Sand filter questions

[y_not]

I took apart the lateral assembly on my Pentair Meteor to clean all the stuck sand in the laterals... STUPID! Zeo Sand, with a dental pick. They were all but completely clogged with tiny sand bits embedded in the lats.
I'm now reassembling the laterals into their threaded base.

Q: Do I need to wrap the threads with teflon tape?

They weren't originally... but the previous owner did a lot of things wrong anyway, so I don't necessarily trust that as an indicator.

Q: Also, how tight do I tighten the lats when I thread them back in?

They have a molded in wrench nut on the back of them, so I am assuming more than hand tight, but probably just snug, yeah?

Any tips for doing this, as it seems I will have to do all but about 2 of them inside the filter housing, since they don't fold. FUN!

I also noticed that the plastic injection mold operators at the factory didn't do their job properly, and nearly 80% of many of the laterals grooves to let water through, were plugged with plastic membrane from the molding process. Blowing air through these yielded EXTREMELY reduced airflow, indicating definite blockage by the excess plastic, compared to the others from a different mold number on the machine.
So I spent time fixing that too, being careful not to widen the grooves too much.

Q: Ever seen that with lats?


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[gtemkin]

Teflon tape isn't necessary. Since the water at that point in the filter is already as clean as it's going to get, if it leaked past the threads, there would be no harm. As long as sand particles can't make there way past the threads, which is highly doubtful, you're fine with no sealant or tape.

Some laterals have a top and a bottom so they have to be tightened to a certain position, otherwise I think snug tight is good enough.

Sounds like the parts with excessive flash were defective parts unless the flashing was a method of intentionally closing one side. My laterals are that way, and I think the open (slotted) side faces down and the closed side faces up. In either case, I wouldn't think there'd be much harm if you had more openings than was originally intended.

 

[y_not]

That makes perfect sense gtemkin, thanks a million!!
I love this place! :thumbup:

As for the lateral, I wasn't aware of the whole "one sided" lateral design possibility.

I can tell you that the mold flaws, causing blockage of the slits in the lats, were all the way around, and more toward the end. Some, IIRC, were starting nearly half way out the lateral tubes, being from their threaded to blunt end.
Other lateral tubes out of that same filter were not that way.
It was very strange, inconsistent in placement, and didn't seem the least bit intentional.

Ie. They weren't only in one radial direction, or one side of the circumference, so as to be only on the top, or bottom of the horizontally mounted lateral when installed into its threaded socket.
Instead, actually all the way around the circumference of the lateral.

Should have taken pics of that part... oh well.

Another question..
Forgive me if this is stated somewhere, or is basic new sand filter setup protocol that I missed.

Q: I rinsed the pea gravel over and over, as much as I could in a wheel barrow, trying to dump as much water and silt as possible. Then switching to scooping some out into a bucket, and doing the same, getting even more murky water out via agitation. Yet I was still only able to get it so clean.

Can I get it anymore clean by rinsing it manually in the filter, out the drain plug, using a garden hose? Or is it "expected" that one will have to use the rinse cycle till discharge is clear when placing fresh sand and gravel in a new filter, before firing it up into filtration mode?

I would assume you have to some, in order to get the dust out of even washed, dried, and clean filter sand, yeah?


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[y_not]

Q: I rinsed the pea gravel over and over, as much as I could in a wheel barrow, trying to dump as much water and silt as possible. Then switching to scooping some out into a bucket, and doing the same, getting even more murky water out via agitation. Yet I was still only able to get it so clean.

Can I get it anymore clean by rinsing it manually in the filter, out the drain plug, using a garden hose? Or is it "expected" that one will have to use the rinse cycle till discharge is clear when placing fresh sand and gravel in a new filter, before firing it up into filtration mode?

I would assume you have to some, in order to get the dust out of even washed, dried, and clean filter sand, yeah?


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Any help on this would be awesome!!
Thanks everyone!! ^_^

 

[Mrsquirel1]

try checking this out

http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/73192-Deep-Cleaning-a-Sand-Filter

 

[y_not]

HAHA, I have that link in my Sig.... now why didn't I think of that?? Lols

Thanks for the reminder.

This will have to wait till I get back from my trip helping a friend move out here from Chicago Land to the Pacific Northwest Haven!!

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