Low Jet Pressure

[Renloos]

Hello,

We had our pool installed in July of this year. I've maintained a TFP so far. Last week, I was vacuuming and noticed I had little to no suction. I felt the jet and there was very little pressure. I emptied the filter basket, the pump filter basket and started again. Some pressure briefly returned. Now, I am noticing this loss of pressure daily. I again empty both baskets (there is hardly anything in them), and pressure from the jet increases again. My pool water isn't circulating well (even with the pump on, the top of the water is still). Pump and Filter (DE) is less than 2 months old. The filter reads 4 psi.

Do you suggest I backwash? Clean out DE? Look for a clog somewhere? My girls have long hair and I do pull small amounts of hair out of the the skimmer basket, but nothing drastic.

I thought I would trouble shoot here before calling the company to see if we have a defect.

I've maintained the following numbers with TF-100 Test Kit
SWG Pool
FC 4-5
CC 0
PH 7.5
CYA 75
TA 130 (high I know...but PH has been steady so I've left it)

 

[mas985]

The filter pressure seems a bit low to me. Is the pump running on low speed of a two speed pump? If so, what is the pressure on high speed? It might be worth a filter backwash.

 

[Renloos]

Filter pressure was 2 psi brand new. It is a 2 speed, but we've always run it on low speed. It started out with high pressure from the jet, but only in the last 2-3 weeks have we started to notice loss of pressure.

We actually took the whole system apart to check for clogs. We then opened up the filter and the screens were near completely clogged with what looked like dirt/sand/mud. The DE looked like it was in thick clumps at the top and bottom. I'm not sure why it clogged so fast only after 1 1/2 months and we've never had an algae issue. We have some sand around the ladder but it sure didn't seem enough to clog up the filter.

We cleaned the grids and put it all back together, added the correct amount of DE and it's working great again. At least now, I'll know what to do.