DE filter keeps on increasing pressure

[EmilePool]

Hi All,

New poster here. OK; on my second Hayward EC65A - about 6 years old. Ran great, only needing occasional cleaning and 4-5 lbs. of DE once every 1-2 months. Started getting dirty DE in my pool when "bumping." Thought I might have too much DE so cleaned it (through the pressure meter hole with a Hayward "wand" and ONLY added 3 lbs of DE. Ran great for 3 days, then pressure build up too high (leaking through top of filter). OK; cleaned it again. This time ran OK the first day ... 2nd day pressure started at 10psi, after an hour 13psi, after another hour 20psi with of course the top leaking Drained some of the filter water, assuming I still have to much DE and restarted it. Will follow up on what happens next.

FYI, pool is very clean but did have some algae build up a month ago. Piping is all 2" PVC and motor is single speed 2HP. Pool volume is 18,000 gallons with a (new) 55K CircuPool chlorinator (replaced a 40K Hayward chlorinator last month).

So;
1. Is it possible I am not using enough DE meaning my filter gets clogged because the fingers are not fully coated?
2. Is my filter "dead?" Found a used replacement for $400 ... try it or don't even attempt a "used" filter.
3. If I buy a new one, I assume I can purchase the bigger EC75A and just transplant the "inside components."

Thanks for all the help!

Emile

 

[Casey]

If you're losing pressure your water is probably not crystal clear. Can you share pics of the water quality n test results?

Welcome to TFP

 

[Jimrahbe]

Emile,

There is nothing wrong with your filter, you simple have algae, even if you can't see it yet. If you had algae a month ago, all you did was knock it back, you did not kill it as we teach here at TFP. If you clean your filter, it will be good for a day or and then it will clog again.

You need to take a good read through our Pool School and see what we are all about.

We'd be glad to get you pointed in the right direction.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[EmilePool]

If you're losing pressure your water is probably not crystal clear. Can you share pics of the water quality n test results?

Welcome to TFP

Thanks! Yes, water is still a bit cloudy. Was adding 2 containers of chlorine every 2 weeks when my Hayward chlorinator started having problems. OK; will add 2 containers today - should I add "shock" also?. And another 2 containers tomorrow. Haha; and repeat if that does not solve my problem

 

[EmilePool]

Emile,

There is nothing wrong with your filter, you simple have algae, even if you can't see it yet. If you had algae a month ago, all you did was knock it back, you did not kill it as we teach here at TFP. If you clean your filter, it will be good for a day or and then it will clog again.

You need to take a good read through our Pool School and see what we are all about.

We'd be glad to get you pointed in the right direction.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Hi Jim R,

Haha, thanks for not making me buy a new filter yet. OK; adding 2 containers of chlorine today and 2 tomorrow. Should I add "shock" also?

Pool has been near perfect for 25 years. Never had this algae problem.

Thanks & Cheers, Emile

 

[Kaylee34]

Thanks! Yes, water is still a bit cloudy. Was adding 2 containers of chlorine every 2 weeks when my Hayward chlorinator started having problems. OK; will add 2 containers today - should I add "shock" also?. And another 2 containers tomorrow. Haha; and repeat if that does not solve my problem

How are you testing your water? Pool store testing is unreliable at best. If you don't have your own test kit, you need to order one. The ones we recommend can be found here: Test Kit

Doing a blind dump and pray might solve your immediate algae problem but can do more harm than good. It also won't solve it long term.
Here's a couple Pool School links to get you started.
Pool Care Basics
All About Algae

 

[Jimrahbe]

Emile,

I have no idea what two containers of chlorine are?

Are we talking about Liquid Chlorine that come in gallons jugs? Or something else?

Our pool care process is a little different.. We like to know where we are, and what we need to do to get to where we want to be.

Step one is to test the water and see where we are (chemically).
Step two is to look where we are, and decide what we need to balance our chemicals. We use the free Pool Math app.
Step three is to add only what is needed to get to where we want to chemically be.

The problem is that the Dump and Hope approach works some of the time, so people just get used to using it, even when it does not work.

We do not believe in the accuracy of pool store tests, but I'd like to see the results of any recent test they have done, if it is handy..


Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[EmilePool]

How are you testing your water? Pool store testing is unreliable at best. If you don't have your own test kit, you need to order one. The ones we recommend can be found here: Test Kit

Doing a blind dump and pray might solve your immediate algae problem but can do more harm than good. It also won't solve it long term.
Here's a couple Pool School links to get you started.
Pool Care Basics
All About Algae

Kaylee33,

Thanks! Ordering some test kits

Cheers, Emile

 

[EmilePool]

Emile,

I have no idea what two containers of chlorine are?

Are we talking about Liquid Chlorine that come in gallons jugs? Or something else?

Our pool care process is a little different.. We like to know where we are, and what we need to do to get to where we want to be.

Step one is to test the water and see where we are (chemically).
Step two is to look where we are, and decide what we need to balance our chemicals. We use the free Pool Math app.
Step three is to add only what is needed to get to where we want to chemically be.

The problem is that the Dump and Hope approach works some of the time, so people just get used to using it, even when it does not work.

