Possible sand in pool

[ducttapekz]

I ran my robot vacuum and it looked like it was full of sand:

Is this sand? What should I check next?

I have an S310S Hayward filter. It takes about 500 pounds of sand so I'm kind of dreading changing the sand and lateral.

30k gal, IG vinyl, Jandy 1.65HP VS pump, sand filter, Hayward SWG, Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus cleaner

 

[Texas Splash]

Look below your return jets. There should be piles of sand in that area. Or some people try to rig-up a sock or nylon around a return jet to catch it that way. But I suspect your biggest fear might be correct. You might need to dive down into that filter to inspect the laterals/hub assembly.

 

[ducttapekz]

Does anyone have experience changing the lateral assembly on a Hayward S310S? I’ve watched some Youtube videos on changing laterals but they are all ones with a long pipe from the top. The S310S has the pipe come in from the side so it seems a lot more complicated than remove the top and remove the sand.

 

[1poolman1]

Yes, more difficult. Remove valve, remove both inlet and outlet fittings by unscrewing. Top (inlet/diffuser) is in the way so has to come out first. Be sure to get all new O rings/gaskets to reassemble. Obviously, sand out first. It was 500# dry. Closer to 800# wet.

 

[dustinh]

Welcome to spring in Tennessee. I am pretty sure that is pollen. Mine looks the same - pollen is terrible here in East Tennessee right now. If it is sand it should be accumulating right in front of and under your return jets as Texas Splash said

 

[Lanzz]

My vote is pollen as well. My robot has looked like this for about three weeks - about another week or two to go.

 

[ducttapekz]

I think you may be right about pollen. It really looked like sand but when it dried it was soft. I vacuumed again 3 days later and next to nothing in the baskets. I'll hold off on any filter maintenance.

 

[ducttapekz]

Yes, more difficult. Remove valve, remove both inlet and outlet fittings by unscrewing. Top (inlet/diffuser) is in the way so has to come out first. Be sure to get all new O rings/gaskets to reassemble. Obviously, sand out first. It was 500# dry. Closer to 800# wet.

Thanks for the advice! I didn't see any YouTube videos where people repaired the ones with the pipes on the side, only the ones with pipes on the top. Would you recommend a home owner try to do this or would you recommend replacing the filter?

 

[1poolman1]

This is a large, labor intensive job. You have to get the old sand out either way, repair or replace. There is a Sand Vac that can help (outrageously priced piece of plastic, but they work). Or, you can use a pool vacuum hose to create a siphon (just keep the tank filled with water and use a garden hose to keep the sand loose, keep poking the sand with the vac hose and it will come out to the extent you can dump the tank over). Its a messy job. Then, you have to be willing to put it back together, fill it with sand and water, start it up and hope it was done right. That is the risk on a job this size, dealing with hundreds of pounds of sand, maybe twice. On a DE or cartridge filter the risk is minimal, some time and a few parts. The easy way is to take a reciprocating saw and cut the tank apart letting the sand fall out. You still have to deal with the sand somehow.