Filter blew it's top off

[VA2AZ]

Fortunately I was in my backyard when this happened. Heard a pop, then noticed a geyser coming out of my pool equipment area. I had 4-5" of water around the enclosure before I could hit the circuit breakers. The top closure dome with pressure guage of the 24" Hayward sand filter had blown off. I found the dome and O ring close by. Inspected the filter, no cracks, no missing chunks out of the filter, just a blown closure dome. I reinstalled the dome and locking bracket. I turned the filter pump on and no runs, no drips and no errors. However the pressure was reading about 5-6 psi higher than it typically was. I usually backwash when the pressure is near 25-26 psi. So, backflushed, waited for clear water, and put the filter back in service. Backwash did not change the guage reading of 25-26 psi. Typical guage reading with clean filter is 20 psi with a high end of 31 psi. Now it appears the typical running psi is 25-26 psi.
I believe the two screws that hold the locking bracket for the dome and filter vibrated loose and the pressure blew it off. It has been 4 days and no runs, no drips, no errors.
Does anyone have ideas about the pressure now being 5-6 psi higher and what else could have caused the top to blow off and cause no damage?
Thank you for your time in this matter.

 

[JamesW]

Does the gauge go to 0 when off?

 

[HermanTX]

You are very fortunate of not only no damage but no injuries.
The first thing I would look at is the gauge itself. It may have taken a jolt and no longer reading properly. Purchase a new gauge.
Did you check the screws really well that they are not pulled or damaged? It may be just a matter of time for it to come loose again.

 

[VA2AZ]

Does the gauge go to 0 when off?

Yes, but am probably going to get new guage to see if that is the challenge.
Thanks for your response.

 

[VA2AZ]

You are very fortunate of not only no damage but no injuries.
The first thing I would look at is the gauge itself. It may have taken a jolt and no longer reading properly. Purchase a new gauge.
Did you check the screws really well that they are not pulled or damaged? It may be just a matter of time for it to come loose again.

Yes, I checked the bracket and the screws. All appear to be sound and functional. I put locking washers on the screws before the nuts, to hopefully keep them from becoming loose. New guage is on it's way.
Thanks for your response.

 

[Newdude]

I had 4-5" of water around the enclosure before I could hit the circuit breakers

****** PSA for everyone*****

Always know where the main (house) breaker is for the pool panel. There is zero reason to stand in a puddle and flip the live pool panel breaker.

Run to the house panel to shut the the pool panel off from there.

 

[VA2AZ]

BTW - I did run to the Main breaker box to secure the pumps. That took time to get there and the flood had about a minute start at 60GPM.

 

[Newdude]

That took time to get there and the flood had about a minute start at 60GPM.

You would have been of no use cleaning up post electrocution, God forbid. No matter how bad it was, you made an awesome choice under distress, no easy feat.

Bravo.

 

[VA2AZ]

Does the gauge go to 0 when off?

Yes, the guage goes to 0 and appears to be functional, registering 25-26 psi when pump is running. But may not be accurate. Original psi after installing new filter, sand, etc. was 20 running and 0 off.

 

[VA2AZ]

You would have been of no use cleaning up post electrocution, God forbid. No matter how bad it was, you made an awesome choice under distress, no easy feat.

Bravo.

I typically allow common sense to interfere with a decision. Thanks.

 

[Bperry]

What’s the filter pressure rating? My old pool guy said he liked the filter pressure to run below 20 and average about 12. I doubt there’s any useful rule of thumb but at least make sure the filter can handle 29+psi of pressure. Something must have broke to come off so fast…

 

[VA2AZ]

What’s the filter pressure rating? My old pool guy said he liked the filter pressure to run below 20 and average about 12. I doubt there’s any useful rule of thumb but at least make sure the filter can handle 29+psi of pressure. Something must have broke to come off so fast…

Filter tank maximum PSI is 50. When new, initial pressure was 20 PSI. This did not change for 5 years. My PSI for backwashing was between 25-28 PSI. The motor operates at two speeds; high speed (approximately 3450 RPM) and low speed (approximately 1725 RPM). High speed was running when it lifted it's lid! I typically do not monitor the operation. It has been working as if it was on auto-pilot since filter tank was installed 5 years ago.

 

[proavia]

Might be time for a good deep clean of your sand filter.

Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter

This post will walk you through the anatomy of a sand filter, and then provide a video at the end for how to deep clean your sand filter. The filter used in the photos and videos is a Hayward S180T top mount sand filter. The images are of a similar filter. Obviously not all filters are...

www.troublefreepool.com

Post a full set of current test results from one of the recommended test kits.
Test Kits Compared

If the filter pressure increase is a recent change, you may have a nascent algae bloom in progress.
Have you been maintaining your FC in accordance with the FC/CYA Levels?

