Last night we had 3.5" of rain....this morning my pool is at normal level. The multiport valve on the Jacuzzi Laser 190 appears to be leaking through to the waste/backflow port. It's 25+ years old so it doesn't owe me anything. I'm leaning toward replacing the whole thing at the end of the season, though location is a challenge. Replacing the multiport seams feasible, but is it really an economical choice? The equipment is under a deck, access is limited, plus I need top plumbing connections so replacing it with another sand filter is a more logical choice than a cartridge, even though getting the old one out will be a chore. Is there any way to determine if, or how much, water might be leaking around the sand? I did use some fiber to remove dissolved iron two weeks ago and saw no evidence of the fiber coming from the return. My leanings right now are toward a Pentair (just replaced my AO Smith pump with an Optiflo, seems to be a well designed and manufactured product) but are there really any significant differences between sand filters?
Jacuzzi sand filter issue
- Thread starter Vickery
- Start date
The Pentair Tagelus TA60D seems to be a good choice, pricing is attractive. The 60D is only $20 more than the 50D with almost half again the capacity. The flow rate is pretty well matched to my pump. The ClearPro option sounds interesting...but is it any more effective than adding a couple of ounces of fiber to the standard sand filter?
I would avoid any additive in your filter except sand. What is the gpm of your pump and the gpm of the 60D?
The pump curve shows 70gpm @ 12' of head (max capacity.) The hose run is about 18" from the pump (elevated to filter height) to the filter, another few feet from the filter to the return. Most of the head the pump will see is the filter itself. With the filter rated @ 60gpm, it matches the pump capacity @ 20' total head. I don't know the restriction of corrugated 1.5" plastic hose. The question really regards whether the ClearPro system is worth the extra cost. One of the greatest features of sand being ease of maintenance, would the possibility of more maintenance be worth it...or is it a gimmick? The other concern right now is in the first part - how to tell if the water is going through the sand in the old filter, or bypassing. I've valved off the drain, so I'm not losing water that way, but is the water actually being filtered?
For the best efficiency, a filter should generally be rated about 25% greater than the pumps gpm....just food for thought.
I do not understand how your water can bypass your filter?
I do not understand how your water can bypass your filter?
One thing to keep in mind if you're installing the filter yourself. Pentair has changed their warranty to 60 days for 'non-professionally' installed equipment. While I love Pentair equipment as a rule, this will definitely keep me from buying their equipment in the future.
You could have water leaking past the diverter (spider) gasket to waste. The easiest way to determine how much is to get into the waste line when the pump is running and see how much flow you have with the valve in 'filter' mode.
How much water are you having to add to the pool weekly?
You could have water leaking past the diverter (spider) gasket to waste. The easiest way to determine how much is to get into the waste line when the pump is running and see how much flow you have with the valve in 'filter' mode.
How much water are you having to add to the pool weekly?
Part of the water is either going through the sand to the drain, or directly to the drain. Right now the drain is valved off, with the valve open, it started as a trickle and became 2" overnight. There was little pressure behind it at first, now full pump pressure. I don't know how this multivalve diverts, my concern is that it may be leaking to "whirlpool" as well as to the drain. Obviously Pentair is protecting its contractor/distributor chain with warranties. It is their right to do so. They aren't alone. But this isn't rocket surgery. The only other option is to depend upon the quality of the manufacturer to build solid equipment.
Duraleigh: Without knowing the resistance of the filter -and I haven't seen any ratings on any of them - it would seem that most ag pumps can deliver far more flow than most filters are rated for. The 3/4hp pump I'm using will deliver 70gpm @ 12' head, 35pgh @35'. The 3/4hp was the smallest pump I could find, yet when matched to a 60gpm filter gives me a 4 hour turnover at max flow. It is difficult to calculate the total flow without all the specs. The filters have no pressure/flow curves, just a max flow. Flow rate will depend upon pressure delivered, but the only pressure rating specified is maximum system pressure, not recommended working pressure. Right now my filter is functioning @ 12psi, clean. Max filter rating is 37gpm. But I don't know what the actual pass through is without a flow meter. Pool School states that usual operating pressure will be between 8 and 25 psi. That is a pretty broad range of delivered flow, depending on the pump/filter combination. Obviously I'm overthinking this, but looking at the Pentair system performance curves, they put a 3/4, 1 and 1.5 hp pump on the same filters with the flow rate depending upon the filter. With water temps expected to reach into the 90's at sometime during the summer, I'll be pumping a lot just to keep up with the organics. Electrical consumption is a concern, so the least amount of excessive power draw is a plus. (I'm a former GE small frame motor specialist, so I understand motor curves.) It would seem that a larger filter with less restriction would be a better payback than a variable speed drive.
