Lateral check-sand change-getting debris in return jets

[djselvey]

Here is our story- 5 year old waterway 22# sand filter

last summer noticed some sand on the pool floor by the return jets around the same time the pipe that the backwash would flow through also started to leak a steady steam of water, we put a stop-c valve on it, solved that problem, but still noticed some sand and possibly debris coming into the pool. Every time I would try to vacuum to waste it would come out the return jets if I didn't close them off. It was near the end of the season so we just dealt with it and then closed it.

Upon opening we changed the sand and checked all the laterals, one seemed that it could be loose so we replaced it- (the entire set and center tube). Did the backwash , did the rinse, added a new pump since the last one seized, got the chemicals going and the water turned from green to a very cloudy blue.

We attempted to vacuum the debris after the chemicals were level and all the debris (minus what was caught in the basket) came out the return jets.

What could it possibly be now?

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

It's not unheard of for an extremely dirty sand filter to blow stuff back into the pool. You can either backwash every time it starts blowing dirt through, or vacuum to waste.

That can also be a symptom of a pump that is too large for the filter.

 

[Richard320]

Here is our story- 5 year old waterway 22# sand filter

last summer noticed some sand on the pool floor by the return jets around the same time the pipe that the backwash would flow through also started to leak a steady steam of water, we put a stop-c valve on it, solved that problem, but still noticed some sand and possibly debris coming into the pool. Every time I would try to vacuum to waste it would come out the return jets if I didn't close them off. It was near the end of the season so we just dealt with it and then closed it.

Upon opening we changed the sand and checked all the laterals, one seemed that it could be loose so we replaced it- (the entire set and center tube). Did the backwash , did the rinse, added a new pump since the last one seized, got the chemicals going and the water turned from green to a very cloudy blue.

We attempted to vacuum the debris after the chemicals were level and all the debris (minus what was caught in the basket) came out the return jets.

What could it possibly be now?

It sounds like a bad spider gasket in the multiport valve to me. When you started dribbling out the waste line, the proper fix would have been to replace the gasket, not put a valve on the pipe.

 

[borjis]

What Richard said....spider gasket was first in mind.

 

[djselvey]

thank you very much- all my searching lead me to spider gasket. Interesting thing yesterday, I wanted to be SURE that there wasnt a bunch of waste built up and tried to backwash. The water barely moved out of the waste valve, and it didnt have any debris in it at all. But when I sent to change the setting to rinse pushing the level on the filter to switch it made dirty water pour out like crazy though the backwash port. This thing has ran like a dream for years.

Thanks for the input and advice.

 

[duraleigh]

I think the Experts above have solved your issue.....it's either wa-a-a-y too dirty or the spider gasket. My bet is on the spider gasket.

That said, I was vacuuming my choked with algae pool to "filter" with my very large 900 lb (sand) filter and started getting blowback into the pool. All filters have a capacity and when you fill them chock full (as I did) you are going to get debris back to the pool.