Ran out of DE..1 lb short..okay to add later?

[uraceulose]

So I needed 6 lbs of DE powder and thought I had it but ended up at 5 scoops/lbs so im one short currently in our Pentair FNS Plus 60 filter.

We had to leave town for 4 days and everything was closed when i realized i didnt have enough.

Am I okay to purchase another bag, add another scoop and let it run or should I open it back up, clean out and recharge?

Thank you kindly,

Donnie

 

[Jimrahbe]

Donnie,

Being short 1 lb. will not make much difference.. I doubt you will even notice..

That said, I thought a 60 filter took a lot more than 5 lbs...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[1poolman1]

Donnie,

Being short 1 lb. will not make much difference.. I doubt you will even notice..

That said, I thought a 60 filter took a lot more than 5 lbs...

Thanks,

Jim R.

1 lb./10 sq. ft.
Even with a completely empty filter you can go light with no issues.

 

[uraceulose]

Thank you guys so much.

OEM Instruction sheet affixed to filter states 6.0 lbs for a full removal/grid cleaning/new grids.

I’m super anal about pool filter performance/cleanliness so it’ll only be another month or so before I re do it anyway.

Thanks again so much for the quick responses!

Donnie

 

[Jimrahbe]

Donnie,

I have a large cartridge filter and only clean it once a year, and my pool is open 365..

How often are you backwashing or cleaning your filter???

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[uraceulose]

Hey Jim,

I do mine about every 5 psi but it’s definitely overkill. Im really working to keep the pump running super efficient.

Basically I set all 3 program schedules based on GPM rather than RPM..

We have a 43,560 gallon pool running a pentair VSF pump..I run it at 60 GPM from 10 pm - 8 AM then it jumps down to 35 gpm from 8 am to 1230 pm when the booster pump kicks on in order to run the vacuum and still have some decent flow. Then from 12:30 pm to 5 pm it runs at 25 gpm which turns over about 50,000 gallons per day and has the most power usage in the coolest and most cost effective energy cost wise parts of the day/night.

I’ll keep eye on pressure and flow…fresh filter/DE with clean skimmers/basket I’ll be at 10-11 psi.

If I get to 20 psi I’ll always just clean it and I prefer to just open it up because in my opinion it’s a guesstimate on the backwash as I can’t really measure how much DE is actually coming out on the backwash.

When i run the pump on quick clean it’ll run for 4 hours at 80 GPM. BUT what I’ll watch is for the flow rather than the psi..if it hits the pressure limit on the pump and will pull say 73 GPM on quick clean or 55-57 GPM when it’s on the first scheduled program (60 gpm)…my thinking is that flow is obstructed.

So that’s what I watch and I basically like the pump to be able to flow what it’s commanding.

I typically get 4-6 weeks between cleanings and I keep 2 sets of grids so I can always have a clean set ready to go.

This winter I’m going to install a heater bypass valve which should allow better flow and hopefully prolong the life of the heater and make it easier on the pump, save power and allow me to go 8 weeks or maybe more in between cleanings.

 

[uraceulose]

I’m seeing what the gas bill works out to in the colder months this year and hoping to run through October then start back up in early may. It gets down in the 50s here through winter so not a lot of pool weather and fortunately we have 2 hot tubs so can still jump in there if we need to

 

[Jimrahbe]

Donnie,

Thanks for the feedback. I was just curious as it seems like a lot of effort for very little gain.

That said, I am a huge fan of doing whatever works for you...

I have two rent house pools that had DE filters.. Like you, I never backwashed, I just cleaned them twice a year. I removed the backwash valves on both pools and ran the pumps at about 1200 RPM most of the time. Filter pressure was about 5 lbs. when clean and still less than 10 lbs. six months later. I recently replaced one of the DE filters with a large cartridge filter, and now my filter pressure, at 1200 RPM, is zero, on a 60 lb. gauge. I plan to replace the other DE filter next year or sooner.

Neither pool has a heater allowing me to run slower, and still have plenty of flow.. A heater by-pass sounds like a great idea to me.

Thanks again,

Jim R.

 

[uraceulose]

Hey Jim,

Why the switch away from DE? It sure is messy but I like the idea of really good filtration.
If it’s still filtering good enough and producing that good of a flow rate/low pressure I’m definitely curious

Thank you!

Donnie

 

[Jimrahbe]

Donnie,

It is impossible to visually tell the difference between the water from a DE filter, and the water from a Cartridge filter.

Here is my story that I have told many times before...

My first two pools were at what are now rent houses.. They had DE filters, so that was all l knew. A couple of years later we decided to put in a pool at my house. I really, really wanted a DE filter, but the City required a DE Filter to be plumbed into the Sewer, which would have been almost impossible, location wise.. I was "Forced" to go with a large cartridge filter and I felt like I had been cheated..

Now after using a cartridge filter for well over 10 years, I would never, ever go back to DE... Plumbing for a cartridge filter is dirt simple.. No Multiport valve to go bad or leak. Very low back pressure... No DE to mess with.. Long intervals between cleanings. Backwashing is not possible and just not needed.

As much as I hate DE, I am also cheap.. That is why it took me over ten years to replace the first rent house unit.. I guess my point is that when your existing filter goes bad, I would recommend a large cartridge filter.. The Bigger the better.

Just to be clear.. the filter is not there to keep your pool sanitized or algae free. That is the job of your chemicals. The filter is just there to capture the debris that fall into your pool each day.. By the time algae starts showing up in your filter, you have already lost the algae war..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[1poolman1]

Donnie,

It is impossible to visually tell the difference between the water from a DE filter, and the water from a Cartridge filter.

Here is my story that I have told many times before...

My first two pools were at what are now rent houses.. They had DE filters, so that was all l knew. A couple of years later we decided to put in a pool at my house. I really, really wanted a DE filter, but the City required a DE Filter to be plumbed into the Sewer, which would have been almost impossible, location wise.. I was "Forced" to go with a large cartridge filter and I felt like I had been cheated..

Now after using a cartridge filter for well over 10 years, I would never, ever go back to DE... Plumbing for a cartridge filter is dirt simple.. No Multiport valve to go bad or leak. Very low back pressure... No DE to mess with.. Long intervals between cleanings. Backwashing is not possible and just not needed.

As much as I hate DE, I am also cheap.. That is why it took me over ten years to replace the first rent house unit.. I guess my point is that when your existing filter goes bad, I would recommend a large cartridge filter.. The Bigger the better.

Just to be clear.. the filter is not there to keep your pool sanitized or algae free. That is the job of your chemicals. The filter is just there to capture the debris that fall into your pool each day.. By the time algae starts showing up in your filter, you have already lost the algae war..

Thanks,

Jim R.

+1
Had a customer 30 years ago that had me replace their DE with cartridges. Found out the wife tested their water in her lab with a microscope. She was a bio-chemist who insisted that DE was the only way to go. The husband told me she could find no "discernable difference," her words.

 

[uraceulose]

Thank you guys so much. I’ll strongly consider swapping over. It really is a pain and messy but I was under the impression there truly was a discernible difference in the clarity or filtering power of the DE vs sand/cartridge filters

 

[hexabc]

If a pool is algae free, maintaining a DE filter is easy. I open my DEV 60 at the end of the season, pull out the grids assembly, hose it down and put back into the tank. In the spring I do a single backwashing after a week of running the filter. That’s it. At my VSP speeds the 60 psi Jandy gauge doesn’t register any pressure through the entire season.