DE in pool

[michelleca]

After taking apart Hayward DE4820 filter, cleaning the grids, and reassembling, DE filled the pool. The filter has been off for 18 hours but the pool is still extremely cloudy. How long does it take for a large amount of DE to settle to the bottom of the pool? We plan to find the source of the problem, perhaps a broken O-ring or broken gasket, or tear in grids, but we will will backwash DE and hose off grids before reassembling again. My intuition tells me that if I run the filter with no DE in the filter, the DE in the pool will filter out of the water and reattach itself to the grids. This along with whatever settles to the bottom of the pool is how I'm hoping to get the DE out. Thoughts?

 

[jark87]

I have developed a similar DE “leak” that only occurs when I clean the filter. Yours sounds a little worse, as my cloudiness clears up in less than a day. I can’t see DE on the pool bottom, although brushing stirs it up a little.

I’ve replaced the grids and the tube with a little sock over it - the thing that sticks up from the top of the filter. That sock had a tear in it. I thoroughly inspected the manifold for cracks, but couldn’t find any. I still have the DE blowback issue when I clean the filter. I think it’s an issue with the backwash valve - maybe an o-ring, as you suggested above. The filter pump basket fills with cloudy DE water when I drain the filter. After doing some research on this board, I think there’s a way to close off a valve to prevent the flow of water back into the pump when draining the filter. I’ll dig deeper prior to my next cleaning.

I confirmed that DE wasn’t coming into the pool during normal operation by putting black socks over the pool returns. I used rubber bands to hold them on. After running the pump for 24 hours, there was no debris in the socks.

Good luck in resolving your issue!