Just starting out, need help with filter maintenance, above ground with PLD50 DE

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80sDweeb

0
Jul 23, 2016
21
Snowflake AZ
Finished building the pool at the end of the season last fall, sat all winter and we're in a desert, so the bottom is covered in dirt/sand. A few leaves and organics, but mostly silt/dirt/sand. Cleaned out the filter, added the DE (6 lbs) and let it run for days. Used the vacuum on the bottom after a couple days, helped a little, but there's a lot of dirt still. Now the suction had diminished, and I was hoping to backflush the filter, but I realized there's no way to do that with the "factory included" setup. Doh! How do I backflush this so I don't have to crack open the filter housing again? It wasn't very easy to get the two halves to go back together when I did it last week, don't want to start that wrestling match up again. And FYI, adding lots of "lube" isn't very productive in a windy desert environment. Sand stuck to a big o-ring isn't what you want!

I watched a YouTube vid where a guy said just open up the big plug at the bottom of the filter, to let the junk out, then "run the pump until the water flowing out clears up." That wasn't a "backflush", because there wasn't any backward flow, unless you count the water flowing backward from the jet into the pump.

We had an inground a few years ago, and it had all the built-in plumbing for backflushing, I haven't seen that on any above grounds I've looked at, so how do I backflush?

Any other tips to help me get a handle on cleaning, I'm all ears. Unlike the inground pool we had back in upstate NY, here in the mountains of AZ, NO ALGAE, NONE! I was at least gratified to see that. Every pool left for a day without care in NY turns GREEN.

Scott in Snowflake AZ
 
Please post a picture of your equipment pad so we can see what you are working with.

The key to preventing algae is just maintaining the proper FC levels at all times, if you are not doing that in the AZ mountains, then you are just getting lucky. ;)

Maybe these will contain some information that will help you out in the future:
Use and Care of DE Filters
DE Filter Cleaning Tutorial
 
Pump and Filter.jpg

Here's what I have. Better than the sand filter they "include", and a good solid pump, but nothing special except for the valves to shut off the skimmer and return. This is how it was sold to me, and this is what I see on most AG pools I see. How do you backflush this? Do I just open the port on the backside of the filter, and let the water from the return flow backwards through it by gravity? Otherwise, I'd have to figure out some sort of way to undo the piping from pump to filter (the plastic base is designed to work with pump, pipe, and filter together) and hook the pump to the other side of the filter? Every time it gets dirty?

Scott in Snowflake AZ
 
I just looked up the manual on the Pentair website ... did you do that? ;)

Anyway, there is no way to backwash it. You have to take it apart every time.
We recommend cleaning when the pressure rises 20-25% above the clean pressure.

Honesly every System 2 or 3 filter I have ever looked at seems to be a horrible design and it seems that generally people end up hating them.
 
jblizzle said:
I just looked up the manual on the Pentair website ... did you do that? ;)

Anyway, there is no way to backwash it. You have to take it apart every time.
We recommend cleaning when the pressure rises 20-25% above the clean pressure.

Honesly every System 2 or 3 filter I have ever looked at seems to be a horrible design and it seems that generally people end up hating them.
Click to expand...



New pool owner and I have a System 2 PLD50 DE, what about the design is horrible and why do people end up hating them?
 
Use disposable hair nets to line the skimmer. When vacuuming, use a leaf canister and have ladies knee high pantyhose lining that. That will reduce the amount of debris reaching the filter by about 90% and reduce the frequency of cleaning. I clean my DE filter only once per season.
 

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