Hayward Cartridge filter - high pressure even after cleaning cartridges?

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E

Ed Armstrong

0
Jun 10, 2011
47
South Shore - Massachusetts
Hi Folks
20'-40', liner, salt water pool, Hayward swim clear cartridge filter
Experiencing steady high pressure for the first time since installation 8 yrs ago, 22 PSI, usually about 13-14. Replaced cartridges and motor 2 yrs ago with genuine Hayward. All outlets flowing well, all intakes working well, but one I have seen is strangely slow to expel for the few few minutes at start up, furthest from filter, then opens up just fine. Pressure stays steady at 22 throughout this however.

After I've cleaned the 4 cartridges (several times this season), at first start up pressure is about 15 but within a day or so it goes up to the 22 psi. Water is clear, pool appears to be functioning perfectly. Gage does return to zero at shut down. I would suspect a blockage on the outlet that sometimes is slow to start flowing but even after it opens up allowing flow, pressure remains high at 22.
Any suggestions appreciated.
Thanks
Ed
MA
 
Hi mknauss,

I'll take those results in the am and post immediate. I'm very curious as to how such results may be playing a part in my high pressure but I clearly defer to your expertise. In the meantime I replaced all the ball valves with new, and one had indeed been partially/fully stuck in the closed position, I also washed out all 4 cartridges. Now, all return jets are flowing well, pressure has lowered to 17 psi, which is better than the 22 before, but strangely still high for "my" pool. Thinking maybe SWG may be clogged up?????? Thanks again, will get those results for you. Ed
 
Hi mknauss
Just got my readings sir, as follows, BTW filter has been holding steady last 2 days at 18 psi, down from the 22 since I replaced all the ball valves, but still up from the normal 13-14 psi I've always had.
-CH- 2, will add some liquid chlorine to bring it up, lost some run time last few days due to ball valve replacements
-F CH - 0
-PH- 8.4+, high, adding some muriatic acid to drop it
-Salt- 3000, SWG set at 65%
-CYA-70, bit low, will add some liquid conditioner

with the vinyl liner, that's really all I normally test for. Wondering if SWG is scaled/clogged up a bit causing the higher psi??
Thank you in advance for your advice
Ed
 
Thank you for the test results.

What is your TA? You need that to determine how much acid to use to lower your pH.
 
Post pics of your equipment pad.

You say you replaced ball valves. Can you expand on that? A valve that is smaller or slightly closed can create a higher pressure.
 

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MKNAUSS/AJW22

HI folks, just put new pressure valve in, and again, PSI still at 21 lbs, so to recap, what I have done to try to alleviate this high pressure over the last couple weeks is -

-on the return line which leaves the pool heater and goes through through the SWG, then splits off into an H style network for the four return lines, put new ball valves on all four lines which I redid with PVC, thinking maybe a ball valve was partially closed and faulty
-put in new pressure gauge
-washed out all 4 cartridge filters
-provided the water chemistry (which I'm still wondering about for its relevancy to the filter PSI), but I defer to you folks

Now, everything looks fine except my pressure which for the last 7 yrs has been around 13-14 psi, is all of a sudden 20-22 the last month or so??

The only 2 things different this year I can think of is-
1) I have really tightened the Hayward fiberglass filter tank clamp strap, and I've really tightened the two screw knobs on the front of the filter basket after putting the basket back into the pump after emptying it
2) I've noticed that the the furthest return jet has very weak water flow pressure for the first 1-2 hrs after start up, then appears to flow out normally, but with lots of air bubbles at beginning, the other 3 returns are normal at start up flowing properly. OR.... I can shut down one or two of the other return jets after startup sending more pressure to that "slow" jet, which immediately then bubbles out air and starts flowing normally. So wondering if that line is some how air locked or faulty for some reason???

All input greatly appreciated!! thanks folks
 
You never posted a value for CH - Calcium hardness.

Is it possible the filter cartridges are scaled up? TA of 100. pH of 8.4, and a CH of 200 or above could lead to scaling on the filters.
 
Found the cause, high pressure solved. My CH test turned the sample pink by simply adding the 3 drops of R-0011L after the initial 10 drops of R-0010, I didn't even need to add the R-0012 until it turned pink, was already pink from the R-0011L. Guessing this means high CH which scaled up the cartridges??

My "newer" 2 yr old OEM Hayward Cartridges were getting dirty, unusually quickly this season even after being thoroughly cleaned each time, and didn't clean up as well as before. So...... to test this theory, I removed simply one of the 4 cartridges, and voila, immediately down to 14 PSI from 21. Sure wished I had tried this test at the start before changing out ball valves and pressure gauges, seems like a quick way to check if your cartridges are dirty and scaled up causing the high pressure. So I offer this out there. Thanks MKNauss for your time and assistance sir. PleatCo brand cartridges for the future also!
 
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