Having to relieve air pressure every couple of days.

[peterl1365]

I have a Pentair Clean and Clear plus 520 cartridge filter. I have to manually relieve the air buildup every 2-3 days.

In the manual, it lists part number 178583 as an "air bleed tube assembly". This part has a small ceramic filter (about 1 in OD by 3 inch tall) that I broke the last time I cleaned my cartridges. Would replacing this part have any beneficial effect? The name implies that it would allow air to bleed out while keeping water contained, but I'm skeptical. Pentair doesn't mention this as a feature in their sales material.

If anyone has any info on this part, it would be greatly appreciated.

Edit:

Pentair's website lists this as a feature:

Continuous High Flowâ„¢ internal air relief*
*Integrated Continuous High Flow internal air relief is operational only when there is unobstructed flow in the circulating system.

Anyone know how this works? I am presuming the air bleed assembly is a key factor, but I want to know if that's really my problem.

 

[duraleigh]

I'm not a cartridge filter guy, but, if you getting air in your sytem, it sounds like you have a suction-side leak.

Some cartridge experts will be along soon to help but I see no reason for any air "buildup" other than a leak in your system.

 

[peterl1365]

I'm not a cartridge filter guy, but, if you getting air in your sytem, it sounds like you have a suction-side leak.

Some cartridge experts will be along soon to help but I see no reason for any air "buildup" other than a leak in your system.

Yes, you're probably right, as I notice air accumulation in my pump skimmer basket primarily when I'm using my Hayward Navigator. I'm thinking that I'm sucking in some air in through the joints in the vacuum hose. It's a small amount, though, so I can probably live with it. If it's not the hose, I really don't want to deal with tracking down a leak in a buried pipe. Luckily, I have a dedicated vacuum suction line, so it doesn't affect normal filtering.

 

[duraleigh]

As a percentage, suction side leaks are seldom from broken underground lines....perhaps because they tend to be somewhat self-sealing, I don't know.

Far more likely is a leak at the O-ring on the pump strainer basket, a joint that didn't hold (or was hit by something), a cracked above ground line (again, often damaged), a loose drain plug at the bottom of the pump strainer basket, or an occassional faulty seal within a valve.

Your thoughts on the hose joints sucking air is very solid.....that has been reported on the forums more than once and I have had the same issue.

 

[peterl1365]

Thanks for the insights, Dave.

I tightened up all the joints in my hoses today. Nothing really obvious, but a couple of joints had one more little click to go.

I'll see in a couple of days.

FWIW, I never see air in my strainer basket when I'm just filtering. Only when I'm vacuuming. I've got a three way valve actuator that switches between my skimmer/main drain lines and the dedicated vacuum line. Maybe I'll monkey around with the valve to see if there might be anything leaking in there.