Looking to change my intex sand filte, catridge?

[copotay]

My one year old Intex 2650 is giving me problems with the motor humming and not engaging the pump sometimes so before it dies I was contemplating the cartridge filter for more micron removal and was wondering what other people thought. I know its an ongoing debate and I have read the pros and cons I am thinking it will help with some water clarity because my water is a little hazy most of the time where the pool sits in the country with trees, pollen ,daily thunderstorms, and dust even though all my numbers are kept in range. We often suffer daily thunderstorms and just had a hurricane so I am always having to dump my diluted treated water due to overfill. One question I have about the cartridge filter for an AGP is about waste, can u vacuum to waste and does it have a waste setting to dump an overfilled pool easily like the sand.

The other question would be size for my 21 x 52?

 

[y_not]

copotay,

I don't have time to reply much to the other things at the moment, but I did want to post and say that your Intex Sand filter/Pump does come /w a 2yr. factory warranty and Intex, from what I have read on here from other users, is really good about replacing things.

I would give them a call, at least give you a little more time to research before making a purchase decision.

Good luck!

Oh, PS. What kind of cartridge were you looking at replacing it with? Not the Intex I hope.
Also, it's very possible that your pump just isn't performing properly, thus it's not circulating the water long enough, hence your water is cloudy.
With a properly functioning pump & sand filter setup, IE. no channeling in the sand, properly settled bed, etc.. you should have clear water, assuming your chemistry is correct, which it sounds like it is.
The only difference is you can end up with really tiny particles that you can only see at night /w a pool light on.

 

[copotay]

Tks for the reply and that's kinda what it is not really crystal with the light on u can see the haze in the water. And I was aware about the two year warranty I will be calling them to see but if I can get it fixed I may sell it due to the water clarity. One thing I did note is that unlike the inside of a Haywood, pentair, etc that has multiple laterals in the sand, the Intex has just a bottom flat grid that the sand sits on. I don't know if that's a negative or not and not doing a good job in filtering. I also will find some sand in the pool, not a lot, but enough, and i had already opened it to make sure there was no channeling and confirmed the media was the right size. Another thing is that I tend to have to vacuum to waste a lot because if I don't the vacuumed water will exit the eyeball hazy and cloud the pool. Its plenty powerful enough I just don't think its filtering well enough and that is with it running a full 24 hours a day sometime. The two kind of cartridge filters I was looking at were either Haywood or pentair definitely not the Intex cartridge, went down that road already with my Intex 15 x 48 last year that came with one, that's when I bought the 2650 and it worked great for that pool, so when I built my new hard sided one this year I kept the 2650 instead of buying another new pump for the new pool.

 

[y_not]

I don't personally own one of those Intex Sand filter units, but I do know from doing some rather extensive reading on here, that they are EXTREMELY particular with the type of sand require, like down to the brand even.
The consensus is that the HTH brand of sand works beautifully in them, no sand returning to the pool and superior filtration compared to the generic #20 sand. Even though many places sell what is classified as number 20, the granule minimum can end up being too small as the manufacturers are going cheap on their screening process, letting too much fine stuff through.

So that sounds exactly like what you have going on in yours.
Have you tried a rinse to re-settle the sand? I'm not sure of the exact procedure, but I believe you cap the center pipe with a cup, then you use a a garden hose, with the water running and shove it down in it. This lifts the sand up, removing any over packing, or caking of it, so it filters better.
But I'd say if you're getting sand out the return, then that's the least of your problems.
You might also dump it and check for broken laterals.

Regarding your laterals, there are 10 of them down there, they mount to the center pipe. I believe there is a "sand shield" of sorts that goes on top of them, to protect them, so that is likely what you are seeing. The laterals are underneath. I believe they are held in by screws, I have heard of them being loose from the factory.


When you originally filled it, did you fill it 1/2 way with water before you added the sand? This prevents the sand from slamming into the laterals or that plate and breaking things, creating cracks or causing larger holes to form in the holes that are already supposed to be there.

I'd still check for cracked, broken, or damaged laterals, then check the brand of sand you used and consider trying the HTH stuff before you give up on her.

Yeah, the Intex cartridge filters are a total joke. LOL

Someone else will have to comment on the cartridge filters and the like.

