Sand filter gauge

Hayseed

Bronze Supporter
Jun 7, 2018
345
Keyser, WV
Is there a way to relocate the gauge? My equipment is below deck, and the opening I have to allow access to turn three way valve will not let me see the gauge. I have to use bifocals, flashlight, and a mirror, and read it backwards at present.
 
Depends on your filter and where the gauge is. You should be able to turn it some. I would not think that trying to pipe it to a remote location would work very well as you would likely have a lot of air stuck in the pipe.
 
Yes - quite easily done.

I had a similar issue whilst not quite a severe as yours, I also wanted a much larger gauge mounted in a better location to facilitate easier viewing of pressure readings from a distance.

You can purchase small diameter plastic hardline hose fittings and adaptors which are quite common in the pneumatic industry. The fittings and hose can handle high pressure without issue so using them in our low pressure application is a no brainer.

I purchased an industrial style stainless steel body 4" gauge which was available with a stainless steel mount. I fitted the mount to a plastic box which allowed me to space it off the wall as I did not want it mounted flush with the wall.

Hardline length is approx 2m and found that it had no impact on reading.

I also fitted some brass adaptors on the filter side so I could still have a working smaller gauge mounted at the filter - This is just used as a backup to confirm if any of the gauges fail.

While I'm based in Australia - I'm sure you can source similar items in the US quite readily.


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Thanks for all the help. Especially the posting of pics. If I can see it I can do it. But talk me through it and I'll get lost. One thing I would like to ask. If I hook up another gauge as you did, what kind of gauge would I be buying, and after attaching the hoses and other gauge, how would I bleed the lines of air? Would I just turn pump on and loosen the gauge just enough to bleed air then when water spouts tighten gauge! Like you bleed break lines.
 
I think ideally there would be no air, but it actually should still read the correct pressure even with air in the system. My earlier concern was the air getting compressed and then expanding when the pump goes off, pushing water backward. But the amount of air is likely to be so minimal it may not matter.
 
If you really wanted you could tee off past the gauge to a higher point to bleed off air. My gauge is sub standard so following TFP advice I installed a better one one the plumbing between pump and filter. Works a treat, and it turns out the original one is still fairly accurate.
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As others have stated - don't worry about any air in the line - it will have no real impact on the readings.

One other tip:- If you decide to purchase another gauge, opt for one that is large as practical (Vs cost etc) and ensure that you choose one that has a full scale pressure reading that is not way over than what maximum pressures your system normally experiences.

Reason for this is that the gauge will then give you more resolution at the lower pressure range which is where our systems normally operate.

My pool plumbing never runs over approx 20 PSI with maximum restriction set (Bubble jets in steps) and the pump running flat out.

My plumbing system inherently has low restriction - mainly due to the crazy oversized filter I opted for my equipment pad which is then also combined with relatively simple plumbing/pipework.

So with that in mind I choose the 4" gauge to have a full scale reading capability of approx 23PSI (160 kPa) which resulted in having much greater resolution at the lower end of the scale.

For instance, when running my pump at 2850 RPM the pressure gauge only reads 50kPa (filter just cleaned) - when the reading jumps up to around 60 kPa its time for backwash. This small change over time (usually many months) is harder to accurately discern on a gauge which has a more compressed scale at the low side.
 
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