Duraleigh: Without knowing the resistance of the filter -and I haven't seen any ratings on any of them - it would seem that most ag pumps can deliver far more flow than most filters are rated for. The 3/4hp pump I'm using will deliver 70gpm @ 12' head, 35pgh @35'. The 3/4hp was the smallest pump I could find, yet when matched to a 60gpm filter gives me a 4 hour turnover at max flow. It is difficult to calculate the total flow without all the specs. The filters have no pressure/flow curves, just a max flow. Flow rate will depend upon pressure delivered, but the only pressure rating specified is maximum system pressure, not recommended working pressure. Right now my filter is functioning @ 12psi, clean. Max filter rating is 37gpm. But I don't know what the actual pass through is without a flow meter. Pool School states that usual operating pressure will be between 8 and 25 psi. That is a pretty broad range of delivered flow, depending on the pump/filter combination. Obviously I'm overthinking this, but looking at the Pentair system performance curves, they put a 3/4, 1 and 1.5 hp pump on the same filters with the flow rate depending upon the filter. With water temps expected to reach into the 90's at sometime during the summer, I'll be pumping a lot just to keep up with the organics. Electrical consumption is a concern, so the least amount of excessive power draw is a plus. (I'm a former GE small frame motor specialist, so I understand motor curves.) It would seem that a larger filter with less restriction would be a better payback than a variable speed drive.
Multiport valves have partitions/dividers (for lack of a better term) in the top and bottom sections of the valve. As you rotate the valve through the different positions the partitions either open or block pathways through the valve. If the spider gasket goes bad it will allow water to leak between the ports that should be closed. There is only one web of the spider gasket between the inlet and the waste port so the water is leaking directly from the pump to waste.
Blocking off the waste port stops the water from leaving the pool circuit, but the valve could still be leaking internally and is possibly leaking between the inlet and outlet ports, therefore bypassing the filter media.
If you wanted to you could buy a new diverter for the valve and replace it without having to replace the entire filter or valve. The diverter for the DVk-6 or DVK-7 is the same part and it's about $40. The gasket is bonded to the diverter so they are one part.
Blocking off the waste port stops the water from leaving the pool circuit, but the valve could still be leaking internally and is possibly leaking between the inlet and outlet ports, therefore bypassing the filter media.
If you wanted to you could buy a new diverter for the valve and replace it without having to replace the entire filter or valve. The diverter for the DVk-6 or DVK-7 is the same part and it's about $40. The gasket is bonded to the diverter so they are one part.
I understand the multiport concept, it's how much it is or isn't working that I'm wondering. Every setting seemed to leak to the drain, so the diverter is likely shot. It's old, screws are rusty (obviously not ss) so would have to be drilled out. So I'm thinking that replacing it would be an advantage all the way around. I would rather wait until the end of the season but if it isn't filtering, then its time for a change. That was why I was asking if there was any way to test it to see if it is all leaking around or just a little. If it starts spitting clouds when I vacuum this weekend, I'll have an answer.
Without opening it up there's not a good way to tell how much it's bypassing the media.
One thing you could do is pour a little DE in the skimmer and see how much of it comes back out the return. If you used a fine mesh bag like a slime bag to catch it you'd have a pretty good idea how much is bypassing the filter. Of course, it may not be worth going to that much trouble.
One thing you could do is pour a little DE in the skimmer and see how much of it comes back out the return. If you used a fine mesh bag like a slime bag to catch it you'd have a pretty good idea how much is bypassing the filter. Of course, it may not be worth going to that much trouble.
I thought about that. Since I still have a little residual precipitated iron to vacuum out, I'll look for the tell-tale from the return. Then I'll have a better idea.