Newbie- Sand Pump question

[Mdragger88]

I for one don’t want to have to hand wash my filter media every couple weeks - much less take the whole thing apart to do so & dig out wet gross balls!
Use sand. Backwash when needed (pressure rises 25% over clean pressure)
& deep clean the sand with a hose once a year or so.
The #20 silica sand is cheap will last indefinitely if tfp methods are followed.

Sand Filter Use and Care - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[wireform]

Your system will work well with good chemistry. Sand filters have been around forever and last that long too. If the chemistry is on par per TFP it won't make a difference what filter you have. Yes, they are slower with cleaning up swamp water but eventually get there too. Lots of pool kits come with small or undersized filters so they can make the pricing attractive then you're in and out of that same place buying all kinds of chemicals all season long because the water gets away form them, no surprise there and then the filter struggles too. With the TFP methodology that shouldn't happen. We got you worry not.

 

[phonedave]

I use a DE filter, because I like my water super sparkly .

It works for me because I open and close my pool each year (as so should the OP - given she lives in Maine)

If I had a sand filter, I don't think I would be moving it around when I open and close the pool, unless I took the sand out.

If I had a cartage filter I would need to clean cartages a number of times over the course of a season.

With DE, I get through an entire season with one charge of DE. I have had to clean and recharge the filter mid-season I think once in the 10+ years I have been running it. Being able to bump the filter is all I need to do over the course of the season to keep it cleaning the water and the pressure where it needs to be. Then at the end of each season I do a thorough clean and maintenance of the filter - flush the DE, clean the fingers, lube all the seals, etc. I then put it together and into storage for the winter, and in the spring it is ready to go with a fresh 8lb charge of DE.

 

[Newdude]

If I had a cartage filter I would need to clean cartages a number of times over the course of a season.

A large *any* filter needs seldom cleaning. Bugger filters hold more crud, no more, no less, regardless of some industry nonsense about GPH, turnover and gallons.

 

[Mdragger88]

I used to move my tiny sand filter in the winter but I gave that up after about the first time
Draining it & removing the gauge is all you really need to do to winterize. I do also cover my mvp and pump with a small tarp just to keep precipitation from settling in the crannies.

 

[Newdude]

I use a DE filter, because I like my water super sparkly

My cartridge filter only makes it regular sparkly.

 

[wireform]

There's very little to no difference on water quality where filters are of equal size and chemistry is up to perfection. It all comes down to owner preference. DE, cartridge or sand with the DE added are the same difference.

 

[Newdude]

The yard debris / crud traps finer crud inside the filter. IMO, the yard determines just how far you can filter because said crud is a constant no matter the filter choice.

 

[Srisberg]

I for one don’t want to have to hand wash my filter media every couple weeks - much less take the whole thing apart to do so & dig out wet gross balls!
Use sand. Backwash when needed (pressure rises 25% over clean pressure)
& deep clean the sand with a hose once a year or so.
The #20 silica sand is cheap will last indefinitely if tfp methods are followed.

Sand Filter Use and Care - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Ewww that doesn’t sound like fun, #20 it is!

 

[phonedave]

There's very little to no difference on water quality where filters are of equal size and chemistry is up to perfection. It all comes down to owner preference. DE, cartridge or sand with the DE added are the same difference.

Everything I have read (I have done no experiments on my own) says that DE filters will remove the smallest particles, then cartage, then sand.

You can argue that those smallest of particles don't matter, any maybe they don't, but given the option I would rather remove the smallest particles that I can.

 

[wireform]

Everything I have read (I have done no experiments on my own) says that DE filters will remove the smallest particles, then cartage, then sand.

You can argue that those smallest of particles don't matter, any maybe they don't, but given the option I would rather remove the smallest particles that I can.

So then your choice will be between DE and cartridge. The DE has a slight advantage and not as simple to backwash since you're still left with some in the filter and eventually you'll have to open up and manually clean the grids so at that point just get cartridges. DE isn't always a choice since some municipalities don't allow you to dump it in the sewer so where are you to backwash to.

 

[phonedave]

So then your choice will be between DE and cartridge. The DE has a slight advantage and not as simple to backwash since you're still left with some in the filter and eventually you'll have to open up and manually clean the grids so at that point just get cartridges. DE isn't always a choice since some municipalities don't allow you to dump it in the sewer so where are you to backwash to.

I'm not the OP. I already have a DE filter that I am happy with

I never backwash, but then my pool season is 4 months or so long. Bumping the filter keeps it going just fine most of the time.

Even if I have to backwash, I don't. I just do a complete DE change. It is not that hard. I take most of the DE out with a scoop and get it out of the fingers with a stick (paint stirrer) and put it in the trash.

I wash the fingers off over the lawn.