DE coming out of vacuum/skimmer

[Mirage21]

For some reason after my filter is complete (pump auto off), the DE is coming out as shown. It is coming from the skimmer area (with or without vac. I'm thinking water level may have something to do with this. Evaporation has brought it to close to the bottom of tile line. Help?

 

[Richard320]

You let the water get low and the pump sucked air and now you have a big air bubble in the filter tank. With the pump off, it's no longer compressed, so it expands and pushes water out backwards.

Disconnect the vacuum and turn the pump on and open the air bleed on top the filter a crack until it starts spitting out water instead of air. That should fix it. And raise the water level so it doesn't happen again.

 

[Mirage21]

Thanks. Add on question : when draining the water to replace it, should I leave the skimmer hole empty and let it suck air in along with the other drains? I guess it doesn't matter to the filter because water is going to the waste and not making air bubble. Or should i hook it up to a vacuum hose (without krauly) to get the additional suction from the skimmer?

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[Richard320]

If you can't isolate the main drain, you won't be able to use the pool pump to drain below the skimmer level. Once the skimmer goes completely dry, the pump will just suck air and lose prime and overheat and possibly get damaged. You'll need to rent or buy a pump to get below the skimmers unless you are able to completely shut off the skimmers and only draw water from the main drain in the bottom of the pool.

I'm looking at your post history. You said in another thread that "My fill water is around 375-400 CH." Are we speaking the same language? Fill water is what comes out of the faucet. Pool water is the stuff in the pool with bleach and stabilizer in it.

If your pool water is only 375-400, don't even bother draining. Not yet. My CH has never been that low in 4 years.

Let's say your pool water is 400 CH and the water out of the faucet is 100 CH. If you drain 25% to get to the magic 300 poolmath says, it won't work. .75*400 + .25*100 = 325. If the fill water out of the faucet is higher, say 150 CH, then it's going to be even worse.

 

[Mirage21]

If you can't isolate the main drain, you won't be able to use the pool pump to drain below the skimmer level. Once the skimmer goes completely dry, the pump will just suck air and lose prime and overheat and possibly get damaged. You'll need to rent or buy a pump to get below the skimmers unless you are able to completely shut off the skimmers and only draw water from the main drain in the bottom of the pool.

I'm looking at your post history. You said in another thread that "My fill water is around 375-400 CH." Are we speaking the same language? Fill water is what comes out of the faucet. Pool water is the stuff in the pool with bleach and stabilizer in it.

If your pool water is only 375-400, don't even bother draining. Not yet. My CH has never been that low in 4 years.

Let's say your pool water is 400 CH and the water out of the faucet is 100 CH. If you drain 25% to get to the magic 300 poolmath says, it won't work. .75*400 + .25*100 = 325. If the fill water out of the faucet is higher, say 150 CH, then it's going to be even worse.

I can isolate my spa which is about 1K gal (~4%).

Is there a skimmer plug or can you hook up a hose to it to prevent it from being dry? Otherwise i will spread the replacement over several days using the spa only.

My fill water is 350 CH from the fill valve. Right now the pool CH has risen to 575-600.

 

[Richard320]

What I do is pump the spa into the pool and then empty the pool while the spa is refilling from the garden hose. I can usually lose 5-6% of the water that way before the level in the pool gets too low.

 

[tmarcoux]

A different direction - but is there any chance that your spa is above the pool level and your back flow valve is broken? I have had it where the check valve broke and since both the pool and spa were opened simultaneously, the water siphoned out of the spa through the return, back through the DE filter and out through the drains. I had DE in the pool until I replaced the check valve.

Just something else to check off


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[Mirage21]

A different direction - but is there any chance that your spa is above the pool level and your back flow valve is broken? I have had it where the check valve broke and since both the pool and spa were opened simultaneously, the water siphoned out of the spa through the return, back through the DE filter and out through the drains. I had DE in the pool until I replaced the check valve.

Just something else to check off


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No check valves. The DE spilled into the pool not the spa.

 

[tmarcoux]

No check valves. The DE spilled into the pool not the spa.

You have a pool and spa on a single pump, and no check valve on the spa return?

If your spa is higher than your pool, and you pump water to both the pool and spa simultaneously, then when your pump turns off, your spa water can be siphoned back into your pool via skimmer or bottom drain. If your pump system is air tight, it's physics - no?

 

[Mirage21]

Spa is same level as pool. What you're saying makes sense though. I've seen it do the reverse during my pool startup: as main pool is being filled, the spa fills when water reaches return jets of the main pool.

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[tmarcoux]

A simple test is to shut the flow valve to the spa and shut the pump off overnight. If DE stops, that's it. If it continues to backwash into the pool, look elsewhere.


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