No/low return pressure, no suction, non-functional Polaris

[Jayzeem83]

Ok, so I’m getting ready to SLAM today and ran some chemistry tests for baseline numbers. Went to add some MA to balance pH and saw that there was no vortex of water from the return jets. One jet has no flow or pressure to be felt with my hand and the other two have minimal return flow felt. Also, my Polaris 360 is moving at all. Also, absolutely no suction from skimmer. What on earth!? I’m not sure whether this occurred suddenly as I have not been in the pool for a while since it’s green and I’ve needed to replace the back up valve on the Polaris and that just got done. What is the trouble shooting here before calling someone? Thank you!

 

[mknauss]

When did you last clean your filter? What is your filter pressure versus it’s clean pressure?

 

[Jayzeem83]

Last cleaned it 3 weeks ago, full dismantle and washing of filter grids. Filter pressure is now around 40 and clean was 20.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Jay,

Sounds like your problem... the higher the filter pressure the less water can get to the returns... algae can clog a filter in just hours..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Jayzeem83]

Oh darn it. Would back washing be sufficient or would I need to take it apart again? Is there any point running the pump until I can clean the filter?

 

[mknauss]

Do you have a multi valve on your DE filter? If so, place in recirculate if you wish to continue with a SLAM until you can clean the filter

 

[Jayzeem83]

Yea to multi valve. Since recirculate bypasses the filter, can all the algae in the filter destroy the hard work of SLAM once I get the water back through the filter? Thanks.

 

[Jayzeem83]

Is it worth me back washing? Thanks!

 

[Jimrahbe]

Yes, I would try backwashing first..

Jim R.

 

[Jayzeem83]

Ok thank you. Also, after I backwash and there happens to still be no/limited skimmer suction, how would I get the DE back into the filter?