DE in pool, replaced grids, what am I doing wrong?

[threecheese]

Hi,

I have an ongoing problem with DE in the pool, and thanks to you folks, I have been able to make progress. However, it just recently got a lot worse, and my efforts are not yielding success.

1. Knowing that suction side leaks can cause DE to 'puff back' through returns, I have identified and fixed a suction side leak (pump o-ring).

2. I replaced 4 grids that had small holes or cracked plastic. I have an older pac-fab stainless steel filter, the plastic manifold had no cracks in it that I could find.
When disassembling the filter I noticed that the nuts were loose, so DE probably got into the system through the manifold-->grid port. Now everything is tight as I can make it (I was sure this was going to fix the issue completely).

Despite the above repairs, there is DE in the pool again.

I am at my wits end.

Is there something else I can fix? All of my pool equipment is quite old (came with the house).

Details:

Last summer, and in the beginning of this summer, I would get a bit of grey DE that would accumulate mainly on the vinyl seams after a few days.
Last weekend, right after my second backwash of the season, I found a *ton* of white DE all over the bottom.
I just spent the entire day disassembling and cleaning the filter, and replaced 4 grids. I was so proud, thought I had it solved; I added DE to the filter, vacced all the old DE out of the pool, and let the filter run for 4 hours - expecting to find a clean pool. What I found was a bunch of white DE.

A probably unrelated symptom is my Polaris 380 (booster-pump-backed) wheels have stopped moving (though the rest of the jets work fine), and after many repairs I have it isolated to a pressure issue.

Hoping someone can offer some tips to fix my old hardware.

 

[jblizzle]

You should not tighten the nut on the manifold very much at all, just snug. That could be why your grids are getting broken.

Did you not replace all the grids? Was the o-ring on the stand pipe intact and sealing well? Have you check the spider gasket for problems?

 

[threecheese]

Thanks for your response, my replies inline:

You should not tighten the nut on the manifold very much at all, just snug. That could be why your grids are getting broken.

I may have overtightened them a bit, I was over-eager thinking I had found the culprit.

Did you not replace all the grids?

Three of the grids were still white, they look to have been replaced recently (only owned the pool for 1.5 years). I took each grid out and carefully inspected for tears, ended up replacing 4 of 7.

Was the o-ring on the stand pipe intact and sealing well?

I replaced and lubricated the o-ring while I had it disassembled

Have you check the spider gasket for problems?

Spider gasket is in the multiport valve? I have not cracked that open (it's old), I will find an appropriate youtube video and disassemble it immediately. Thank you!

 

[yetis]

I am having the same issue. Is there any safety reason NOT to swim in the pool? I have a robotic cleaner that has been cleaning up the excess DE. I imagine we have a month at best of the pool season, so I am hoping I can just live with it. The filter is likely 15-20 years old (knowing the house and the prior owner...) and being as I have now replaced everything else, it just seems fitting.

Thank you

 

[jblizzle]

I am having the same issue. Is there any safety reason NOT to swim in the pool? I have a robotic cleaner that has been cleaning up the excess DE. I imagine we have a month at best of the pool season, so I am hoping I can just live with it. The filter is likely 15-20 years old (knowing the house and the prior owner...) and being as I have now replaced everything else, it just seems fitting.

Thank you

Please ask questions in your own threads and not hijack other member's threads. Thanks, jblizzle

To quickly answer the question: There is not safety reason not to swim that I am aware of. DE is an inhalation hazard when it is dry.