First cleaning of filter cartridges

[VinceL]

Our pool project is moving a bit slowly due to the sloped area where it had to be located. They built up an elevated section where the spa is located and they are now building a retaining wall up-slope from the spa. So, the pool has been in the ground and operational for a few weeks. The heavy rains last Monday and Tuesday created a lot of mud puddles around the pool which splattered into the pool. So, Wednesday morning we had a "chocolate" pool.

The pool had already been vacuumed a couple of times ovewr the past couple of weeks to clean out dirt, mortar, etc. I vacuumed the pool once to get a lot of dirt that had settled on the bottom. This afternoon I tried vacuuming again, but I was not getting good suction. With the multiple vacuumings of the pool, I figured that maybe the cartridges were getting dirty. I had not seen any increase in pressure, though.

What a sight when I opened up the filter. All 4 cartridges were absolutely caked with crud. I'm surprised any water was making it back to the returns. So, I cleaned all 4 cartridges (used the Aqua-Comb that I had bought.....works real well ).

I got the cartridges back in the filter, cleaned all the gaskets, and fired the pump back up. It was starting to get dark, so I'm hoping tomorrow morning the pool will start looking like a pool instead of a swamp.

I did check the pH and Chlorine today. I was very happy that the pH was 7.5, the FC was 7 (I had boosted the SWCG since I was concerned about all that crud in the pool), and the CC was zero. Not bad for a horrible looking pool.

The retaining wall will be done on Monday, and they should be pouring the decking on Thursday or Friday. That should keep the pool mud-free.

 

[y_not]

Glad to hear it, sounds like the filters are doing their job.

You mentioned the pressure hadn't gone up from I assume your recorded startup pressure when new?
Did the pressure drop since you cleaned it?
Does the pressure gauge go to zero when you shut the pump off and come back up to a number consistently once you start the pump?

 

[imrodee]

Not sure if this applies... but I'll throw this out there. When you check your pressure gauge on your filter, make sure your pump is not on "low speed." I was wondering why my pressure never ever went up... and I've got a new pool with plaster dust. I read about the VS pump on this forum (jbizzle I think) and sure enough, the gauge jumped 8psi. Just a thought.. Good luck!

 

[tpcorr]

Vince, if you want to prolong the life of those cartridges, vacuum to waste when you have alot of crud on the bottom of the pool. This way it doesn't dirty up the cartridges.

Tom

 

[VinceL]

I had read the post about checking the filter pressure when running at a higher speed. During the Ecostar's 3 minute prime, my filter pressure was consistently right at 10 psi. When it slowed down to normal operating speed (I normally run at 1,553 rpm), it consistently dropped to about 2.5 psi. Since cleaning all the cartridges, I am still getting those same readings.

And, y_not, yes it did and still does drop to zero when the pump is off.

Today, I was having trouble getting the pump to prime. When I shut the pump off, I heard a lot of gurgling. Since the problem just started after I cleaned the cartridges, I was quite confident I had made a mistake putting the filter back together. Sure enough, I felt the side of the filter under the drain plug, and it was wet. There was no puddle on the pad, it was just darkened from being damp. A 3/4 additional turn on the plug, and the gurgling stopped.

No more priming problem. It sure doesn't take much of a leak to cause problems.

tpcorr, I'm not sure how I would "vacuum to waste." I don't have a way to direct water coming out of the pump anywhere except into the filter. They are going to be installing an additional 3-port valve between the pump and filter to allow me to drain water from the pool, if needed. Would that be vacuuming to waste? Seems like I would be sucking a lot of water out of the pool. :?:

The good news about the cartridges is that the PB warned me that the cartridges would be getting very dirty during the installation. He recommended I get a cheap set of generic cartridges. So, I got some Unicell cartridges on-line and put the new Hayward cartridges in a box. If the Unicell cartridges don't last very long, I won't be too upset.

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

tpcorr, I'm not sure how I would "vacuum to waste." I don't have a way to direct water coming out of the pump anywhere except into the filter. They are going to be installing an additional 3-port valve between the pump and filter to allow me to drain water from the pool, if needed. Would that be vacuuming to waste? Seems like I would be sucking a lot of water out of the pool. :?:

Yes.


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