 

[Bluesilv]

That filter would be in the dumpster if it were my house. Bad mojo. That thing could have killed you. Get yourself a new one and move on down the road.

 

[workedonthousandsofpools]

You might as well be trying to find a cure for cancer.

There is no magic answer here, what you need is a good repair tech that can come out and put eyes on everything and provide answers to your questions/concerns, and what repairs, if any, are needed, or recommended.

The pressure you consider normal, isn't, it seems too high for a 1hp motor, too restrictive, like a valve is left "on" for a water feature, spa jets, etc. or the jets on your wall with the holes on the deck (those are air holes by the way and if the jet orifice is clogged, they can/will push water from the holes, the jets should mix water and air, unless the holes or jet orifice is clogged) (I read some of your previous posts)

The reason you backwash at 26 or so psi, and it still stays at 26 or so psi, indicates restriction somewhere, could be something as minor as a valve adjustment, i recall reading at one point you indicated a wall return eyelet you removed, and the psi went from 20 to 12 psi or something like that.

High filter pressure is normal with an in-floor system too, but since you indicated the cleaner has its own pump, i am assuming it does not flow through filter, only the pool pump flows through filter, again, "eyes need to be put on site" or you need to provide detailed pics of everything, plumbing, valves, entire equipment view, pumps, etc.

As far as the filter lid is concerned, is there calcification on the filter where the lid connects? indicating a long time leak due to clamp being loose, which eventually led to it popping off?
Also were the clamp halves still connected together with the screws, or were one or both screws missing a nut, etc.

The reason i ask is, it is not common for the clamp to become loose on its own causing the lid to pop off, not that it couldn't happen. My experience with them when i see them in the field is to just check if there tight, and they almost always are, except for maybe a slight turn, and mostly because there may be a small drip developing that additional tightening will stop it.

Did the recent windstorm that occurred create more dirt than usual in the pool? if so, the filter may have become overwhelmed, and the filter lid became the weak link from the additional psi build up in filter tank.

 

[HermanTX]

When new, initial pressure was 20 PSI. This did not change for 5 years. My PSI for backwashing was between 25-28 PSI. The motor operates at two speeds; high speed (approximately 3450 RPM) and low speed (approximately 1725 RPM). High speed was running when it lifted it's lid! I typically do not monitor the operation. It has been working as if it was on auto-pilot since filter tank was installed 5 years ago.

something has changed that your filter pressure increased from its norm. Also, it is unlikely that screws just loosened unless there was vibration or corrosion, etc. As others suggested, do a deep clean of your filter to ensure no blockages and as a minimum, it would be good to purchase a new clamp ring and screws. Also consider a new top dome and seal ring as that has to be a good fit for the clamp ring to attach. Keep us updated on any additional findings.

 

[duraleigh]

A system like yours should produce about 9-14 psi on high speed, clean filter.

If the new gauge doesn't indicate that, there is VERY likely some blockage on the pressure side. I suppose it is possible that, when new, eyeballs that were too small were put on the returns.

 

[JamesW]

Filter tank maximum PSI is 50.

That’s not a realistic number for that filter.

Anything over 20 psi is too much and the filter will prematurely fail.

What is the recommended pressure for your in-floor cleaner system?

Did you check the inline strainer for the in-floor cleaner?

Try a new pressure gauge.

 

[JamesW]

Can you post pictures of everything?

 

[VA2AZ]

That’s not a realistic number for that filter.

Anything over 20 psi is too much and the filter will prematurely fail.

What is the recommended pressure for your in-floor cleaner system?

Did you check the inline strainer for the in-floor cleaner?

Try a new pressure gauge.

The question was about the maximum pressure for the tank. Hayward says the maximum working pressure for my installed filter is 50 PSI. Assuming anything over 50 PSI would cause hard plastic shrapnel. Old, original filter, and this filter had a typical running PSI of 20. Pool and filter/cleaning systems have been operating since 2002 with virtually no problems. Filter pump motor was changed out for a 2EZ 1HP motor in 2015. Cleaning motor is Century 1 HP single speed (3450rpm) . Not sure where you are getting your info, but it seems to contradict the manufacturer. Recommended pressure for in-floor manifold is 20-24 PSI, which is what the guage registers. Not sure what you mean by the inline strainer, unless you mean the strainer on the floor cleaning pump, which is clear. Otherwise there is none.