Broken laterals on 2 year old filter?

[phlight]

I had a Hayward S244T Sand Filter installed a couple years ago and now I'm having sand enter the pool under the return jets. I vacuumed 75% of the sand last week, haven't back washed since and I'm seeing more sand along the edges of the pool where I had cleared the sand in the past. Is it likely that my laterals or something else in the filter gone bad this quickly? I live in NJ and we had a cold winter. I'm not handy and I've already spent hours working on the pool yet haven't gone swimming yet. How much should such a repair cost?

Thanks

 

[zea3]

Do you shut off the pump before moving the setting on the multiport valve to backwash or rinse? Did you drain the filter and leave it outside over the winter?

 

[phlight]

Do you shut off the pump before moving the setting on the multiport valve to backwash or rinse? Did you drain the filter and leave it outside over the winter?

Yes. I didn't put in any effort to drain the filter. I just adjusted the dial to winter and left it outside.

 

[zea3]

If you had a hard freeze then it could have damaged the laterals or stand pipe in the filter. That's what happened to this filter.