Replaced filter cartridge, loss of suction.

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D

DamienZ32

0
May 23, 2011
6
I'm visiting my grandmother here in Florida for a few weeks. I went out to clean her pool filter a week or so ago and noticed her filter cartridge was all ripped up. I ordered a new one and when I put it in, the automatic pool vacuum doesn't move and the jets stop. It is the exact same filter, and I noticed no differences at all. She has a Pentair Warrior DE Filter model number 56408800 with 88 gpm. What can I do to fix this? When I put the old cartridge back in, everything works fine, it just doesn't clean the pool well because of all the rips in the material. I would really like to get this repaired before I go back home in a week or so.

Oh, I also tried switching the panels from the new one to the old one. I thought that the top and bottom pieces might have been different, but that didn't help either. I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks.
 
It sounds like the filter is catching something. What does the new filter look like when you take it out after it stops flowing?

Please post a full set of test results and how you got them.
pH
FC
CC
TA
CH
CYA
 
zea3 said:
How much DE did you add?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure how much my friend added, but I think it was around 3#. I may be wrong about the number, but it doesn't seem that much was taken from the new bag I bought. The filter is small, so it doesn't require a whole lot.

Bama Rambler said:
It sounds like the filter is catching something. What does the new filter look like when you take it out after it stops flowing?

Please post a full set of test results and how you got them.
pH
FC
CC
TA
CH
CYA
Click to expand...

The filter still looks fairly clean when it stops flowing. I usually clean off what I can and put it back in and it works for another 20 minutes or so. The testing kit that I have doesn't test for all of those things. It just has the two tubes, one for yellow and one for red. The pH was kind of high, so I added some muriatic acid. The chlorine levels are very low, but I'm adding lots of liquid chlorine every day. The pool is really green right now, so the algaecide I am adding is eating up the chlorine. Or so I've been told. I really don't think the filter is catching something, as when the old filter is in there, it works fine. I'm stumped.
 
DE filters will clog up very very quickly while you have an active algae bloom. That is completely normal. If you have a multi-port valve you should put it on circulate instead of filter until you have made some progress on killing the algae.

You really need to know your CYA level when fighting algae. And there are many other advantages to having a full set of water test results. The more you know about your levels the easier it is to do nearly everything.
 
Thanks for the reply. It isn't that the filter clogs up, as it is practically clean when the pressure goes up and I lose suction. Also, when the old filter is in, wouldn't it clog up fast too if that were the case? I will run out and get a full testing kit as soon as I can, but right now I am more focused on getting this new cartridge to work, as I just dropped over $100 on it.
 
This is a DE filter, right? You are adding DE to the filter through the skimmer? Or is it a cartridge filter, with no DE being added?

DE filters clog up very very quickly when you are in the middle of an algae bloom. That is completely normal. If it is a DE filter, it is working just fine.

You said the old cartridge is torn. If so, it lets water through no matter what happens. It will never clog up.
 
Thanks for the quick reply.

I don't know much about pools. My grandmother told me that the old pool guy would add powder to the skimmer, so I will assume that it is a DE filter.

So, I will be needing to clean the filter every 20 minutes? As it clogs up every 20 or so minutes. I just didn't think that was normal. I will switch back to the new one then and clean it as often as I can. I don't think there is a backwash setting or a lever on the filter to pump out the DE, so we have to take out the cartridge and spray it clean every time. Lots of wasted DE I would think.
 

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The DE is the filter media; that is to say the DE IS the filter. The screen you replaced is there to hold the DE not to actually do any filtering itself. So removing DE full of dead algae isn't really a waste now is it?
 
No it isn't. But as I said before, after 20 minutes it is still clean. I can pull the cartridge out and just put it back in without doing anything to it and it would run again for another 20 minutes. I get what you all are saying, but I just don't see the filter getting clogged in that short amount of time. I will try as you all say and put the new one back in and clean it as often as I can. Will it harm anything if someone can't get to it for 8 hours or so, seeing as it gets to a high pressure after 20 minutes? Once I go back home, no one will be here to clean it as often as I have been.
 
I don't think the filter is a problem. It appears to be operating exactly as it is designed to.

I think your biggest problem is an active algae bloom and you need good test results to battle that. Once you have killed all the algae, the filter pressure will stay down longer and longer until it's completely clear.

If you're not going to be around long enough to clear the pool you need to teach someone else how to do it. A good test kit is the first tool you need to get. Don't bother trying to go out and buy one. Just order it from Tftestkits.net.
 
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