Drain top half of a DE Filter without using filter drain?

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BillyJackO

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Jul 15, 2013
5
I'm getting some good practice servicing my DE filter after coming home from vacation to a level 5 algae infestation. I've been having to disassemble and wash off the filters every day to keep up with increased pump pressure, and it's getting a little irritating. The problem I have is the genius who set up my pool pump system, put the pool equipment inside the garage without a floor drain for the water from the filter drain. I've got a long hose for backwashing/rinsing/waste, but I can't drain the filter casing without filling my garage with water (which adds about 15-25 minutes of vacuuming to an already tedious and dirty job.)

My question is, is there a way to drain the top half of my filter (above the clamp) without using bottom drain? I feel like there's a way to use the dump line, or pump on waste with suction lines closed or something like that, but I can't figure it out and google isn't helping me.

Thanks for the help all, and I expect I'll be stopping by here more often. :-D

DE Filter, 12000 Gallon IG Fiberglass pool. First time pool owner since May 1st, 2013.
 
Re: Drain top half of a DE Filter without using filter drain

Welcome to TFP!

I would think putting the filter valve on backwash and then opening the air relief valve should work

Edit: no Rinse should work better than backwash.

Edit: use backwash ... pretty sure ;)
 
Re: Drain top half of a DE Filter without using filter drain

On backwash, the water enters the top of the filter, so water should not drain back through the suction lines. And the water should drain out the bottom of the filter out the backwash line
 
Re: Drain top half of a DE Filter without using filter drain

Thanks for the advice James. I'm getting an increase of 10 PSI every 5-8 hours now, which is a huge improvement from the 45min-1hour range I was getting two days ago. The water was in really bad shape, and I'm suspecting the filters haven't been acid washed in a very long time. The first time I disassembled there was cake buildup of an inch (basically completely compacted between the filters.) Like I said, I'm new to this and learning on the fly, so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm doing more work than needed. Any advice is appreciated.

Edit: I should also note, I've cleaned the filter out twice now. This is the first 24 hour period I haven't done a full clean. I have been running the pump 24 hours for 3.5 days now.
 
Re: Drain top half of a DE Filter without using filter drain

I wouldn't recommend acid washing the filters.

It also sounds like your backwash is not very effective. You might have some sort of suction side blockage preventing you from getting enough flow to effectively backwash the filters. I would suggest checking the pump basket and impeller for obstructions.

If your filters are clogging up too fast, then you might not be maintaining sufficient chlorine to kill off the algae. See Pool School for effective shocking (aka Slamming).

pool-school/shocking_your_pool
 
Re: Drain top half of a DE Filter without using filter drain

Ah yes, massive amounts of algae is what got me into this mess. When I left the pool to be watched by my brother in law, he misunderstood me, and the pool went two weeks with no chlorine in the hot Texas sun. Needless to say the water was practically black. I added 10 lbs of shock, and have been doing periodic waste vacuuming (as the algae settles.) Thanks for the link though, it looks like I may need to put it through another round of hard core shock therapy.

EDIT: SLAM Step 5: Backwash or clean the filter as needed. So, I'm guessing since I'm doing the right thing by cleaning out the filter?
 
Re: Drain top half of a DE Filter without using filter drain

Yes, cleaning the filter is necessary when the pressure gets high. However, if the backwash function is working correctly, then you should be able to backwash instead of opening the filter to clean the grids.
 
Re: Drain top half of a DE Filter without using filter drain

I have a valve on the lower drain of my DE filter. I have a Perfelx DE filter with the fingers (not grids). I can attach a hose to this and drain my filter and the old DE thru the bottom of my filter into the hose. it drain valve in the one in the lower left of this photo.

I CANNOT actually backwash my filter. I can open the valve and pump water into the bottom half of the filter and rinse it out. i guess i could backwash but i am not currently plumbed to do so and it takes less time for me to clean the filter than to mess with the backwash process.

IMG_5293.JPG
 

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Re: Drain top half of a DE Filter without using filter drain

Now that I look at this photo, this is how I isolate the filter from the pool the pool's return line (silver hose) is currently connected to the skimmer outlet. I also have one section of cream colored vacuum hose plugged into the bottom of the skimmer to prevent water from leaving the pool. The pumps suction line is black in color and laying in the background. It would normally be connected to the skimmer base.

I have a very simple set-up and always have. Two hoses, a pump/filter and a pool.
 
Re: Drain top half of a DE Filter without using filter drain

Jblizzle, thank you for solving my problem. All I ended up needing to do is set the pump to backwash and open the pressure relieve valve. I didn't need to turn the pump on as gravity did all the work. After I've gotten this algae bloom under control, I'm going to take a look and see if my impaler is clogged (there is a pine tree in my neighbors yard, so this could be the culprit.) Thanks again everybody.
 
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