Is my cartridge filter broken?

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Dec 5, 2011
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Hello! I asked awhile ago about my skimmer line, and you guys were a great help.

Unfortunately, my google-fu is a little weak in this issue I'm having. A roommate recently moved out and the last thing he did was clean the filter and vacuum the pool, immediately after he moved out my filter always reads 0 psi, and has very little filtering power, only catching the largest of debris. Anything that is a fine particulate just goes back into the pool in a massive cloud.

All of my pool chemicals are within guidelines and I have no CC's, only cloudy water. The return line seems to have a decent amount of push (also returns through a waterfall), but the filter just seems to be completely failing me.

I tried to look online for a guide on exactly how the mechanics of a cartridge filter works to better understand it, but the information is incredibly scarce and either outdated or not for my filter. I'm sure If i knew a bit more about the unit I'd easily be able to ascertain whether or not it was the filter or some sort of clog issue.

My filter is a C&C 100 from I believe 2008, at least that's what the lid claims it to be. Any help would be appreciated as I'd really like to get my pool clear. Thanks! :D
 
Are you sure the cartridge is seated properly? no PSI either means a broken gauge, or there's no pressure inside the filter housing (which would explain why debris passes by easily if the cartridge is skewed off the seat).

I think... could be worth double checking at least.
 
I've definitely tried to reseat the filter several times, unless there is some trick i'm not aware of I'm not entirely sure of what I can do... I even had a second cartridge to try that as well, same deal. If I knew what the black manifolds purpose was I'd probably be able to diagnose it a bit better.

I'm still not clear on the purpose of individual parts inside of the unit, which from my perspective is a horrible place to be in, I hate owning things that I do not know the exact ins and outs of :)

For instance, the center core, what is its purpose? Just to add rigidity to the cartridge itself? It does have a mounting hole which I do use, I came to the conclusion myself that it must be some sort of air relief bit, but I'm not really sure.
 
Someone will come along soon and help you. I don't know much about cartridge filters past the carpy Intex ones.

Gauges are cheap, might want to go get yourself a new one for peace of mind while you wait for help (if the stores are open in your area).
 
There is an arrow that says to align with filter inlet, I've done that as it also aligns it with some tiny port at the bottom of the filter. I've also tried pushing down on the cartridge itself to try to get it to seal, no luck there either.

I've tried running it with the lid off for just a few seconds to see how the water is getting in, it seems to flood in from the outermost sides, is this how it's supposed to work?
 
Right, well that all seems to be correct, the only thing out of place then is that debris seems to be bypassing the filter and the gauge reads 0 psi. If i close one of the return valves (waterfall) it barely bumps up to 2. It just doesn't seem like the water is actually getting filtered.
 

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The way the pool system is designed is inlet (skimmer and bottom drain) -> pump -> straight to cart filter -> chlorinator -> return. There are no alternative routes from pump-> filter so the water absolutely has to go through it. The only issue must be with the filter sealing to the bottom of the unit, but I'm about 90% sure dropping it onto the core and pushing/twisting a little bit should secure it -- at least it did the last 6 months I've lived here.
 
After determining that there are no leaks, or anything that would allow water to bypass the filter, including trying another cartridge filter I've just decided to replace the entire unit with a clean and clear 200 sq foot. My pool is now green after being unable to determine why i couldn't get it to filter particulates.
 
As a followup, I got my filter in today and it was a simple drop in replacement, the way it attached was literally the same (huge bonus for me). My pool is around 10k gal, and the new filter worked a charm.

My main purpose of the thread was to better understand how the innards of said filter worked, as the one I owned previously was the first I've ever seen or examined in my life -- after seeing the inside of the filter all the blanks filled in and I have a pretty good idea of why it wasn't working, and luckily for me the repair would have cost around as much as buying the old unit previously. Now that I've gone from a 100sqft->200sqft I should be able to do less maintenance while having a lower flow restriction, which all in all is pretty nice I suppose. :D
 
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