Cellulose Fiber with Quad DE?

[darinhouston]

I have a Quad 100 and have been using fiber exclusively for a couple of years - I still haven't found a good recommended amount to use and the caking is terrible, but I find dissassembly and thorough cleaning is better than not knowing what backwashing is doing anyway - otherwise, if it doesn't backwash well then I'm adding too much with a recharge.

Has anyone found any good guidance for amounts to use with quads ?

 

[PoolStored]

Usually 1/8th the volume of normal DE. 1-pound coffee can worth is typical for a 60. In a common DE scoop you can buy I would fill it to the top loosely and use that amount only for a 60sq. ft. DE filter, so 1 and 2/3rds coffee can worth. You may have to adjust a bit...

Cellulose fiber degrades from chlorine exposure. It forms a sticky mass that is more difficult to remove than dirty DE and so the recommendation is to backwash more frequently. Also, unlike the pool industry, TFP recommends backwashing a filter once the pressure rises 25% above clean pressure. We also recommend you annually tear down your filter and deep clean it.

Why don't you use DE?

Cellulose, in my opinion, seems to put a lot more stress on a filter (higher pressures, constant backwashing, ruined grid fabric, etc) than actual DE does. Personally I have no issue with DE safety and the risks of it are way overblown. Yes, it is an inhalation hazard but the exposure limits of it are all based on constant, 8-hr OSHA exposure studies, i.e., people who work around the stuff as part of their jobs and are exposed on a daily basis over decades. Charging up a pool filter two or three times a year hardly qualifies as the same level of exposure.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Darin,

I agree with PS above... Why are you using fiber???

Not using DE, you basically have a cartridge filter... with a mess.

Seems I remember someone here converting their Quad DE into a Quad Cartridge filter.

Let's see what @JoyfulNoise has to say...

For reference, I have a larger cartridge filter (CCP-520) and clean it once a year.. Like you, my pool is open 24/7/365. I like simple, and a cartridge filter makes my pool care simple.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[darinhouston]

For me, the fiber clarifies much better than DE ever did - I hate the dust and inhalation and especially disposal risk - but more than all that is the cellulose uses so much less it's far less messy to deploy.

 

[ajw22]

I tried cellulose in my DE filter for a while and found it more trouble then it was worth.

The cellulose clogged too quickly and needed backwashing too often. It created more work then DE did.

A few simple precautions makes DE easy to handle as long as you have a way to dispose of backwash.

 

[laprjns]

Seems I remember someone here converting their Quad DE into a Quad Cartridge filter.

That would be me. See here.