Never-ending Issue w/ Cartridge Clogging - High Pressure

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C

Clayman88

0
Apr 2, 2016
6
OKC, Oklahoma
I've owned my home with pool for 10 years now. It seems that the longer I'm here the less life I get out of my cartridge filters. Lately, if I buy a new cartridge, it lasts me about 2 years before I'm forced to replace. I get high pressure and low flow near the beginning of summer. I pull it apart and thoroughly spray all of the debris out with a hose. Pressure is good after this for half a day & then back up again. I've soaked the cartridge numerous times in both the Leslie's cartridge cleaner solution as well as a home-made powder Cascade concoction. Either of those cleanings work wonders for about 6-24 hours and then I'm back to the same issue. After thorough cleaning I'm around 11 PSI & then once I hit 20+ PSI the slide stops working and jets are low pressure.

Is there something I'm doing wrong that could be contributing to my cartridges clogging. Is it possible that there is some kind of alien pollen in the air of Oklahoma that does this?! I believe I should be getting several more years out of these cartridges. My filter is an older model Jandy so it's one giant cartridge that costs like ~$200 to replace. Not exactly cheap.

I purchased the K-2006C test kit about 3 weeks ago. I've been faithfully testing my water every couple days & adjusting chemicals as needed. Prior to that, I always relied on local pool stores for testing. Here are my readings as of today. Water has been crystal clear for a while.
PH - 7.4
Alk - 90
Calc H - 190
Cyn Acid - 20
FC - 2.4
CC - .2

I'm in the process of adding Cyn Acid via a stocking in the skimmer so I expect that number to go up over the next week. I will also be adding a bag of salt too. I really appreciate any advice! This forum has been a great help to me over the years just by reading other's experiences. Thanks in advance.
 
How’s your water look like? Either, there’s something in your water or the filter is too small for your pool volume. Consider using a disposable hairnet on your skimmer.
As an aside, you may want to bump your cya and chlorine level since you have a swcg. Please check this out -> Chlorine / CYA Chart

Testimony: We have C-4000 Super Star Clear cartridge filter on our 20k gals and I only clean the filter once a year. That is, if I am not feeling lazy! We get all kinds of leaves including bottle brush from the neighbor, pollen and dust. But I use hairnet on the skimmer and pleated filter on the robotic cleaner. As a result, our clean filter pressure does not change all year round. But of course, water chemistry is properly balanced using the TFP method.
 
Water has looked great most of the summer. The only time it did not was after a huge rain it got murky. I usually do use the skimmer socks.

If the bands on the cartridge come unglued in a couple places, does that mean the cartridge is toast immediately?

I'm not sure that that I can get a larger cartridge for this filter but I can look into it.
 
Poolzzz said:
Given the size of your filter and the fact you use skimmer socks I can't see it routinely plugging that fast. I'd check for nascent algae. Suggest reading up on the OCLT test in Pool School and seeing if you pass.
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Thanks! I will give this a try.

I can't imagine that I need a larger cartridge. The one I have is literally enormous & it's also the same model that has been with the pool since it was built ~12 years ago.

Side note, I was reading a thread on cartridge cleaning & there were some mentions of permanently clogging a cartridge if you use acid to clean the cartridge. I can't say for sure thats whats happened but I wonder if this thing is totally pooched. Its a darker color, not bright white like new, but I do not see any calcium build-up or debris when I'm done cleaning.
 
mknauss said:
You might want to try Re: How to clean a cartridge filter
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Thanks, mknauss! That is a great thread & I have read it. Lots of good information. I'm ordering some TSP today online & I'll give that a try. I've been using most of those cleaning methods for years but I continue to have this problem with cartridges. It's almost as if the cartridge is permanently "glued" shut with some kind of microscopic funk. Hopefully I'll have better luck with TSP.

As far as selecting a larger cartridge, that probably means purchasing a whole new/larger filter. I'm not sure I can get a larger cartridge for the Jandy 250 filter.
 
Pour muriatic acid on the filter elements, wait a few minutes, then hose them off real good.....it works.

Sure, there will be this, and that, said against it, but it works, it opens up the pores and keeps the PSI low like you would expect.

But it wears them down faster you will hear, etc, etc......IT WORKS !! who cares if they wear down faster, how fast does it wear them down by using acid, probably not enough that you will notice, but it works...

The alternative is to continue on like you are now, or ....
 

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Realaxpooltech said:
Pour muriatic acid on the filter elements, wait a few minutes, then hose them off real good.....it works.

Sure, there will be this, and that, said against it, but it works, it opens up the pores and keeps the PSI low like you would expect.

But it wears them down faster you will hear, etc, etc......IT WORKS !! who cares if they wear down faster, how fast does it wear them down by using acid, probably not enough that you will notice, but it works...

The alternative is to continue on like you are now, or ....
Click to expand...

Please do not do this. If your elements live through it your lungs will not be happy. The fumes will be almost impossible to avoid.

When you hose it off you will be putting the acid right on whatever you have the elements on and that could get damaged. Full strength muriatic acid is not to be trifled with. It would need to be neutralized before you disposed of it.

Use the TSP and let us know how it goes!

Kim TFP MOD
 
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