About to do my first backwash

[nhamp07]

It's time for my first backwash that I am solely responsible for. 60 Sqft Jandy DE filter. I've read the guide on here. I have a a Jandy Never lube valve on the pump that only has two settings. Filter and Backwash. In the post it mentions turning backwash until clear then turn to rinse and then backwash again. If I dont have rinse, do I just switch it to filter again?

Also, I say it's time to do it because my PB said every month or when the gauge reads dirty ~20% higher than clean. Is every month overkill?

 

[Texas Splash]

The manual I found for the NeverLube simply says to run until clear. Jandy ProSeries NeverLube Once that's done you would just go back to filter. Perhaps another NeverLube member will confirm.

 

[nhamp07]

Nice. Thanks for the that. That's what the PB said to do, but I read in that thread if there isn't a rinse setting, to do filter. But I'll go with the PB and the NeverLube manual on this.

Thanks!

 

[Jimrahbe]

N,

I have two rent house that have DE filters... I never backwash anymore... I open and clean the filters twice a year.

Backwashing only gets out about 80% of the old DE and every time you backwash you leave more and more junk behind.

I can't think of any reason to backwash every month... Either your filter is dirty or not..

I would not do anything until the pressure was 25% over your clean pressure.

What was your clean pressure at what pump speed? What is your pressure now, at the same speed?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ajw22]

Backwash based on 25% rise in filter pressure, not time. How often your DE filter needs to be backwashed varies with the environment around your pool. A sudden influx of dirt into the pool due to landscapers around it or a storm can raise the filter pressure suddenly. If your in a clean environment you can go months without needing to backwash.

My clean filter pressure is around 18 and I found I can wait on on a backwash until the pressure gets close to 30. I can visually see in my pool when the filter needs a backwash by when my spillover slows to a trickle.

 

[nhamp07]

Yeah. My clean pressure is 15 and I’m still at 17. Will wait until 25.

Thanks everyone.

 

[mknauss]

25% greater than 15 psi is closer to 20 psi. That is TFP recommendation.

 

[nhamp07]

Ah. Thanks!

 

[ZWExton]

I am not an expert, but I agree with not making these decisions based on time when you have more accurate and case-specific options such as pressure and/or a visual cue such as spillover.

For example, I have a back yard with an 8ft tall privacy fence and drains in the deck. Very little crud gets into my pool. Our bather load is low. No trees in the immediate vicinity. These factors result in my filter staying cleaner for longer.

Backwash is an effective treatment for a filtration system that has gotten a little sick. But if the system isn't sick, or it isn't the particular kind of sick that is effectively treated by backwash, don't backwash.