I have a Pentair Clean & Clear 420 Cartridge filter being pushed by a WhisperFlow 2 speed pump. For the life of me I can't remember what the startup pressure was when we first went live. I thought it was 12 PSI in high but it might have been in the low speed when the BP first started it up. I just replaced the cartridges with new ones and did not see a dramatic drop in PSI. Went from about 22 PSI with old cartridges down to about 18 PSI. Just trying to determine if I have something else going on. Flow on the return side seems OK. The filter is rated for 50 PSI max and I run a pressure side cleaner with no booster pump. Is 50 Max a realistic pressure to be hit? Seems high, even for a maximum.
What is normal startup PSI?
- Thread starter OperatorX
- Start date
- May 3, 2007
- 16,832
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
18 PSI would be consistent with a 2 HP pump (full speed) and 2" plumbing.
No, for most pumps, pressure cannot get that high. For the 2 HP Whisperflo, 38 PSI is maximum but that would be with the flow rate shut off after the filter (i.e. dead head).
Great thanks. It is 2 inch plumbing. I'm planning on running at low speed when not cleaning but have been running in during the first two weeks to turn the pool over more to clean.
You might want to add an additional pressure gauge downstream of the filter to see if there is some other restriction, like under sized eyeball return fittings, etc., or for that matter just go unscrew the eyeballs and see if the pressure drops considerably.
So, if your returns have no eyeball fitting, you are not really getting the best flow from your system. The point in eyeballs is it gives you the ability to direct the flow to establish circular movement so the water constantly flows past your skimmers....helping them gather debris.