We do not believe in the accuracy of pool store tests, but I'd like to see the results of any recent test they have done, if it is handy..


Thanks,

Jim R.

Jim,

Said "containers" as they (to me) seem to be larger than a gallon Yes; liquid chlorine.

Haha; started with the "dump and hope" approach. Just ordered a test kit as I usually let the pool store handle this - and yes, pretty unreliable; never get the results just "add acid, stabilizer, etc., etc".

Thanks for the great help!

Cheers, Emile

 

[EmilePool]

Emile,

I have no idea what two containers of chlorine are?

Are we talking about Liquid Chlorine that come in gallons jugs? Or something else?

Our pool care process is a little different.. We like to know where we are, and what we need to do to get to where we want to be.

Step one is to test the water and see where we are (chemically).
Step two is to look where we are, and decide what we need to balance our chemicals. We use the free Pool Math app.
Step three is to add only what is needed to get to where we want to chemically be.

The problem is that the Dump and Hope approach works some of the time, so people just get used to using it, even when it does not work.

We do not believe in the accuracy of pool store tests, but I'd like to see the results of any recent test they have done, if it is handy..


Thanks,

Jim R.

Haha; my "containers" are 2.5 gallons

 

[Jimrahbe]

Emile,

Your jugs of Liquid Chlorine may well be larger that a gallon. It would be important to know..

Here is an example of what we do.. You have an 18000 gallon pool. So, how much Liquid Chlorine do you need to add to get your FC from zero to 5 ppm?
Our app show that... adding 92 oz. of 12.5% Liquid Chlorine will add 5 ppm of FC to your pool.

The point being we know where we are (zero in this example) and we want to get to 5 ppm of FC, so we would add 92 ozs..

Would 5 ppm of FC be enough, I doubt it... but we have no way to know for sure, as we need to know your CYA (Stabilizer) level before we can determine the correct amount of FC that your pool requires.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Emile,

5 gallons of your liquid chlorine would have brought your FC up to at least 35 ppm.

You may need to add that much to kill the algae, but before you can do that, you need to get your test kit so you know where your starting point is.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Kaylee34]

Kaylee33,

Thanks! Ordering some test kits

Cheers, Emile

YAY! Emile!! Jim R has you in GREAT hands!

There's a little bit of a learning curve to TFP but I promise you, the hardest part is unlearning what the pool store teaches.

 

[EmilePool]

Emile,

5 gallons of your liquid chlorine would have brought your FC up to at least 35 ppm.

You may need to add that much to kill the algae, but before you can do that, you need to get your test kit so you know where your starting point is.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Jim,

Great! Thank you. Pool store told me my CYA was low, but of course did not specify the level. Just added 4 lbs ... another 3 lbs will go in in the morning. Will also add another 5 gallons of chlorine tomorrow - hope that kills the algae Yes; "dump & hope" approach until I get my test kit

Jeez, had this pool for over 25 years and never had a real problem. Have had light algae, but never PERSISTANT algae. Live and learn

OK; had to bump the filter again - lasted about 2 hours.

Thanks for the help!
Cheers, Emile

 

[Kaylee34]

Emile, Jim is saying not to just dump and hope. You don't know what your CYA level is and you don't want it to go too high. You also don't want it too high if you're doing a SLAM.

Have you downloaded poolmath yet?

If so, use the "effects of adding" feature to see what 4 lbs of CYA added to your pool will bring your CYA level up to. You never, ever want to go below minimum and staying at the high end of the target range gives you a little insurance against algae. Also use that feature to see how much how much liquid chlorine you need for that level of CYA to SLAM the pool. CYA can take a few days to register and you can't really SLAM properly until your test kit comes.

These charts will tell you where your free chlorine needs to be in relation to the level of CYA in your pool. Don't use the SWG. They're not designed for SLAMming.

 

[EmilePool]

Emile, Jim is saying not to just dump and hope. You don't know what your CYA level is and you don't want it to go too high. You also don't want it too high if you're doing a SLAM.

Have you downloaded poolmath yet?

If so, use the "effects of adding" feature to see what 4 lbs of CYA added to your pool will bring your CYA level up to. You never, ever want to go below minimum and staying at the high end of the target range gives you a little insurance against algae. Also use that feature to see how much how much liquid chlorine you need for that level of CYA to SLAM the pool. CYA can take a few days to register and you can't really SLAM properly until your test kit comes.

These charts will tell you where your free chlorine needs to be in relation to the level of CYA in your pool. Don't use the SWG. They're not designed for SLAMming.

Kaylee,

Thanks for all the info! SWG turned off. Test kit ordered. Haha; was hoping "dump & hope" would at least get me on track
PoolMath downloaded - seems to need MS password searching for it.

Cheers, Emile

 

[RLP]

Dont add cya until you get your test kit to determine whats going on.

You don't want it too high if you have to slam.

 

[Deb04]

Which test kit did you order? Sorry if you said and I missed it.

 

[EmilePool]

Dont add cya until you get your test kit to determine whats going on.

You don't want it too high if you have to slam.

Sorry; added 4 lbs but will wait with the "rest."

 

[EmilePool]

Which test kit did you order? Sorry if you said and I missed it.

TF-100 Salt. Haha; hope it is the correct one