Never enough flow

[synapsid]

Hi everyone,
Both my heat pump (TTI Fab Stratos 80) and my chlorinator (Hayward Aquatrol) show low-flow errors and stop working almost every day. I’ve tried to work around this by keeping the pump at a high speed. It primes at 3450 rpm (the maximum) and then reduces automatically to 1600. I changed it so now it never goes below 3000 but still I will look outside and it seems slow, and when I check, sure enough there is a low flow error on all the equipment. Water is crystal clear but it’s cooling off because the heat pump is so temperamental and sensitive to flow. Anyone experience something like this?
Thanks

 

[Jimrahbe]

S,

When was the last time you cleaned your filter?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[mas985]

Can you post a picture of your pad equipment?

Is there a heater bypass and do you have it setup so that all the flow goes through the heater?

What is the filter pressure at full speed?

 

[synapsid]

Thanks friends—
There is a bypass; it’s closed but there’s definitely some volume of water in there. I’m not sure it’s piped ideally, I will try to show in the pictures. It’s a cartridge filter and I just turned it on for the first time around July 1. So a solid month-is it time to clean?

 

[synapsid]

Thanks friends—
There is a bypass; it’s closed but there’s definitely some volume of water in there. I’m not sure it’s piped ideally, I will try to show in the pictures. It’s a cartridge filter and I just turned it on for the first time around July 1. So a solid month-is it time to clean?

P.S. filter pressure reads 16 at top speed

 

[mas985]

The bypass appears to be open in the picture. Handle is aligned with the pipe. Try turning that handle (one connected between the 2 tees) 90 degrees.

 

[Jimrahbe]

So a solid month-is it time to clean?

S,

Depends on what you been running through it...

Dirty filters are the number one reason for low flow. It might, or might not, be dirty, but in my mind, you need to eliminate it as a possibility before looking at anything else.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[synapsid]

Sorry please disregard that pic. It was an old one meant to show the setup. Just went outside now to snap this pic here, you will see the bypass is closed. And sure enough, at top speed (3450 rpm) I am seeing 16 on the pressure gauge and and E3 error on the heat pump. I shut the heat pump off at the breaker and turned it back on and it started working. But for how long? SWCG is running fine this time but occasionally in this situation it too shows low flow.

 

[mas985]

Where is the water level with respects to the middle of the skimmer? It should be half way up.

If it is working and then all of a sudden creates an alarm, it seems like a transient problem. Could be the water level is too low or some other issue.

Have you been near the equipment when the alarm occurs? Do you see anything else unusual such as a change in filter pressure?

 

[synapsid]

Water level has gotten a little low. I’m filling up a little and will report back soon.

 

[synapsid]

Ok, did a very quick backwash of the filter, filled up above the halfway point of the skimmer. Cleaned out all the baskets of debris, and cranked it up. It’s now below 10 psi on full speed and when I back it off to 2000 rpm I have not gotten a low flow error yet…I think this combination of filling and cleaning has done the trick. Thanks for the advice!

 

[JamesW]

You really cannot backwash a cartridge filter because it will never get clean enough.

You need to take the cartridge out and clean it properly.

Your system seems to be some sort of goofy overly complicated nonsense.

Are you sure that it is plumbed correctly?

Are you sure that you are operating it correctly?

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[JamesW]

Also, check the cell to make sure that it is clean.

I don't understand your filter and if it has a bypass, so maybe it is bypassing debris on a setting and that debris can clog a salt cell or the heater.

If it has a bypass, never use the bypass.

What is the pump model number?

Do you have the performance curve for the pump?

 

[JamesW]

I don't really get why the pump needs two connections to the filter?

Can you explain what this does?

 

[JamesW]

What is this top thing?

Is this a bypass?

 

[synapsid]

Thanks James. That top part where it says "to pump" is usually closed off and the green valve at the bottom is open. So water is pumped in through the green valve, ascends in the column with the cartridge in it, and then exits through the opening where it says "to pool". I have that hard piped (maybe my first mistake) to a tee that goes either directly to the heater or directly to the salt cell. If you adjust the valves correctly you can take the heater out of the loop, which someone told me was good for maintenance (but this may be mistake #2). I can look up the model # and curve when I get home from work. I never use the bypass and now I'm thinking I should never have gotten it installed. The drain at the bottom can be opened and the flow reversed to backwash the filter but I understand that it would never get as clean as hosing it down as in the video.

 

[synapsid]

Update, of course you all were right-- It was the filter. I was amazed that it could get so filthy and clogged after just one month of running it. But I guess that's how the pool stays so clean, at the expense of the filter. Also bled air out at the top and one of my valves was partially closed...now the return jet flow is stronger than ever.