Salt pool. Hayward DE filter. This is my 4th or 5th closing.
When I broke the hayward down for closing I noticed a few things that chapped my backside.
1. The color - BROWN. Now, I THINK that my well water has turned and I am now pumping iron or some other schmutz into my pool through the well water. This summer the water tended to take on a tea color after refilling and the white step surfaces stained. I added Miracle stuff and got my whiteness back. Nice! I also switched to a salt that claims to have additives to minimize iron stain. But, the inside of the filter looked like (golly), and the steps were again losing their pearly whiteness.
I assume that its my well water and that I need to continue to add the Miracle stuff periodically through the season. Correct?
Next spring I am not going to use my well to fill the pool, I will use city water. I drained about one foot of water today to minimize the freeze threat in the pipes and skimmer.
2. The DE clumps in my filter. All over. On top of the "lungs" and in between them. How do I minimize this?
This year I put five scoops of DE into a drywall bucket and added water. I stirred it all up and dumped it into the skimmer in one long pour. Say.....30 seconds. Right or wrong??
3. There are two inlet pipes feeding my filter pump basket. ONE has a 90 degree shut off, the other does not.
My pool has two outlets, the skimmer and one at the bottom of the pool. Common sense tells me that the SKIMMER inlet is the one with the Shut Off Valve. Is my common sense correct?
Reason being, when pumping water OUT of the pool through the main pump, once it gets below the skimmer level the pumps sucks air and stops pumping. IF I were to shut this valve before it sucks air, will it continue to suck water from the bottom drain? I'd like to get it down another 4-6 inches to allow for rainfall this winter.
MANY THANKS!!
When I broke the hayward down for closing I noticed a few things that chapped my backside.
1. The color - BROWN. Now, I THINK that my well water has turned and I am now pumping iron or some other schmutz into my pool through the well water. This summer the water tended to take on a tea color after refilling and the white step surfaces stained. I added Miracle stuff and got my whiteness back. Nice! I also switched to a salt that claims to have additives to minimize iron stain. But, the inside of the filter looked like (golly), and the steps were again losing their pearly whiteness.
I assume that its my well water and that I need to continue to add the Miracle stuff periodically through the season. Correct?
Next spring I am not going to use my well to fill the pool, I will use city water. I drained about one foot of water today to minimize the freeze threat in the pipes and skimmer.
2. The DE clumps in my filter. All over. On top of the "lungs" and in between them. How do I minimize this?
This year I put five scoops of DE into a drywall bucket and added water. I stirred it all up and dumped it into the skimmer in one long pour. Say.....30 seconds. Right or wrong??
3. There are two inlet pipes feeding my filter pump basket. ONE has a 90 degree shut off, the other does not.
My pool has two outlets, the skimmer and one at the bottom of the pool. Common sense tells me that the SKIMMER inlet is the one with the Shut Off Valve. Is my common sense correct?
Reason being, when pumping water OUT of the pool through the main pump, once it gets below the skimmer level the pumps sucks air and stops pumping. IF I were to shut this valve before it sucks air, will it continue to suck water from the bottom drain? I'd like to get it down another 4-6 inches to allow for rainfall this winter.
MANY THANKS!!
I'm not sure what you mean by clumps, but what you describe sounds pretty normal to me. That is how DE works. It is what traps the junk you are trying to filter out. General it coats all of the "lungs" or grids, but often when backwashed, or drained, some of it will fall off into the bottom of the filter housing.