Pentair cartridge filter problem - almost no flow unless cleaned every hour

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M

mattowpe

0
Oct 15, 2018
3
London, Ontario, Canada
I opened my pool a few days ago and seem to have a problem with my Pentair Clean and Clear Plus 320. When I open it up and give everything a good clean it works beautifully, the pressure is at about 15, and I get great flow from the returns. But after an hour or less the pressure is up to >25 and there's very little flow. Cleaning the filters/tank/air bleeder mesh gets it working again every time... temporarily.

The filters are only about 2 years old and appear to be in very good shape, and they're never very dirty when I do this. And the water in the tank is somewhat cloudy with a bit of debris, but not an exceptional amount. The only component that is damaged is the mesh on top of the air bleed assembly, which is split in a couple of places and definitely looks like it should be replaced.

But from what I've read re: what the air bleed assembly does, (like in this thread: Internal air bleeder assembly - Do I need it?) it doesn't make sense to me that this damaged mesh could be causing my flow to drop like this. Can anyone tell me whether buying a replacement air bleed assembly might solve my problem, or point me in another direction? Thanks!
 
Welcome to TFP! :wave: What you are describing sounds much like an algae bloom in its early stages - still transparent and clogging the filter until you rinse the carts. Can you post a full set of test results? Also be sure to update your signature and tell us how you chlorinate the water. We'll help you out.

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Matt,

I really, really doubt that your filter is bad.. What you have is a chemical issue and not a mechanical issue...

Just to make sure... I assume you have not given your cartridges any kind of soak in Muriatic Acid, have you???

Have you been using Floc??

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Hey guys! I don't have a test kit (I'll add that to my to-do list) but I'll get the water tested at my pool shop tomorrow and post the results - today's a national holiday here in Canada so they're closed.

I have a salt cell that unfortunately stopped working last year and I can't afford to replace it right now, so I've been chlorinating with pucks and adding liquid chlorine when needed.

No, I have not soaked my cartidges in muriatic acid. And I haven't used any Floc this year, though I have at times in the past when the pool shop recommended it.

Thanks!
 
mattowpe said:
I haven't used any Floc this year, though I have at times in the past when the pool shop recommended it.
Click to expand...
That's unfortunate. Unless you have a diverter valve between the pump and filter to divert (floc) water to WASTE, that floc most certainly gummed-up the carts. We almost never recommend using floc. You will probably need to replace those. It's still possible you may have an algae issue which will require a SLAM Process, but we won't know until you can obtain a recommended test kit. Once you do, please let us know and post a full set of water results. We'll be happy to help you through the next steps.
 
Matt,

Floc may have compromised your cartridges, but the fact that they work for a few hours after cleaning makes me believe that the main problem is algae..

While we do not trust pool store tests, it will still be interesting to see where your FC and CYA levels are..

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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