I know a lot of people ask about switching from DE to Cellulose so I thought I would share my experience.
The main reason I wanted to switch was that I did not like the idea of having to use a mask and gloves with DE. I also have to discharge to my yard and I have pets. When I was using DE I always got that same itchy feeling you get when handling fiberglass insulation. I do not want that on me or my pets. The peace of mind that I am not using a Class 1 carcinogen (when airborne) is nice as well.
So here goes:
I started by fully back washing my filter including bumping several times. I opened my grid DE filter and low and behold it was still filthy. Lots of thick DE all over. I took the grids out and thoroughly cleaned them. Took about an hour to get all the caked on DE off. Unfortunately I did not take photos of before but it was a mess even with back washing. Below is photo once clean.
I then added Fiber Clear cellulose through the near skimmer per the directions. 11 cups for a 60 sq ft grid filter. I run my filter 24 hours a day. I run it at 2,000 RPM during the day and 1,800 RPM at night to save a little energy. At 2,000 RPM my pressure runs at 9 PSI after I put the Fiber Clear in. I was able to run the filter for 2 months before my pressure rose to 11-12 PSI and a noticed a significant drop off in return flow. In my pool that is the same as my experience with DE.
I know a few posts said they had issues with the pressure immediately going up and having to back wash almost immediately. I did not experience any of that. I do not know if it is because I thoroughly cleaned my grids first, or maybe something else about my setup, but for me no issues. My pool is just as clear if not clearer now using cellulose.
Here is picture of what the filter looked like before back washing the cellulose. It was filthy, as it should be. I did not have any of the heavy build up of product like other posts reported. It was a nice even coating of dirty media across all the grids.
The only somewhat concerning thing I did see was a heavy buildup of cellulose on the internal airbleed assembly (see pic below). It did not seem to affect performance but it was really thick.
I put the cover back on the filter and performed a back wash. I wanted to see how well the back wash worked since it did almost nothing when I first cleaned the filter with DE in it. Below is a picture after the back wash.
As you can see the back wash only cleaned the top half of the filter. I am convinced that the only real way to clean your filter whether using Cellulose or DE is to pop the top off the filter and clean it with a hose. It only takes about 20 minutes but it guarantees you have a clean filter. you just cannot rely on what is coming through the sight glass. Going forward I will do a short back wash to getthe big stuff out but then open and use a hose to get the rest. This will savea lots of conditioned water as well.
Once that was all done I put the top back on the filter and the pressure was back to 9 PSI. Good to go for another two months.
As far as cost goes I bought two 3 lbs bags of Fiber Clear on Amazon for $48.95. With my 60 Sq Ft filter that will give me three recharges. Since I get two months between cleanings that is enough for 6 months. I am in the northeast so I only have my pool open for 4 months. Less than $50 bucks a year guaranteed and no itchy "potentially" cancer causing media to deal with. I am sold on cellulose.
The main reason I wanted to switch was that I did not like the idea of having to use a mask and gloves with DE. I also have to discharge to my yard and I have pets. When I was using DE I always got that same itchy feeling you get when handling fiberglass insulation. I do not want that on me or my pets. The peace of mind that I am not using a Class 1 carcinogen (when airborne) is nice as well.
So here goes:
I started by fully back washing my filter including bumping several times. I opened my grid DE filter and low and behold it was still filthy. Lots of thick DE all over. I took the grids out and thoroughly cleaned them. Took about an hour to get all the caked on DE off. Unfortunately I did not take photos of before but it was a mess even with back washing. Below is photo once clean.
I then added Fiber Clear cellulose through the near skimmer per the directions. 11 cups for a 60 sq ft grid filter. I run my filter 24 hours a day. I run it at 2,000 RPM during the day and 1,800 RPM at night to save a little energy. At 2,000 RPM my pressure runs at 9 PSI after I put the Fiber Clear in. I was able to run the filter for 2 months before my pressure rose to 11-12 PSI and a noticed a significant drop off in return flow. In my pool that is the same as my experience with DE.
I know a few posts said they had issues with the pressure immediately going up and having to back wash almost immediately. I did not experience any of that. I do not know if it is because I thoroughly cleaned my grids first, or maybe something else about my setup, but for me no issues. My pool is just as clear if not clearer now using cellulose.
Here is picture of what the filter looked like before back washing the cellulose. It was filthy, as it should be. I did not have any of the heavy build up of product like other posts reported. It was a nice even coating of dirty media across all the grids.
The only somewhat concerning thing I did see was a heavy buildup of cellulose on the internal airbleed assembly (see pic below). It did not seem to affect performance but it was really thick.
I put the cover back on the filter and performed a back wash. I wanted to see how well the back wash worked since it did almost nothing when I first cleaned the filter with DE in it. Below is a picture after the back wash.
As you can see the back wash only cleaned the top half of the filter. I am convinced that the only real way to clean your filter whether using Cellulose or DE is to pop the top off the filter and clean it with a hose. It only takes about 20 minutes but it guarantees you have a clean filter. you just cannot rely on what is coming through the sight glass. Going forward I will do a short back wash to getthe big stuff out but then open and use a hose to get the rest. This will savea lots of conditioned water as well.
Once that was all done I put the top back on the filter and the pressure was back to 9 PSI. Good to go for another two months.
As far as cost goes I bought two 3 lbs bags of Fiber Clear on Amazon for $48.95. With my 60 Sq Ft filter that will give me three recharges. Since I get two months between cleanings that is enough for 6 months. I am in the northeast so I only have my pool open for 4 months. Less than $50 bucks a year guaranteed and no itchy "potentially" cancer causing media to deal with. I am sold on cellulose.