles from
pool water. Filter sand is loaded into the filter tank and
functions as the permanent dirt removing media."

 

[zea3]

First check the obvious, multiport valve set to filter or waste, recently backwashed filter.
You can open the filter and check if the sand is channeled, clumped, or especially dirty. If it is gently push a water hose straight down into the sand 2-3" and let the water overflow out the top. Repeat in several places until the water runs clear. re-assemble the filter, rise the sand, and then try vacuuming as usual.

 

[gooselover]

Okay, let me ask you all this. Can you FEEL the suction at the bottom of the sweeper or do you FEEL the suction at the "hole". My bristles on the bottom of the sweeper are about 3/4 or 1/2" long.

 

[zea3]

When I vacuum, I only feel suction at the hole, but the vacuum will pick up most of what the vacuum head covers in one pass. If I tip the head at an angle, I can see nearby dirt and leaves being drawn to the vacuum. It is important that you move the vacuum slowly, its not like vacuuming a carpet. If you move to fast the movement of the vacuum pushes the debris away before it gets caught in the suction. Also make sure you clean the skimmer and/or pump strainer basket frequently if you are picking up a lot of leaf debris. When the baskets are full of debris you lose suction.