Hayward 6020 filter grids, replaced after 1 year?

[freeformblu]

I have had my pool for just a year now. I have a hayward de 6020 filter, 12000 gal pool. I have had it cleaned out twice (every 6 months) per the recommendation of the pool company who does my cleaning, who is also the builder.

I just had my second cleanout and the grids are worn out and need to be replaced. This seems very early to me. I do have landscaping around the pool and get a large amount of debris/dirt in the pool during heavy texas rainstorms, in which i've need to backwash several times to fully clean the pool. This is why the service says they are now worn out.

Is this a legitimate answer? If so, what doesnt make sense to me that for less than the price of my 2 cleanings and the filter grid replacement i could go and just buy a new filter yearly.

The builder has provided great service and followup with any issue I have had so i tend to believe them but wanted some other input.

 

[dravenone]

What is their definition of "worn out". If there are no tears in the screen and the plastic is not broken they should still be able to perform their job. You should place the details of your equipment in your signature. If your pump is too big then maybe there is some wear on the filter.

 

[dudeguy37]

It would take your chlorine level being kept excessively high, shock added through the skimmer, an over-sized pump... Your grids need a lot more stress than just a few extra backwashes to have them worn out already. That, or just very poor handling. I'm definitely NOT trying to discredit your builder in any way, so I wouldn't directly accuse them of poor handling, or over-sizing your pump. A 60sqft is hard to oversize a pump for, though. It would have to be putting out 120GPM+ (2HP+) Something like that. Get us some additional information if you can on your pump and plumbing (1.5'', 2''? Make/Model/HP?) and possibly if you know anything about the chemistry history. Remember, chlorine will make things very brittle over time, so if it's been kept excessively high, or granular chlorine has been added through the skimmer regularly without pre-dissolving, this will wear the grids out very fast.

 

[freeformblu]

i have attached my equipment list to my signature, i also have seen the grids, they are out of the filter until they come to replace, is there anything i can look for to tell if the grids are "worn out", upon my first look i do not see rips, tears or broken plastic whatsoever

 

[geekgranny]

The plastic does become brittle over time. I just replaced four grids that looked okay, no tears, but from the feel I knew plastic was going to break very soon. I've been doing my own for 23 years so I have developed a "feel".

How about taking a grid or two to a pool store and comparing the "feel" of the old to new?

geekgranny=alice

 

[freeformblu]

dudeguy per your response, i do have a 2hp 1.20 sf pump, could this pump be just to large?

 

[dudeguy37]

A 60sqft D.E. filter shouldn't have a pump that exceeds 120GPM. Check the make/model of your pump. I'll check the pump curve if I don't know it off-hand, or someone else'll beat me to it. So, yes, it could potentially be over-sized. For example, a 2HP Pentair Whisperflo won't quite crank out like a 2HP Hayward Northstar. The motor might be the same HP, but impeller and diffuser designs can vary, and throw more water. Let us know.

 

[freeformblu]

my pump is a hayward northstar 2hp, model sp4015x20

also i did bring the grids to a pool store and had them looked at by another pool service company, they all were in agreement that the grids are fine, so i'm looking for an explanation from my builder/service company

 

[dudeguy37]

A 2HP Northstar will be throwing out 140+ GPM into your 60sqft. filter. Too much! I don't think your builders did any math before they sized... That puts way too much wear on the grids. Nothing against your builder, I'm sure they did a fantastic job on everything else; this is actually a common mistake. Most companies have seen too many problems with UNDERsized pumps, and slow turnover times, etc. Now too many of these guys go the opposite direction, thinking more will take care of the problem. It does for good circulation/algae prevention, however, through 2'' lines, something this strong is drawing wayyy too many amps, and therefore wasting electricity, in addition to only a 60sqft filter that can't quite handle the pressure. They were trying to be on the safe side, but it tends to backfire if they don't quite understand what they're putting in.

 

[freeformblu]

Thanks for the help I have spoken to the builder and addressed the issue of the pump being too large, not that i expected them admitting that could be a problem, the response to my inquiry from the builder is that they have designed it so the pool turns over every 2.5 hours and that they have seen the effects of too much pump for the filter where the grids and manifold break, and have installed this setup on other pools without problems.

what i think is that the owners may just not be aware that changing the grids every year is abnormal

couldnt the pump be just slightly to big so the grids might not break but just wear faster as in my case?

i did have the pool service guy show me the "worn" part of the grids, the wearing is uniform on all the grids, no rips but areas where plastic points sort of press on the mesh, if it was due to a heavy amount of dirt from rains wouldnt there be non uniform wear/tears etc, the builder still insists that due to the rain debris is the reason

lastly, i do have a waterfall and weeping wall as well as a vacuum sweep, does this cut down on the pressure to the filter? if i were to switch the pump out any recommendations as to size?

 

[dudeguy37]

A 2.5 hour turnover is just overkill. The pressure from the pump didn't necessarily break or crack the grids, but I'm sure it caused excessive wear. I firmly believe your builder was doing everything with the best intent on problem prevention. However, he has probably never looked at or been informed on flow rates in plumbing, or properly sizing equipment. You did mention you have a few water features. This does require a larger pump than you would normally put on a 12k pool. 2 HP is probably still overkill, but I'd have to see the distance apart, quantity of angles and valves, etc. The Hayward booster is powering the cleaner, so that's a separate thing on it's own; we'll factor that out of the other issues. In conclusion here, IF the plumbing length/distance, angles, water features, and allll those fun things, do require the power of a 2 HP Hayward Northstar (140+gpm), then the filter should have been larger. If your water features had plenty of pressure, just knock the size down to a 1.5 or so. That should be fine. Let us know how things go.