Can a Filter Be Too Large?

[Mongo]

Greetings!

First and foremost, I like this forum! Thanks to all who contribute.

How did I get here? I'm revamping my pool equipment this year and came up with the idea of using a peristaltic pump for dispensing chlorine. I posted a question about it on another forum, the only reply I got back was to check out this forum. So here I am. I've been reading and my Stenner idea has been confirmed. Thanks for that confirmation.

Plus after reading "pool school" and most every other FAQ here, I realized I'm a BBB guy. And I didn't even know it had a name! :-D

Background (it may or may not be pertinent):

1) I'm going to upgrade to an Intelliflo pump this year. Most likely the VS. I don't have crazy water features, etc, I just have the pool and the spa. From what I've read the VF can be a little tricky or finicky. I'd prefer to go fairly low-rpm/flow for say "X" hours a day of straight filtration. Just enough to keep the skimmer functioning. Then high-rpm for Spa use or sidewall cleaner use for maybe 1 or 2 hours a day, or as needed. Initially I thought I'd go VF, but the more I read about VF I steered myself towards VS. With the few hundred $$ savings I figured why not put the savings to a new filter. I'm due for new carts this year, so that steered me towards a new filter too.

2) I may go with Intellitouch for automation. Again, nothing fancy, Just trying to make things more user-friendly for the family when I'm out of town. I travel regularly.

The Question:

Can a filter be too large? As far as my needs go, I've never had any difficulty with my pool. I only had one algae outbreak but that was years ago. I was out of the country for a while and the warm weather hit before I had a chance to open up my pool. I have a cartridge filter and my plumbing is not set up to vacuum to waste. So my solution after killing the algae was to sprinkle some DE into my skimmer until I saw a bump in filter pressure. Then I vacuumed to the filter. The DE-coated cartridges caught the algae and after a filter cleaning, all was well.

Looking at filters I initially thought I'd just do a larger Pentair C&C, since that's the style I have now. I know carts. I'm happy with carts. Then I read up on the Quad DE filters. They appeal to me. Finer filtration, etc.

I have trees around my pool. I do open up fairly early in the year and close up late, at least compared to anyone else I know that has a pool. I am susceptible to pollen and catkin attacks in the spring. Falling leaves in the fall. Again, I travel.

So would a Quad DE 100 be absurdly large? I wouldn't back wash, I'd probably direct-plumb it. So no multi-port or slide valves, unless someone can tell me that's a big mistake, and why it would be a big mistake. The only real negative I can even think about with a large filter is when I have to charge the carts with DE. Will an IntellifloVS on high speed be able to properly disperse the DE-laced water fed through the skimmer to evenly coat the cartridges on a Quad DE 100? That might be a dumb question...but hey, I'm not above asking anything dumb. I'd rather ask inquisitively before the purchase than with moaning and groaning remorse after the installation. :-D

Thanks in advance!

 

[Bama Rambler]

Specifically to the DE-100 it isn't too big since you don't plan on backwashing. It isn't even too big if you did plan on backwashing once you have the VS pump. The pump you have now would probably backwash it fine if you don't have a lot of plumbing restrictions.

As for coating the grids, you don't have an issue. A pretty small pump will effectively precoat the grids of a fairly large filter.

 

[jblizzle]

Really, the only way you can go too large on a filter is if the power of the pump is not sufficient to properly backwash the grids. If you are not going to backwash, then this is not really a problem and the VS will have plenty of power to coat the grids and to backwash them anyway.

Going large, just means you have to clean (either backwash or breakdown) less often. Many members here never see the pressure rise enough (20-25% over the clean pressure) to warrant a cleaning and only do so once a year as a matter of maintenance.

Cartridge vs. DE vs Sand really is a personal preference. If you were happy with a Cart, by all means go that route. The Quad DE is really kind of like a Cart/DE hybrid in my mind as far as the setup and likely would work great for you.

 

[swimcmp]

I use the Quad de and love them, also use the vs and vf pumps and love the combination. The only draw back to it is that you can't backwash the de completely. You will have to disassemble the filter and wash them out with a hose. Backwashing will get about 70 to 80 percent. I have a couple of customers with auto covers in farm country that only empty the de at the end of the season.

 

[Mongo]

Thanks for the replies. I haven't looked at equipment since we built the pool over 10 years ago, so all input is appreciated.

There is such little price difference between the Quad DE 80 and 100 that I may as well go for the 100. I took another look today at the Clean and Clear Plus filter manual because initially I was going to go that route. Part of their recommendation is to add DE to the skimmer upon filter star up. I just thought it was interesting that they've "sort of" gone hybrid with the C&C+ filters too.

The videos I've watched, the Quad DE carts look pretty slick. Literally and figuratively. They seem to easily shed accumulated debris during cleaning, much easier than when I clean my C&C+ cartridges.