Inline filter for Vacuuming

[TreeFiter]

I'm wondering if anyone has seen an inline filter that I can use for vacuuming. I deal with some pools that don't have the best filters, and the owners can't afford to upgrade. With some of these filters, its not the best idea to put the stress of vacuuming on them. My concern is mostly with small old DE filters.

I'm looking for something small and portable that I can use either with an auxilliary pump, or as a prefilter. Is there something similar to a leaf trap out there that accepts a cartridge filter? Has anyone had to build their own? I'm looking for some ideas.

 

[Guest]

I recently seen this vacuum head at Meijer which has a pre-filter on it.....[attachment=0:3jmvpcgi]1000947_K827CBX_A_400.jpg[/attachment:3jmvpcgi]

 

[yeggim]

Does vacuuming stress a filter? My skimmer vacuum plate restricts the flow into the skimmer and my filter pressure goes down.

 

[TreeFiter]

Using a skimmer plate will catch larger particulates in the skimmer basket, but everything else ends up in the filter. The reduced pressure at your filter suggests that you are putting back pressure on your pump, which means your pump is working harder.

We don't use skimmer plates because we deal with so many different pools from different manufacturers, and they are all slightly different. We typically remove the skimmer basket and put the end of the vac hose into the suction line. After vacuuming, we empty the pump basket where the debris is collected.

If you have an old DE filter, that little bit could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Normal well maintained filters will have no problem, but we often end up with customers because they are tired of fighting with their old equipment, but don't want to lay out a large sum of money to replace it. So they pay us to come weekly and deal with their headache.

Often these old DE filters are capable of day to day filtration, because there is minimal filtration required. However when you vacuum, you are picking up much larger amounts of dirt in a very short period of time, which loads up the filter. This is why you are supposed to backwash after vacuuming.