Pentair Quad DE 60 backwash recharge ?

[Tbwonder]

Have a Pentair quad DE 60.

Question is on running a backwash on these filters.

Pentair says backwash it and then recharge with a full dose of DE.

Thing is, there’s no way it flushes ALL of the DE during a backwash . The site glass is only cloudy briefly and then runs clear …and in fall when I run backwash and then open it up to store it…it’s got a ton of DE still caked in there.

Any experience with this?

How long to run in backwash? What speed? And how much DE to recharge?

I can also just open it and clean it….but it’s a LOT of DE to have to wash out and would be nice to be able to effectively flush it via backwash into the drywell.

Anyone?

 

[jsygrls]

So here's my two cents. I do not have a Pentair I do have a Hayward DE8420 filter it call for 6 pounds of DE after a full breakdown and cleaning. After a backwash I find a 60% recharge amount works real well for me. My water crystal clear.
I am not an TFP expert but been using DE filters for more than twenty years. Seen neighbors load DE filter to the max and seen it stress the return flow of water and PSI readings from time to time.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

The backwash on any DE filter is always very inefficient and almost never removes more than 20-40% of the DE. Because my Quad is very large compared to my pool volume, I don’t bother backwashing and all I have to do is clean out the filter once per year. Saves a lot of effort.

That said, in the future, I’m ditching the DE filter and going with a cartridge.

 

[reggiehammond]

The backwash on any DE filter is always very inefficient and almost never removes more than 20-40% of the DE. Because my Quad is very large compared to my pool volume, I don’t bother backwashing and all I have to do is clean out the filter once per year. Saves a lot of effort.

That said, in the future, I’m ditching the DE filter and going with a cartridge.

I also don't backwash based on many folks reporting similar here. I find it's just easier to clean it twice a year (which I'd do anyway) and not worry about it.

 

[jsygrls]

Thanks JN and RH, to add a little more info. My location is in Central Florida, my pool has no overflow feature, (can you believe it).
So when we get heavy rains, and if my PSI happens to be up just a little bit, I kill two birds with one stone, a backwash and maintain a proper skimmer level. So less is more with the DE recharging volumes after backwashing in the rainy season.