I posted about this before, but I'm starting a new thread because I think I'm onto a different issue. I have a Pentair Clean & Clear cartridge filter & pump system and every single time I have cleaned my cartridge element out so far this summer (which, since it's brand new has been like 3 times), my skimmer has started making a gulping noise and my pump basket looks like it won't fill up totally with water. I've been reading over my manuals trying to make sure that I am following every single step exactly.
At first, I thought I was just losing a bunch of water and that it was making my water level in the pool way lower as I sprayed down the filter to clean it, but I've since installed a valve to stop water from coming in from the skimmer and bought a second cartridge element, so I seriously had the pump basket and filter open for all of 60 seconds. Maybe. So it can't really be serious water loss.
The only thing I can think is this. I'm not doing the "open the waste drain valve" step in my manual, because I can't find this drain valve. There is a black bolt on the bottom of my filter that looks like it fits the bill, but it looks impossible to open without a wrench or something. If the manufacturer wanted you to open this and drain out all the gross dirty water, wouldn't they have made it easier to open?
Do people really drain the water from their filter every time they clean out the cartridge element? Is it necessary? Could this be causing my issue?
Right now, my skimmer flapper is sort of sucking down towards the basket at a 90 degree angle instead of floating along nicely, even though I added more water to the pool and turned the filter off for a while to give it a rest?
I'd hate for this to happen every time I cleaned out the cartridge element because it just doesn't seem normal. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!
At first, I thought I was just losing a bunch of water and that it was making my water level in the pool way lower as I sprayed down the filter to clean it, but I've since installed a valve to stop water from coming in from the skimmer and bought a second cartridge element, so I seriously had the pump basket and filter open for all of 60 seconds. Maybe. So it can't really be serious water loss.
The only thing I can think is this. I'm not doing the "open the waste drain valve" step in my manual, because I can't find this drain valve. There is a black bolt on the bottom of my filter that looks like it fits the bill, but it looks impossible to open without a wrench or something. If the manufacturer wanted you to open this and drain out all the gross dirty water, wouldn't they have made it easier to open?
Do people really drain the water from their filter every time they clean out the cartridge element? Is it necessary? Could this be causing my issue?
Right now, my skimmer flapper is sort of sucking down towards the basket at a 90 degree angle instead of floating along nicely, even though I added more water to the pool and turned the filter off for a while to give it a rest?
I'd hate for this to happen every time I cleaned out the cartridge element because it just doesn't seem normal. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!