 

[copotay]

I knew about the particular sand, I read also before I set it up and when I was having problems at the beginning with sand in the pool. But check this out, I went to Intex and downloaded the PDF manual for the 2650 under SF20110 because I was sure I did not see some actual laterals in it. I will attach two pictures, one will be a snap shot of the PDF manual where u can clearly see the laterals, the other is a picture I took from my manual, same id, sf20110, where there is only a grate at the bottom of the tub and not several laterals suspended in the sand. This is the one I have, only the one grate. Thats what I think may be the problem, no laterals and only a grate that sits on the bottom of the tub. I dont see how this would work correctly but I may be wrong.

 

[duraleigh]

Where are you reading that HTH sand is superior in Intex sand filters? I am not aware of that.

 

[y_not]

Where are you reading that HTH sand is superior in Intex sand filters? I am not aware of that.

Here...
intex-sand-filter-sand-problems-t34307-20.html#p291020

Too lazy to link it all cute.

You'll see there is lots of talk about what works and what doesn't as well as the OPs original problem, thought to be a multiport valve issue, but it wasn't after all. The OP had been through 3 or 4 different brands of sand.
Many people posted problems with it blowing into the pool at start-up, some a fountain of never ending sand as the OP did, and so on, all with inferior grades of sand.

I'd say it's pretty definitive, this really should be pinned as the OP suggested.

This is interesting as well, it describes the sand problem itself, mainly with the manufacturers of the sand.

intex-sand-filter-sand-problems-t34307-20.html#p284067

I knew about the particular sand, I read also before I set it up and when I was having problems at the beginning with sand in the pool. But check this out, I went to Intex and downloaded the PDF manual for the 2650 under SF20110 because I was sure I did not see some actual laterals in it. I will attach two pictures, one will be a snap shot of the PDF manual where u can clearly see the laterals, the other is a picture I took from my manual, same id, sf20110, where there is only a grate at the bottom of the tub and not several laterals suspended in the sand. This is the one I have, only the one grate. Thats what I think may be the problem, no laterals and only a grate that sits on the bottom of the tub. I dont see how this would work correctly but I may be wrong.

This does appear to be the case, I went and looked this up again and it looks they have recently changed the design to include latterals.
I knew there was a plate down there, but was stumped when I didn't see it in the specs for the new model.
Now this makes sense, they got rid of it in lieu of latterals.
Hopefully this is better than the previous design.

You should inspect your plate for damage, make sure it's seated all the way, etc..
Also, take a stroll through that entire thread I posted a link to above, if you're up for some reading & learning.
There's a lot of good info in there, 1st hand reports from users like yourself that have these Intex units.

 

[duraleigh]

I read that thread and came away with a different opinion. Several brands of sand are mentioned as functioning just fine in the Intex sand filter.

#20 silica sand is the suggested product for virtually every sand filter. There were other unrelated problems in that thread but I could not come any where near a conclusion that a particular brand of sand was necessary for the Intex 2650 to function.

 

[copotay]

Tks for the info good reading too. I also went to the local pool store today speaking to an employee showing him these pics. He sells Hayward filters and said he cannot understand why there where no laterals in the old design and only a plate. He did not think this would work well and said this is most likely the problem. I guess that's why they put laterals in the new design and gave up on the single plate after it would lose sand and not filter well, wondering how many people bought the old design and never realized what could be happening.

Now I am down to giving up on the filter with no laterals and start looking at a better filter. The pool guy said that either way, sand or cartridge, will work way better then what I have, (he is a salesman). He pointed out the sand due to our hurricanes and weather where constant vacuuming and thunderstorms rain with blown debris will dirty either media quickly. The sand is easily back washed to clean and can easily be vacuumed to waste whereas the cartridge has to be removed and cleaned frequently during heavy vacuuming. He did add that the water will clear faster with cartridge due to the smaller micron removal. It came down to the guy saying most people get the sand as to not have to work to hard.

I did note one thing yesterday when I had to evacuate 2 1/2 inches of water out the pool that filled it up from a thunderstorm. It was easy to switch to waste and dump it, where as, looking at the cartridge setups, pump right next to cylinder on the plastic base, there is no dump to waste and no way to get a 3-way valve in between the pump and cylinder to add a waste exit before the cartridge filter. I guess both have the plus and minuses. I would have to add a 3 way valve after the cartridge before the pool input to evacuate excess water but it could not vacuum to waste. Or get a sump pump to dump excess water. Dilemmas

 

[copotay]

Update: After looking at several different filters I decided on the Hayward Pro Series 18 Sand after weighing the differences. Local prices were $595, just got it on Amazon Prime for $367.00 and $3.99 for one day. Even the internet pool supply places, like where I bought the pool from, was $440.99. Figured I would try a real sand filter, got to be better than what I have now.