Hayward EC40C925S. Strange Thing

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L

Lcts

Bronze Supporter
Jul 7, 2015
47
Long Island. NY
Good morning! Happy Mothers Day! Love TFP!
When I closed the pool last season I opened up the filter to put it away for the winter. The "fingers" had no DE attached to them at all. All the DE was laying at the bottom of the filter. So I figured I was running it for about a month with no DE filtration at all, and lucky me the pool was still crystal clear. The fingers all looked good no tears or anything. I planned on getting a new filter this year when I opened up the pool (it's about 8 years old).
So I go to the pool store to research and maybe buy a new filter. So the salesman, believe it or not, says "there is nothing wrong with your filter. Your pool is crystal clear. There is no dirt to attach to the fingers. As for the DE on the bottom of the filter that is normal, the way the filter works is when the filter shuts off all the DE sinks to the bottom, and when it starts up again it rises up to the top, if the pool is clean there will be no dirt to attach to the fingers.....you don't need a new filter". Unbelievable right?
I did notice that when the filter shut off , the water in the pump got a little milky white. never saw any DE in the pool. So I think (because of reading on this forum )that I need a new check valve. I looked where it it supposed to be and didn't see one. Doesn't mean it's not there just couldn' see one. Does this filter even have a check valve?
What do you think?
 
There are a few things in your situation I would highlight. For the water clarity, you probably just got fortunate with the timing of the weather and closing. But yes, it's not uncommon for "some" DE to fall to the bottom of the filter when off, then get sucked back onto the fingers/grids once the system is on again. Some DE may simply not have enough finger space to adhere to. Now whether any of that DE should find its way out of the filter is another story. Ideally none should go forward as the fingers/grids should prevent that unless they are torn. Back some owners have experienced small amounts of DE floating backwards towards the pump basket when the system is turned-off. Any "post shut-down" movement of water like that can be for a number of reasons like an air leak in the system or plumbing/elevation changes, so it doesn't always mean something is wrong. So for some owners, they might have a check valve installed between the pump and filter for that very reason. Just depends on their application. Other DE owners may have additional experiences to offer.

But for your situation, if the filter housing is sound, and all the fingers look good, it sounds like all you need it to recoat them unless you are simply ready to break away to a new filter.
 
thank you Texas. So it sounds like the check valve is optional,and not everyone has one? I'm going to give the filter another try. I'll check it in a couple of weeks and see if any DE has attached to the fingers this time. I bought a dolphin e10 robot.
hopefuly it will save my clear water if the filter in fact is not working right.
 
Some DE can fall off of the fingers when the pump is off. There should be some sticking to the fingers when the pump is off.

The water flow goes in at the bottom and should stir up any de on the bottom and distribute it to the fingers.

The check valve helps to keep de from flowing into the pump and sometimes back to the pool through the suction lines.

The check valve is not critical. But, it's nice to have.

Sometimes the rubber flapper with the brass weight breaks off and goes into the filter and sometimes out the waste line when backwashing.
 
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