If you see bubbles in your skimmer basket, your filter may just need a cleaning

[dannieboiz]

Lesson learn for this season that I want to share.

Over the past few months, I posted a few threads about noisy pump and how there's a small tornado with bubbles in my skimmer basket that I can't get rid of. I went as far as digging to make sure everything was alrite and even tore my pump apart.

Well, today I decided to go ahead and take my DE filter apart and give it a good clean and found it was full of gunk. It was only cleaned last spring and was backwashed in between.

Once all was clean and reassembled and fired up the pump. HOLLY COW, all I saw was a bubble the size of a dot!

I'm just so thrilled that it was nothing more than a simple cleaning of the filter that I had to come here and share the experience with you guys. Hopefully it'll prevent another owner of going through the drama I had to for nothing.

 

[Richard320]

Make a note now that you know what the real clean pressure is, so you know when to clean it again.

 

[dannieboiz]

funny that you mentioned that because I did pay attention to my pressure. Cleaned grids, I'm @ 12psi same noted this year as last.

Whenever the bubble issue started, I was only at 16 ish PSI. When I looked at it this morning it was closer to 18-19 psi hence I decided it was time to clean.

Next time, if I see bubbles and i'm over 15psi I might as well backwash and see if it helps.

 

[Richard320]

12psi + 25% =15psi. You were way overdue.

 

[dannieboiz]

12psi + 25% =15psi. You were way overdue.

I didn't know that...good info.

 

[Taema]

I had this happen last year.. it was a pinhole leak in the filter oring. After a bit of silicone divers grease it was perfect the rest of the year.

 

[Laswimmin]

I'm new to pools, but do pretty good with hydraulics. Sounds like you had discharge cavitation. If the pump can't evacuate the liquid fast enough (high pressure on one side, low on the other), bubbles will form on the input side of the pump impeller from excess velocity. In high pressure hydraulics this can be very bad. The small bubbles will collapse (implode) and cause turbulence that will deteriorate metal even!


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