1 year old Pentair Cartridge filter .. deteriorating

[Dave C In Ontario]

Good afternoon..
I have a Pentair cartridge filter.
The builder installed the pool last spring, so these filters are just one year old now.
I was going to open the pool for the season soon, so i opened up the the filter to clean the cartridges and noticed all the tops and bottoms of the each cartridge deteriorating..there is blue particles that easily come off.
It certainly doesn't look right.. I did read another post and someone mentioned high PH .. but if you look at my pool logs from last summer, you'll notice I really never had a PH issue... near the end of the season after being stable, it kept going up .. but nothing a little MA didn't easily handle. I tested 4 -5 time a week at least.
I test with 2006C Taylor kit.
All of last year ( because of the supply issues) I didn't run my SWG.. so was just doing daily doses of liquid chlorine.

Recently I did take my spa water sample in to be tested, and they reported my Ph was fine ( as well did my spa - self test), but the ph drop test was reporting a little high.. I bought a new bottle of Ph and compared the 2 bottles results.. and they reported the same ..

 

[Jimrahbe]

Dave,

My cartridges are over 7 years old and don't look that bad.

Show us a pic of how your pump and filter are connected together.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Dave C In Ontario]

Dave,

My cartridges are over 7 years old and don't look that bad.

Show us a pic of how your pump and filter are connected together.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Dave C In Ontario]

And just to mention .. The filter never showed a spike in pressure, just always a stable low pressure.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Just an observation...each of the cartridges shows damage in the same location, probably where the manifold was resting.

I was searching for thread from last year in which the OP had alternated between two sets of cartridges but only one set showed damage. I believe the OP contacted Pentair for a warranty claim. I can't find the thread now.

A couple other similar posts:

Pentair filter cartridge end cap deterioration

The blue end caps of my pentair cartridge filters are deteriorating. When cleaning them today, I noticed the rubber is very brittle as well. Pool and filters are 8 months old. Salt water. Is this normal?

www.troublefreepool.com

Pentair Clean & Clear Plus 420 filter element lifetime?

So I had my pool installed last year, and started up in May. I ran the pool all summer with great water chemistry (thanks). I had the pool builder close to maintain warranty for the ridiculous price of $400 CAD (around $320 USD). I'll be opening the pool myself. So I opened up my filter and...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Jimrahbe]

Dave,

We have seen several of these filters plumbed backwards and I was hoping to get lucky..

But your filter is plumbed correctly.

I have no idea what is causing your problem, but doubt pH being a little high would cause and issues.

Do you add your liquid chlorine to your skimmer or in front of a working return?

Did you or your pool builder dump in any "magic" chemicals?

Let's see if Matt can tell us what might cause that plastic to degrade. Calling @JoyfulNoise

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Dave C In Ontario]

Dave,

We have seen several of these filters plumbed backwards and I was hoping to get lucky..

But your filter is plumbed correctly.

I have no idea what is causing your problem, but doubt pH being a little high would cause and issues.

Do you add your liquid chlorine to your skimmer or in front of a working return?

Did you or your pool builder dump in any "magic" chemicals?

Let's see if Matt can tell us what might cause that plastic to degrade. Calling @JoyfulNoise

Thanks,

Jim R.

I would need to add anywhere from 2 cups to 4 cups of chlorine.. I would slowly pour a quarter of what ever amount in front of each return ( I have 4 ).. reach out as far as I could as to not splash the walls.

 

[Dave C In Ontario]

Dave,

We have seen several of these filters plumbed backwards and I was hoping to get lucky..

But your filter is plumbed correctly.

I have no idea what is causing your problem, but doubt pH being a little high would cause and issues.

Do you add your liquid chlorine to your skimmer or in front of a working return?

Did you or your pool builder dump in any "magic" chemicals?

Let's see if Matt can tell us what might cause that plastic to degrade. Calling @JoyfulNoise

Thanks,

Jim R.

Also.. The pool company closed the pool for me last year.
Here is a picture of the bottles I found in my skimmer this spring..

 

[Jimrahbe]

Dave,

I don't know squat about closing a pool.. But, when they add this stuff is the pump still running? Do they remove the cartridges after the pool is closed or do they sit and stew in it all winter?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Dave C In Ontario]

Dave,

I don't know squat about closing a pool.. But, when they add this stuff is the pump still running? Do they remove the cartridges after the pool is closed or do they sit and stew in it all winter?

