Sand Out of Return Jets in NC

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You'll note one of the Q&As talks about what I said above - the age of the filter and whether it's worth it to do a few lateral changes or just replace the entire unit as noted below. But if you can call some of those vendors linked above they should be able to confirm. My gut tells me you have an old filter, so you would either need laterals for a pre-2007 S-244 or just replace the entire unit with something fresh. Your budget might dictate which choice to take.

Lateral Holder Ass'y, Fits Sm244s & Sm220s (sx242ma1) - INYOPools.com

SX242MA1 - LATERAL HOLDER Rear'Y, FITS SM244S & SM220S (SX242MA1)
www.inyopools.com www.inyopools.com
 
Texas Splash said:
That was my dilemma and was hoping an online vendor like Inyopools or Poolzoom might confirm. We can ask @1poolman1 for a second opinion. I'll poke around some more as well.
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Well scratch that. The thing that they screw into is also broken. Pool store has the entire assembly for $90. I’m seeing them online for $78. I may just go grab one from pool store so I can go ahead and finish today.
 
Bryleemom0709 said:
Well scratch that. The thing that they screw into is also broken. Pool store has the entire assembly for $90. I’m seeing them online for $78. I may just go grab one from pool store so I can go ahead and finish today
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Probably all for the best. It would stink to replace a couple laterals then have more things break a week or two later. At least this way you know the guts of the filter are sound.
 
Texas Splash said:
Probably all for the best. It would stink to replace a couple laterals then have more things break a week or two later. At least this way you know the guts of the filter are sound.
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Ok. New assembly is in. 300lbs sand is in. Water filled up a little past the level of sand. Can you walk me through next steps after I put everything back together?
 
Once the valve is back on and plumbing hooked up, do a short backwash to remove the "fines" that got through the screening of the sand. If you don't they will end up in the pool. Do a quick rinse and put the filter back in service.
 
Bryleemom0709 said:
Ok. New assembly is in. 300lbs sand is in. Water filled up a little past the level of sand.
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Holy smokes! You don't mess around. Wow, that was fast. :goodjob:

So with the filter full and MPV and plumbing reconnected, you'll first need to do a thorough backwash of the new sand. Even new sand needs some cleaning, and it will help to pack it down as well. Once the backwash is done, be sure to run it through a very good RINSE cycle. watch your backwash/waste line/hose and/or sight glass for clear water and give it an additional 30 seconds or so after that to be sure.

After that, place it on FILTER and monitor. Curious ......... did you happen to add some water to the bottom of the filter before dumping the heavy sand on top of the new laterals?
 
Texas Splash said:
Holy smokes! You don't mess around. Wow, that was fast. :goodjob:

So with the filter full and MPV and plumbing reconnected, you'll first need to do a thorough backwash of the new sand. Even new sand needs some cleaning, and it will help to pack it down as well. Once the backwash is done, be sure to run it through a very good RINSE cycle. watch your backwash/waste line/hose and/or sight glass for clear water and give it an additional 30 seconds or so after that to be sure.

After that, place it on FILTER and monitor. Curious ......... did you happen to add some water to the bottom of the filter before dumping the heavy sand on top of the new laterals?
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I sure did!! Binged youtube last night lol.

I want to make sure I understand backwash. I just lay out the blue hose and turn the filter to backwash and it just drains water out? Is that all there is to a back wash?
 

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Bryleemom0709 said:
I sure did!! Binged youtube last night lol.

I want to make sure I understand backwash. I just lay out the blue hose and turn the filter to backwash and it just drains water out? Is that all there is to a back wash?
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Most important part - turn pump on. With the valve in "backwash" the water enters the filter at the bottom and washes the sand bed upward sending the dirt out the "blue" hose. After it looks clean (it should go from looking rather brown to somewhat white) turn pump off. That shouldn't take more than a minute or so. Move valve to rinse. Turn pump on for a brief time. Water enters the filter from the top, goes through the sand, recompacts the sand bed and washes most of the remaining dirty water out the backwash line. Turn pump off, move valve to filter. It is not unusual to still get a small cloud of dirty water back to the pool when the pump is turned on again. BEST PRACTICE is to never move the valve unless the pump is off.
 
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Texas Splash said:
Anytime you are ready. :)
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Haha ok! Since you have all the answers to my questions….do I leave it on “filter” while I vacuum or put it on something else?

Also. Is there a way to know if my pressure gauge is working or not? It hasn’t moved since the pool guy came last week.
 

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You can vacuum in FILTER which will return the sand to the filter. FYI - If you ever have bunch of junk on the floor and don't want it in the filter, you can vacuum to WASTE as that bypasses the filter and it shoot s right out into the yard. Whenever you vacuum to WASTE though, watch your pool's water level. It can drop fast. That's not an issue on FILTER though.

If the filter gauge hasn't changed at all or the needle doesn't fall to zero when off, it may be bad. A victim of winter freeze perhaps. Or it may have something jammed up in its port. Once things settle down and you shut the system off, you can unscrew it and check the opening for any blockage. If you don't see anything, it's probably just bad.
 
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Texas Splash said:
You can vacuum in FILTER which will return the sand to the filter. FYI - If you ever have bunch of junk on the floor and don't want it in the filter, you can vacuum to WASTE as that bypasses the filter and it shoot s right out into the yard. Whenever you vacuum to WASTE though, watch your pool's water level. It can drop fast. That's not an issue on FILTER though.

If the filter gauge hasn't changed at all or the needle doesn't fall to zero when off, it may be bad. A victim of winter freeze perhaps. Or it may have something jammed up in its port. Once things settle down and you shut the system off, you can unscrew it and check the opening for any blockage. If you don't see anything, it's probably just bad.
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Thank you!!!!! I’m assuming I should let the filter run for at least 24 hours and then check my chemicals again?
 
Test results post filter sand change:
FC-4.5
CC-1
PH-7.3
TA-110
CYA-25
TC-5.5
Does everything look ok? Should I add a little liquid chlorine tonight? Also, my log says that my PH is too low. Do I need to do anything with that?
I will say it looks a tad cloudy in the deep end, but I guess that could be all the sand I ruffled up.
 

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