Low filter pressure on two return lines (5psi) and regular filter pressure on side outlet (20psi)

[mcflied]

Hello there. I have a pool now, new to me, that I have started to clean and take care of.

After taking the cartridges out and hosing them clean, I reassembled the unit and all seems to be good, except I noticed one thing.

Low filter pressure when Jandy valve is switched to the two return lines (5psi) and regular filter pressure when Jandy valve is switched to the side outlet (20psi). Why would switching to the return lines cause PSI to drop in the filter at 5psi with little water flow coming out and switching to the side outlet for our Polaris 360 cause the filter pressure to be at 20psi with good water flow coming out of that one outlet?

Thanks for any help here.

 

[Jimrahbe]

M,

Filter pressure is really the effort it takes to force water through the system.. It is much easier to push water through two open returns than it is to force the water through the cleaner.

Think of putting your finger over the end of a garden hose...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[mcflied]

Hi Jim.

Yes that makes sense. I guess my main concern is that the flow of water coming out of the return is not great. One of the two lines barely anything coming out. The other one, the flow seems to be weak. So when switch Jandy to return, the pool water is not filtering the water at a normal rate.

I’ve read that normal filter pressure should be 10-15 or so. So 5psi seems really low and that makes sense as there’s not a good flow of water coming out. So where should I be looking in order to bring psi in the 10-15 range? Appear to be no leaks anywhere, no bubbles in pre-pump area—could there be a clog somewhere? I checked pump propeller and it’s good. After all my research, I’m stumped.

-Mcflied

M,

Filter pressure is really the effort it takes to force water through the system.. It is much easier to push water through two open returns than it is to force the water through the cleaner.

Think of putting your finger over the end of a garden hose...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Mc,

My filter pressure is about 1 or 2 lbs. It really depends on your pump and pump speed and the size of your filter.

What type of pump do you have? What size filter?

Another factor is the size of the pool return eyeballs.. The bigger the eyeballs the less you will feel the flow.. The smaller the eyeballs the more you can feel the flow.. The old thumb thing again..

What kind of cleaner do you have? Most pressure side cleaners have a booster pump.. Does yours?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[mcflied]

Hi Jim,

So you mentioned pool return eyeballs. I don't have any on there which finally explains the low pressure. I found another return for a total of three lines. So 3 lines at 1.5" each = 4.5". With the eyeballs in place, it would be 2.25" in total (.75" x 3). This pool was resurfaced 1.5 years ago and I think the original homeowner never put the eyeballs in after.

I will purchase and install them to see what the pressure changes to and updater the thread here. Thanks for your help!

-Mcflied

 

[Jimrahbe]

Mc,

Weird... When a pool is replastered, the eyeball usually get replaced by the plaster guys...

Adding eyeballs should fix your issue..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[mcflied]

I put in the eyeballs, and the water is coming out of the returns just fine now. However, the psi at the filter pressure remains ~6 psi. I guess that is my normal 'clean' psi starting point. Thanks for your help!

-Mcflied