Cleaning a DE filter

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Chad628

Chad628

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Jul 30, 2013
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San Francisco Bay Area
I took apart and cleaned my DE filter for the first time and had a question about draining the water from the filter. My filter sits on a concrete pad very close to the property line of my neighbor. When i removed the drain plug the water drained onto his property and flooded his flower bed killing some of his plantings there. Can anyone suggest a way that i can drain my filter and control where the water drains? The drain plug is about four inches above the concrete pad so it would be difficult to catch the water with a bucket due to low clearance and a tight space. Because of the orientation of the drain plug Its natural path is right into his flower bed. If i put the backwash valve in the backwash position would some of the water drain from that valve just from gravity with the pump off? I don't understand the plumbing of the filter very well so that may be a dumb question.
 
Add a cut off valve in place of the plug then run a backwash / discharge hose down hill from there to a more appropriate location. You can use a cheap thin blue style discharge hoses for this since the water is not highly pressurized (typically under about $20 online for 100 ft length, see amazon, ebay, or your preferred pool vendor)

Ike
 
Isaac-1 said:
Add a cut off valve in place of the plug then run a backwash / discharge hose down hill from there to a more appropriate location. You can use a cheap thin blue style discharge hoses for this since the water is not highly pressurized (typically under about $20 online for 100 ft length, see amazon, ebay, or your preferred pool vendor)

Ike
Click to expand...
This is what I did with my DE filter. I added a 1 1/2" diameter 3" long nipple to the filter discharge opening and then added a ball valve to the other end of the nipple. I attached a clean out hose on the slip end of a fitting using a band clamp. The other end of the fitting screws into the open end of the ball valve. When I am ready to drain the filter I attach the fitting with the hose, lay it out where I want it to go and open the ball valve. You will need to flush the hose after draining the filter to make sure all the DE washes out.
 
Zea3 that sounds like a great solution. Thank you so much for that suggestion. Is there any chance you can post a photo of your set up?
In your opinion would the following items work?

http://swimmingpoolproducts.halogensupp ... d&filter=0

http://swimmingpoolproducts.halogensupp ... |1266|1265

9593309312_c6bfffefce_c.jpg
 
I have what Zea3 suggested but you could do it a different way. I have the blue hose that was suggested with the band clamp. I also have a threaded fitting with a 90 degree elbow. I take the cap out that shows in your photo and screw the fitting in place. Since it is a 90 degree, I can point it left or right depending on how much I screw it in. That way I control which way I want the water to go. The hose is very flexible and can be laid out in a gentle curve as well.

The ball valve lets you do this without draining any water out. With my suggestion you would have to dump the water in the filter on the ground first. Obviously, the pump is off. Hook everything up and point the hose where you want an turn the pump on.
 
Charlie_R said:
Here's one --

http://www.plumbersurplus.com/Prod/Geno ... MgodMxIAEg

Put a ball valve on the slip end, and you are in business.
Click to expand...
That would be it. The ball valve makes this a much easier process long term. I have one as well. I was suggesting the 90 degree as a quick fix that wouldn't require any gluing. I found mine and similar ones with gentler angles at Home Depot. Any home improvement place (Lowes, HD) or a plumping supply house, or a hardware store should have something similar.
 
Chad628 said:
In your opinion would teflon tape on the threads be sufficient to prevent leaving when the filter is under pressure?
Click to expand...
Yes it would. However, I noticed that once the fitting snugged up the lack of tape wasn't a problem. I was in a hurry one day and didn't tape the fitting. For a drain that isn't under continuous pressure it should be fine. In your photo, I would put the cap back once I was done and just store the 90 for next time. Fittings under continual pressure should be taped and/or glued as appropriate.
 

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If you want an all in one solution and don't want to stack fittings together you could get a Hayward SP729 valve which is designed for just this exact use with male threads on one side and hose barb connection on the other, costs about $20 online with shipping.

Ike

p.s. cheapest price I spot is $19 at amazon with free shipping
 
Go to your local hardware store that sells PVC fittings, and measure an adapter. I think you will be surprised at the size of the threaded portion.

Nominal pipe sizes are generally for the inside diameter. Wall thickness accounts for the difference in thread size and inside size.

Better yet, check out this chart. http://www.mcnichols.com/viewer.htm?pageCode=pipedims

Thee you can see what I mean by "nominal" pipe sizes, as these closely follow what iron (threaded) pipe is.
 
Thank you Charlie for explaining that to me. I have not worked with enough plumbing pipes and fixtures to realize how large the differences are for inside and outside diameters of pipes and fixtures. The 90 degree elbow you provided the link for and the Hayward SP729 ball valve that Ike linked me to will be a perfect solution for my problem.
 
If you get a 90 degree elbow and the Hayward valve I posted you will need to get a 90 with threaded fittings on both sides, most PVC 90's you find will be either slip fitting (glue) on both sides, or slip on one side and threaded on the other (male or female sides, but not both). Alternatively you may need to get a 90 that is threaded on one side, and a slip to threaded adapter to glue to the other side, and of course PVC cement (I suggest the blue rain or shine type) to glue them with.

Ike
 
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