Glad I asked the question...
My pressures run at at 14 when the filter and the DE/cellulose are clean. They completely MAX out at 23 with a nasty dirty filter.This is what I mean. This is full of cellulose but DE looks quite similar.>>
That's what the head of the filter looks like when you take off the band around the belly of the filter.
The bump handle in my filter is missing the plastic handle part.
I have a Backwash / Bump question. My pump seems to run steady with my pressure gauge around 10. It is all brand new so I would imagine everything is still pretty clean. So, what you are saying is to keep an eye on the pressure gauge and when that starts to rise, I can BUMP to bring that back down?
As for backwashing, you never backwash? I do have a blue rolled up plastic tube connected to my filter, I am assuming that is what I use to backwash and the Crud runs out of that, but do I need a place for that Crud to run to and is it ok to just run it into some trees or in my yard somewhere?
Thanks.
This is from the Owner Manual"
Hayward PDF said:
REGENERATION (Extending the Cycle)
Stop the pump. Move the bump handle down slowly, then up briskly. Repeat 3 times. Restart the pump and filtration will resume at near the original flow and pressure. After each regeneration, and until the filter is cleaned, there may be a slight increase in the starting pressure. This is the result of dirt accumulating within the filter and is completely normal.
This is what most people call "bumping the filter". When my pressures rise from my base 14, I bump the filter and my pressures go back to 14 and stay that way for a while. As more and more junk get stuck in the media (DE or cellulose). When my pump and only rn for an hour without the pressures rising over 20, I know it's time to "change" the DE. I usually take the head off and clean the fingers but other people just do a backwash to wash off 80% of the media and add 80% of the DE it would need for a full charge. I don't have a backwash circuit for the water to go anywhere except by the side of the filter and that makes a mess. I just change it and dispose of the DE by taking it to my green waste garbage can.