DE Leaking Back Into Pool - Driving Me Bonkers

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anonymouscuban

Well-known member
May 19, 2017
51
Porter Ranch, CA
Hey all.

You guys have helped solve some heater problems in the past so thought I see what you guys say about a problem I have now with my DE filter.

The darn thing is spewing DE back into the pool. It was real bad last weekend. I replaced all the grids. One of them had a tear but all had really brittle frames. It's a Jandy 60 sqft model, if you need to know.

It improved dramatically after replacing the grids but I'm still getting a small amount getting back into the pool. I can't see it in the return water but by the next morning, I can see a fine layer of DE on the bottom of the pool. I'm not sure if its still residual that was left from before or not. I just changed out the grids on Wednesday.

Here is what I've done to troubleshoot so far:

  1. Replaced all filter grids
  2. Inspected manifold and found no cracks
  3. Inspected stand-pipe; again no cracks
  4. Replaced stand-pipe o-ring
  5. Back washed a bit of DE out of the filter just to make sure I didn't overload it with DE. I just did so not sure if this fixed it.

Anything else I should check?

Really going nuts with this.

Thanks.

Alex
 
I am having the same issue. Replaced the manifold, filters look good. I am wondering if the DE is not catching on the elements (ground too fine?) and slipping by that way? DE can be seen in the return water, but then stops after some time. Is there a way to pressure test the filter tank to seek if there are any cracks in the equipment that cannot be visually seen from the outside?

Thanks in advance for your advise.
 
Just disassembled the filter. Multi-port valve is fine, no breaks. No cracks in the intake/outfeed PVC pipes in tank. Filter elements look good, all less than 2 years old and no tears. My suspicion is the connection between the manifold and the filter elements not being tight? Anyone else have this issue?
 
Finished putting everything back together. Should have taken a picture but forgot. It appears as if I did not properly seat the filter elements in my Hayward Microclear filter into the manifold top. There is a 1/2 notch at the top to guide the element into the manifold.

(I would put in a picture but it always seems too difficult in this site)

When reassembling the filter, I made sure the elements were fully seated, put it all back together and all is well. Just offering this in case someone else has the same problem.
 
Another piece of the puzzle....

I opened up the filter. I don't see ANY DE stuck to the new filter grids. This seems very odd to me since I always recall there being DE stuck to the filter grids every time in the past. I'm not expert but this tells me that the water has found a path of less resistance. I'm guessing the filter grids are not seated and sealed properly on the manifold.

I also noticed that the little tube with the filter in the end that goes into the stand pipe is not sealed where it enters the manifold. I'm not sure if that is supposed to be tight. I would suspect it should be or unfiltered water will just bypass the filter grids enter back into the return through it.
 
OK guys. I think I solved my issue. It was the breather tube. There is a rubber piece that seals the hole in the manifold where the breather tube inserts. That piece was missing. DE and dirt was leaking out through the hole. I think this is also why there was no DE stuck to the filter grids because water was just bypassing the grids.

Luckily I have a pretty good pool supply store near me that had this piece. Got everything reassembled and it seems to be working now. No DE so far back in the pool after an hour of running. I would have seen it in my spa by now.

I attached a couple of pics. One is the hole in the manifold that wasn't sealed. The other pic is the new breather tube assembly with the rubber gasket to seal the hole.
a7c71a2559d287830f659098148c12eb.jpg
166e47ba06c9d2661b0011532f6f20a3.jpg
 
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