I live down south of texas..about 30 miles from the gulf of mexico(near Port Lavaca) and was wondering what do I need to do to close down the pool? I'm thinking about closing it down here in the next couple of weeks. Its a 24' round intex metal frame pool and we have a hayward pump and DE filter. Should we just disconnect the pump and filter from the pool and store it? Drain the water down some? Should we just purchase a mesh cover for it? There are a few trees near it and do have some leaves that fall into the pool. would like to just the the return holes open so if it rains, the water can just drain out the holes if it rises. We really don't freeze down here..maybe we'll get to freezing..but its usually just a day or two. Should we take apart the DE filter and clean it?? If so..do we do that ourselves or do we take it somewhere to have it cleaned out? I bought it and connected it to the pool back in July...so it hasn't been cleaned yet. If we do it ourselves...is it hard to do? Never cleaned a DE filter before. Thanks in advance!!
closing down intex 24' and hayward pump & DE filter
- Thread starter julie492
- Start date
I leave my filter and pump out all year. We rarely drop below freezing for any extended length of time, so all I do to "winterize" the pool is not swim in it! I have used a pool cover in the past but ended up dumping all the leaves in the pool while trying to take it off. The last four years I have left the pool open and scooped out leaves with a pool rake. We run the pump overnight whenever we get a freeze warning. Once I stopped maintaining the pool over the winter and that was a big mistake! This year I will keep adding bleach as needed and test the water regularly. If you don't have a manual for your filter, try a google search for the brand and model number. If you have not had a 10 point rise in psi or seen a significant drop in return flow your filter may not need to be cleaned yet. If you decide to disconnect the pump and filter then you will end up needing to clean out the old DE before you store it.
I have a DE filter but mine may not be like yours. This is how I clean it. 1. Turn off pump! Unplug pump! (or flip breaker) Shut off valve to pump and from filter. 2. Open air bleeder valve on top until a stream of water comes out. 3. Close air bleeder valve and open waste drain. (you might have a valve on your waste drain, if so turn it to "off") 4. If you have a waste valve and it is "off" attach a backwash hose and direct the hose to where you want the water to go when it leaves the filter, then turn the valve "on" and give 5 or 10 minutes for the filter to drain. If you are like myself and do not have a valve at this critical spot quickly grab your backwash hose and screw it in place as quickly as you can while a torrent of old DE and water rushes out at you. If you do not have a backwash hose you will soon find yourself standing in a small swamp. 5. Unscrew the band clamp that holds the upper and lower halves of the filter together and set it aside. Pull the top half of the filter off and set aside. 6. Pull the grid assembly straight up and out. I use a water hose with a trigger sprayer on it to hose it off first and then pull it out and hose off the remaining DE. I prefer to put my grid assembly on concrete or plastic to hose it off. I've sat it on the grass and hosed it off but then I get grass and junk all over my grids
. 7. Hose out the bottom half of the filter and make sure all the old DE is gone. Hose out upper half of filter. Place grid assembly back in bottom half of filter. Make sure any seals or rings between the two filter halves are in place then put the top half back on. 8. Put the band clamp in place and tighten by hand as tight as you can get it. Wait a few minutes and hand tighten some more. 9. Remove backwash hose and put the plug back in the waste drain. 10. Open the air bleeder on top, open the valve to the pump and allow gravity to fill the filter with water. When a stream of water shoots out of the air bleeder the filter is full. Shut off the air bleeder and open the valve from the filter to the pool. 11. Get your DE ready! Some people recommend you mix the DE with water first to make a slurry and some just dump it straight into the skimmer. Either way, know how much you need to put in and measure it out first if possible. You don't want to run the pump with no DE in your filter any longer than absolutely necessary. 12. Scoop out any leaves and junk floating in the pool or else it will end up in your pump basket! Then you have something else to clean out! Remove the skimmer basket and turn on the pump. Check your plug or breaker since you may have forgotten to attend to them before attempting to turn on the pump! Begin to add your DE powder or slurry into the skimmer. When you are finished replace the skimmer basket and continue to run the pump as desired.
Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to clean the filter. This is not something you want to rush through until you get used to doing it. Good luck whatever you decide to do!
PS... You may want to update the info in your signature to show the new filter and pump set up.
I have a DE filter but mine may not be like yours. This is how I clean it. 1. Turn off pump! Unplug pump! (or flip breaker) Shut off valve to pump and from filter. 2. Open air bleeder valve on top until a stream of water comes out. 3. Close air bleeder valve and open waste drain. (you might have a valve on your waste drain, if so turn it to "off") 4. If you have a waste valve and it is "off" attach a backwash hose and direct the hose to where you want the water to go when it leaves the filter, then turn the valve "on" and give 5 or 10 minutes for the filter to drain. If you are like myself and do not have a valve at this critical spot quickly grab your backwash hose and screw it in place as quickly as you can while a torrent of old DE and water rushes out at you. If you do not have a backwash hose you will soon find yourself standing in a small swamp. 5. Unscrew the band clamp that holds the upper and lower halves of the filter together and set it aside. Pull the top half of the filter off and set aside. 6. Pull the grid assembly straight up and out. I use a water hose with a trigger sprayer on it to hose it off first and then pull it out and hose off the remaining DE. I prefer to put my grid assembly on concrete or plastic to hose it off. I've sat it on the grass and hosed it off but then I get grass and junk all over my grids
. 7. Hose out the bottom half of the filter and make sure all the old DE is gone. Hose out upper half of filter. Place grid assembly back in bottom half of filter. Make sure any seals or rings between the two filter halves are in place then put the top half back on. 8. Put the band clamp in place and tighten by hand as tight as you can get it. Wait a few minutes and hand tighten some more. 9. Remove backwash hose and put the plug back in the waste drain. 10. Open the air bleeder on top, open the valve to the pump and allow gravity to fill the filter with water. When a stream of water shoots out of the air bleeder the filter is full. Shut off the air bleeder and open the valve from the filter to the pool. 11. Get your DE ready! Some people recommend you mix the DE with water first to make a slurry and some just dump it straight into the skimmer. Either way, know how much you need to put in and measure it out first if possible. You don't want to run the pump with no DE in your filter any longer than absolutely necessary. 12. Scoop out any leaves and junk floating in the pool or else it will end up in your pump basket! Then you have something else to clean out! Remove the skimmer basket and turn on the pump. Check your plug or breaker since you may have forgotten to attend to them before attempting to turn on the pump! Begin to add your DE powder or slurry into the skimmer. When you are finished replace the skimmer basket and continue to run the pump as desired. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to clean the filter. This is not something you want to rush through until you get used to doing it. Good luck whatever you decide to do!
PS... You may want to update the info in your signature to show the new filter and pump set up.
8. Put the band clamp in place and tighten by hand as tight as you can get it.
This is the part I'm having trouble with. I can't get the band back together at all. I stored the washers, spring, and nut in a baggy since last summer..but can't get the band closed enough to get both washers, the spring on so I can get the nut to catch so I can tighten it. If I take the band off and lower it below the flange edge...I can do it..but then its too small to be able to get over the flange edge. Suggestions????
This is the part I'm having trouble with. I can't get the band back together at all. I stored the washers, spring, and nut in a baggy since last summer..but can't get the band closed enough to get both washers, the spring on so I can get the nut to catch so I can tighten it. If I take the band off and lower it below the flange edge...I can do it..but then its too small to be able to get over the flange edge. Suggestions????