Sand filter hardened

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amin36

In The Industry
Nov 24, 2017
214
shahsavar
Guys

Yesterday a client of mine called me and told me about her dirty pool water and though the pump was running she couldn't have a clean water.when I went there and I saw the water the first thing that came to my mind was to check her sand filter
The pressure gauge over the sand filter was zero so I realized there should be a problem inside the filter
So I decided to open the the filter and saw this

20220811_165318.jpg


The sand was hardened.i used a wooden stick and tried to pull it inside of sand but it couldn't get thorough and there were some channels formed inside.i guess that was the reason why the pressure inside the filter was zero
Why did this happened?
This was an outdoor pool.she was using cal hypo and she had calcium scaling over the tiles of the pool.she was not controlling PH and PH was around 8 all the time.she was not using CYA and for a long period of time she was not backwashing
Actually she knew nothing of pool maintenance!
And is there a way to fix this hardened sand?

Thanks
 
You may have two issues. A clogged filter should have high pressure, not zero. Put the valve in recirc or waste and see if there is water flow then. If not there is a pump issue (clogged impeller, pump basket, skimmer). A good deep cleaning might help with the sand.
 
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1poolman1 said:
You may have two issues. A clogged filter should have high pressure, not zero. Put the valve in recirc or waste and see if there is water flow then. If not there is a pump issue (clogged impeller, pump basket, skimmer). A good deep cleaning might help with the sand.
Click to expand...
I backwashed the water and instead of dirty water some clear water came out.i think it passed through the channels and that's why we had zero pressure reading.

The sand is really clogged and hardened.does a deep clean fix the sand?

i mean does it bring the sand back to its first form?
 

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amin36 said:
I backwashed the water and instead of dirty water some clear water came out.i think it passed through the channels and that's why we had zero pressure reading.

The sand is really clogged and hardened.does a deep clean fix the sand?

i mean does it bring the sand back to its first form?
Click to expand...
There is information on deep cleaning a sand filter on this site. Its the best place to start before trying to replace the sand. Sand doesn't really wear out, so give it a try.
 
1poolman1 said:
There is information on deep cleaning a sand filter on this site. Its the best place to start before trying to replace the sand. Sand doesn't really wear out, so give it a try.
Click to expand...
If the sand is so hard that a wooden stick will not press through it, then it seems like deep cleaning is also not possible
 
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amin36 said:
Could you please give me a link of deep clean?
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The link is below. But I agree with @Bperry, if that sand is as hard as you described, it's time to replace it.

Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter

This post will walk you through the anatomy of a sand filter, and then provide a video at the end for how to deep clean your sand filter. The filter used in the photos and videos is a Hayward S180T top mount sand filter. The images are of a similar filter. Obviously not all filters are...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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amin36 said:
Guys

Yesterday a client of mine called me and told me about her dirty pool water and though the pump was running she couldn't have a clean water.when I went there and I saw the water the first thing that came to my mind was to check her sand filter
The pressure gauge over the sand filter was zero so I realized there should be a problem inside the filter
So I decided to open the the filter and saw this

View attachment 445869


The sand was hardened.i used a wooden stick and tried to pull it inside of sand but it couldn't get thorough and there were some channels formed inside.i guess that was the reason why the pressure inside the filter was zero
Why did this happened?
This was an outdoor pool.she was using cal hypo and she had calcium scaling over the tiles of the pool.she was not controlling PH and PH was around 8 all the time.she was not using CYA and for a long period of time she was not backwashing
Actually she knew nothing of pool maintenance!
And is there a way to fix this hardened sand?

Thanks
Click to expand...
What size pump? Channeling is usually the result of a too-large pump trying to push more water than the filter is rated. That's another place to start. For two years the issues were building and here you are trying to correct them.
 
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I would verify the plumbing to make sure that it is correct.

Since you have no idea what the history of the pool is including the chemistry history or what chemicals were added or how they were added, I would replace the sand and start fresh with good chemistry and no products that can damage the sand.

I suspect that the plumbing might be incorrect due to the zero gauge reading, which might be due to a bad gauge or to water going backwards.
 
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1poolman1 said:
What size pump? Channeling is usually the result of a too-large pump trying to push more water than the filter is rated. That's another place to start. For two years the issues were building and here you are trying to correct them.
Click to expand...
It was 1.8 kw pump and the filter size was a diameter of almost 0.70 meter and the height of almost 1.2 meter
 

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