Flow error

[Luric]

Our SWG was working fine on L at 1800rpm when we noticed the flow light came on. We'd backwashed only 2 wks prior, so we bumped it up to 2000 and it worked for a few days, but then the error light came back on. Over the next few days I had to keep bumping up to get the flow light to go off (so the SWG would work) until my husband was back home to backwash. That appeared to take care of the problem, even though it seemed unusual for the filter to have needed BW so soon (about 2-3 wks prior to that 1st one the entire filter had been disassembled and cleaned).

So we backwashed Monday, were able to go back to 1800rpms and everything was fine. Until I noticed the flow light again today. I bumped up to 2000 and the red light went out, but it's only been 4 days. The return pressure seems to be fine. The filter on low is maybe not clearing the pool as well as I would expect, but we usually run it on high to clear, so I don't really know what to compare it to. On H (2400rpm) it clears fine. I'm wondering if there's a suction side problem? How would I know/test? Other thoughts? All equipment is 1 yr old.

 

[jblizzle]

What does your water look like? It sounds like the filter is doing its job and pulling stuff out of the water. Which will then lower the flow rates. Are you keeping track of the filter pressure at a higher RPM and backwashing when it rises 20 to 25% over the clean pressure?

 

[JamesW]

Probably time to do a full filter breakdown and clean the grids.

 

[Luric]

The grids were cleaned June 21st. Is it an every 6 wks thing? I thought like once/season. When we BW this week it had only gone up 2 psi which is why we initially held of on doing it. Once we did, it did appear to fix the problem immediately, but only temporarily, like 4 days. Psi haven't changed in those 4 days, still at the initial clean reading.

 

[JamesW]

Depends on how clean the water has been. I would recommend a breakdown and full cleaning.

 

[jblizzle]

Again, what does the water look like?

If your water was clean and clear, you should only need to backwash 1-2 times per season and we recommend a tear down once a year.
How much DE are you adding after each backwashing? Backwashing is not very efficient at removing all the DE.

 

[Philo]

Follow James W and Jason's advice.

If you still have issues, you could; take out the flow switch and using 2 pair of needle nose pliers, bend the "paddle" part of the toward the receiver about 50% of the current distance.

It fixed mine perfectly and I could lower the flow from 2200 to 1400.

 

[Luric]

Water is clear, we swim in it most days. Our pool is surrounded by trees & landscaping, so we def get more debris than most, but the water is perfectly clear. Ccompared to the swping when I had to empty the skimmers at least 1/day, it's been 3 days and while I did empty them, there wasn't much in there (but as I mentioned above I do feel it's skimming less than usual, so what's lacking in the skimmer baskets could just still be sitting on top of the water.

Again, what does the water look like?

If your water was clean and clear, you should only need to backwash 1-2 times per season and we recommend a tear down once a year.
How much DE are you adding after each backwashing? Backwashing is not very efficient at removing all the DE.

 

[Luric]

Just discovered hubby hasn’t been adding DE after backwashing. Does that sound like the problem? What sort of damage can we expect to have incurred. It’s been 6 wks since full grid clean (and I’m assuming pool guys added DE), and we’ve backwashed twice since.

Disclaimed: we switched from sand to DE filter last year, so my husband just forgot there’s an extra step after 9 months of the pool being closed.

 

[JamesW]

It will cause the problem.

Just do a full breakdown and clean the grids.

 

[ping]

Take the filter apart and inspect the grids as they might be clogged with debris. Normally the DE will trap the debris before it gets stuck in the grids. Worst case is you need new grids, might be why the flow is not enough any longer.