HELP Hayward 4820 BIG problem

[lungs414]

Long story short- I have a lot of DE inside every grid. This never hapened before. Anyone know how this could happen and what do i do to correct this.
Please help

This is the long story:
I opened the pool over the weekend, I installed a new hayward variable speed pump and it kept having a failure to prime pump, while trying to prime I was able to power vac by using the #4 pre progammed button this gave rpm at about 3400. Then the pump would shut off, and by restarting it would go through this priming phase again. Reread the manual and reprogrammed it to three minute prime.

At the end of last year I thoroughly cleaned the grids after winterizing the pool.

Added 6lbs pf DE, while looking at the pressure gauge, I noticed that the drain plug is leaking, backwashed it, I looked at the sight glass and it looked like clear water only coming out, I changed out the o-ring which was broken, and now the drain plug doesn't tighten all the way. It gets tight then loose again. No cracks in the base so I put teflon tape on the plug and no leaks put 5 lbs of DE in. After start up now I notice the o-ring where the mutiport valve bushing connects to the inside of the bottom tank is also leaking. Back wash again still no de coming out during backwash. When inspecting the grids I find that the inside of all the grids packed with DE. This was not there from the end of last year.
Now what?


Does this mean that my grids need to be replaced? IOs there anyway to get the de out of them. Everyone of the grids has stuff in them. And there doesn't appear to be any rips in the material.

 

[JasonLion]

You can get DE inside the girds by pouring DE into the skimmer while the main valve is set to backwash. There is no easy way to get the DE out without it going into the pool. It is possible to wash it out with a garden hose, but the process is tedious and it is tricky to get all of it. Sometimes the simplest thing is to let it wash into the pool and then vacuum it up. If you do go that way, make sure you get all of it before swimming.

 

[ping]

If you have a drive in car wash that you do the washing, go there and try cleaning the grids the the power wash hose. You'll get a lot more pressure than using your garden hose. I do this once a year and the mess goes into their filter system.

 

[lungs414]

Jason, first thanks for the quick reply. Will that happen on its own or do I need a certain setting on the muti port valve?
Also if I take the grid apart can I lay them down and power wash them clean. So when I was power vacuuming I set the multi port to backwash and not waste? Crud what an idiot I am, if thats what happened.

 

[ping]

It might be best to work on each grid individually to get them clean. I've never had to take mine apart to get each grid as they are pretty clean before I wash them.

 

[lungs414]

Thanks for the response Ping, but like you I never had a really dirty filter. I think my error caused this and I don't think I have a choice other than taking it apart to clean it.
Jason if I dont take it apart will the de just find its way back in the pool? If it does then i have to power vac properly and i'll lose a decent amount of water and have to re balance the water. No cheap solution since I use biogard mineral springs.

Once again thanks for all help

 

[lungs414]

Jason one other quick question, regarding my drain plug. It seems the threads on the bottom tank are stripped a little. Since the bootom of the filter is at least $300, I thought of a possible cheaper fix, that have some benefits. Here's my idea:
Glue on a 1 1/2" PVC male adaptor then an 1 1/2" PVC ball valve. It would also make it easier for future maintenance.
What do you think?