Thanks,

Jim R.

They're not really here long enough for the pool to be running for very long.

The Algaecide could have been added when they arrived, they had to install a safety cover so they were here longer then it normally would take .. so I want to say it could have had 2 hours to circulate.
But I didn't see them actually add it .. so i can't say for sure.
Then the pool is drained down about a 8 inches. ( usually more, but I have a baja/tanning ledge and they wanted to water to be higher for liner reasons.
Filter and pump are emptied ( drain plugs ), and RV anti freeze is added to the pump and lines after they are blown out / airlocked (floor drain).
SWG is removed and stored indoors.
I asked the pool company if the cartridges are good to be left in the filter during winter and they said no problem.

 

[mknauss]

Did they clean the cartridges when winterized? What did the cartridges look like at that time?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Looks like freeze/thaw damage to me. No, cartridges should not be left outdoors to freeze. The chemicals added wouldn’t do much harm.

Get Pentair to replace them under warranty and close your pool yourself. That way you know exactly what is going on and you save yourself A LOT of money.

 

[Dave C In Ontario]

Did they clean the cartridges when winterized? What did the cartridges look like at that time?

They did not, I opened it yesterday to clean them.
There was a lot of weed seeds in there.

 

[mknauss]

They did not, I opened it yesterday to clean them

Bummer. As Matt stated above, should not have been left in the filter housing all winter. And never should be left to dry out dirty.

 

[Dave C In Ontario]

Looks like freeze/thaw damage to me. No, cartridges should not be left outdoors to freeze. The chemicals added wouldn’t do much harm.

Get Pentair to replace them under warranty and close your pool yourself. That way you know exactly what is going on and you save yourself A LOT of money.

I wasn't sure the warranty would cover it, but I will ask the pool company...
I purchased a safety cover from the pool company, and had the close for free as part of the install.

 

[Newdude]

Looks like freeze/thaw damage to me. No, cartridges should not be left outdoors to freeze

*wet cartridges.

If they blew the system and walked away, they never dried and the water expanding when it froze blew them out identical to backwards plumbing.

Mine took a full week to dry outside of the filter, with a needed flip, upside down, mid week.

Once dry as a bone they went back in the filter and stored in my (cold) outside garage and did fine.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I wasn't sure the warranty would cover it, but I will ask the pool company...
I purchased a safety cover from the pool company, and had the close for free as part of the install.

You should be able to call Pentair directly. They’ll probably need model and serial numbers for all the equipment. You can try with the pool company but I honestly wouldn’t trust them.

 

[JamesW]

Some possibilities:

1) Mice chewed on the edges. The damage is limited to specific spots with the other areas looking untouched, which indicates an attack concentrated to the bad areas.

2) Some people use a pressure washer to clean cartridges and they might have hit those spots with too much pressure.

3) The tops look oily, which might indicate that maybe they were sat in some sort of oil for some reason. Oil can break down rubber compounds.

 

[Dave C In Ontario]

Thanks for your input ..
Take away...
1. Clean filters in fall.
2. Filters in the house for winter.

*wet cartridges.

If they blew the system and walked away, they never dried and the water expanding when it froze blew them out identical to backwards plumbing.

Mine took a full week to dry outside of the filter, with a needed flip, upside down, mid week.

Once dry as a bone they went back in the filter and stored in my (cold) outside garage and did fine.

This .. makes sense ..it was getting very cold before they closed the pool .. again .. supply issues for the cover..

 

[Dave C In Ontario]

Some possibilities:

1) Mice chewed on the edges. The damage is limited to specific spots with the other areas looking untouched, which indicates an attack concentrated to the bad areas.

2) Some people use a pressure washer to clean cartridges and they might have hit those spots with too much pressure.

3) The tops look oily, which might indicate that maybe they were sat in some sort of oil for some reason. Oil can break down rubber compounds.


View attachment 408236

No oil .. just a little wet and the lighting making it look that way.
Mice.. maybe .. I did plug my plumbing with rubber value stops where I removed the SWG .. just to keep them out of the pipes.. didn't want one building a nest or dying in there!
But the damage is on the bottom of all ..and the top of all ..and only one spot on each .. I am starting to think freeze damage is the issue.