- Jun 2, 2018
- 107
- Pool Size
- 12690
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Short synopsis:
- noticed 7lb drop in filter pressure with no change in media
- had a couple instances of alerts on my SWG for low flow
- opened and cleaned filters then recharged with 9lb of DE slurry but pressure still low from norm.
- DE repeatedly deposited on bottom of pool after cleaning filter
- Opened filter 2nd time found DE all on bottom of filter tank but not on filter elements
- took off pressure relief and seals intact and it does drop to 0 when pump is off
- checked pump impellers couldn’t feel any debris
- switched intake between skimmers and main drains with no difference in pressure/flow
Long Story:
I had noticed that in the past couple of months or so the filter pressure on my QUAD 60 was significantly lower while on high than what it usually read. It sits around 20lbs+ clean filter but was closer to 16lbs now. During some of the recent warmer temps I would occasionally get a low flow warning from my SWG, but wasn’t constant enough to raise much concern. So with the start of the pool season coming I figured a good cleaning might help with whatever was going on. I opened it up and the filters were pretty dirty so I throughly cleaned it, rinsing the elements and flushing the DE that settled on the bottom out the drain plug hole. I buttoned it back up, purged the air and began to add DE slurry into the skimmer. I only noticed a very slight increase in filter pressure after I added the full 9lbs. I let it run for a few more hours to hopefully “bed” the DE better and expecting the pressure to rise a couple more lbs.
While in the process of adding MA I like to set the pump to max to help with the dispersing of the acid. I noticed that some DE appeared to have settled on the bottom of the pool. I figured maybe I just added too much and set the vacuum out to clean it up. Finished with the MA and looked at the filter pressure and it was still a good 7lbs lower than usual while on high. Over the next few days I noticed more DE was depositing on the bottom of the pool. Fast forward to today and after reading some of the other posts about this issue I set out to open up the filter and see what was going on. I popped the top off and noticed right away the filters had no DE embedded in them. It all was sitting on the bottom of the filter tank (what hadn’t returned to the pool).
I took off the pressure relief valve and the seals looked intact and good condition. Took out the basket in the pump housing and couldn’t feel anything on the impeller. I have an intake side valve to adjust suction on the main drains vs the skimmers and toggling between those made no difference either in the case of a blockage somewhere. I buttoned everything back up and ran it again but no difference in pressure. Makes sense for low pressure reading on the filter since it’s just going right through the mesh. But why is my pressure off and why didn’t the filter elements get coated with DE??
- noticed 7lb drop in filter pressure with no change in media
- had a couple instances of alerts on my SWG for low flow
- opened and cleaned filters then recharged with 9lb of DE slurry but pressure still low from norm.
- DE repeatedly deposited on bottom of pool after cleaning filter
- Opened filter 2nd time found DE all on bottom of filter tank but not on filter elements
- took off pressure relief and seals intact and it does drop to 0 when pump is off
- checked pump impellers couldn’t feel any debris
- switched intake between skimmers and main drains with no difference in pressure/flow
Long Story:
I had noticed that in the past couple of months or so the filter pressure on my QUAD 60 was significantly lower while on high than what it usually read. It sits around 20lbs+ clean filter but was closer to 16lbs now. During some of the recent warmer temps I would occasionally get a low flow warning from my SWG, but wasn’t constant enough to raise much concern. So with the start of the pool season coming I figured a good cleaning might help with whatever was going on. I opened it up and the filters were pretty dirty so I throughly cleaned it, rinsing the elements and flushing the DE that settled on the bottom out the drain plug hole. I buttoned it back up, purged the air and began to add DE slurry into the skimmer. I only noticed a very slight increase in filter pressure after I added the full 9lbs. I let it run for a few more hours to hopefully “bed” the DE better and expecting the pressure to rise a couple more lbs.
While in the process of adding MA I like to set the pump to max to help with the dispersing of the acid. I noticed that some DE appeared to have settled on the bottom of the pool. I figured maybe I just added too much and set the vacuum out to clean it up. Finished with the MA and looked at the filter pressure and it was still a good 7lbs lower than usual while on high. Over the next few days I noticed more DE was depositing on the bottom of the pool. Fast forward to today and after reading some of the other posts about this issue I set out to open up the filter and see what was going on. I popped the top off and noticed right away the filters had no DE embedded in them. It all was sitting on the bottom of the filter tank (what hadn’t returned to the pool).
I took off the pressure relief valve and the seals looked intact and good condition. Took out the basket in the pump housing and couldn’t feel anything on the impeller. I have an intake side valve to adjust suction on the main drains vs the skimmers and toggling between those made no difference either in the case of a blockage somewhere. I buttoned everything back up and ran it again but no difference in pressure. Makes sense for low pressure reading on the filter since it’s just going right through the mesh. But why is my pressure off and why didn’t the filter elements get coated with DE??