Sand filter puffs up. No clue why.

[Taterfink]

I was out of town for a week and my husband took great care of our pool. I cleaned the skimmer basket late Thursday night and all was great. I then checked on it again early Saturday morning and cleared leaves out of the basket. When I turned the pump back on I noticed a leak on one side of the filter where the top and bottom are joined and the band seals them together. I'm thinking I need to open it and reseal the gasket. That'd be okay. But, when I turned on the pump, the sand filter "puffs up" ever so slightly. Puffs up as in expands a little bit. Naturally, it frightened me. I disconnected the pump and sand filter. I have set up the intex pump and cartridge filter that came with my pool for now until I can figure out what was going on with my sand filter. The water flow seemed to be fine and I have found no blockages any where from skimmer thru to the return. I did forget to open the intake and return when I turned the pump on about two weeks ago . It was only for a moment and I turned everything off, opened the intake and return, turned the pump back on and everything was fine. Then about a week later was when I noticed the filter puffing up and leaking. Anyone have any ideas? Is my filter dead?

 

[y_not]

It really sounds like the gasket or the band spring nut is shot.
Have you checked both?

The expanding of the filter you describe sounds plausible, assuming just enough pressure buildup despite the leak and loose band, to cause the top and/or bottom halves to splay outward.
Filters have a max pressure rating and you could have exceeded that rating even in the brief moment that you had it on with the inlet and return closed. Damages like that can sometimes take a while to manifest, with problems not showing up right away.

 

[duraleigh]

My sand filter expands every time I turn on the pump....always has. I think you are just now noticing yours.

Regardless, a leak is a leak and you will probably have to reseat/replace the gasket to get it stopped.

 

[Bama Rambler]

My filter also "swells" a little when I start the pump. They're plastic so they're going to expand a little under pressure.

Fix the o-ring leak and it'll be fine.

 

[Taterfink]

Thank y'all so much! I freaked out thinking it'd blow like a pressure cooker. Was afraid someone would get hurt. I'll get a new seal when I get back into town and try again. Y'all rock!

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[Bama Rambler]

Be sure to lube it good when you put it back together.

 

[Taterfink]

Thanks. Oh, I know . Calls for silicone lube. I'm on line now looking for a new gasket. Stuck out of town again. May be a couple of days before I get to reassemle it.

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[y_not]

Good job, stick with clear silicon or Teflon lube. Petroleum based products like vaseline are baaad juju!! They destroy the seal material.

 

[Taterfink]

Good job, stick with clear silicon or Teflon lube. Petroleum based products like vaseline are baaad juju!! They destroy the seal material.

Thanks, I'd already checked the book. I'm one of those rare people that actually read the instructions. Takes some of the excitement out tho. You know, when things go haywire from winging it! :lol:

 

[xanadu]

Umm........silly question, but is the filter head handle in the filter mode, or was it left on closed/off?

 

[Taterfink]

Not silly at all. I had it set to filter and the water flow seems to be fine. Lots of water thru the return.

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[y_not]

So did you get it all fixed up?

 

[Taterfink]

Y_not, thank you for asking!

I did get it fixed, up and running. I had noticed that the sand level was down a mite when I opened the filter up. So, I picked up a bag of sand to top'er off with and I went to the local home center store and got the silicone lube for the gasket. Cleaned the gasket as well as I could (man, that silicone stuff is sticky!).

Went out, topped off the sand, reseated the gasket with plenty of silicone lube, then I reseated it two more times before I got it right . Put the filter back together, hooked the hoses back up and fired her off and IT WORKED! No puff up! It's working just like its old self!

I still have the intex plunger valve on the return so closing that off was easy. But, when it came to the hose coming from the skimmer, I was well and truly stumped. I confiscated one of my dogs toy balls, filled it with water to see if that would block the outflow of water when I disconnected the hose. No go. The ball still wanted to float. So I thought and thought and came up with the perfect plug to use in the skimmer. The bulb from my turkey baster! Necessity, the mother of invention! I tied the hose end up above the pool water level but I needed a way to not lose a lot of water while I got the hose tended to. Anyway, the baster bulb was a perfect fit, I put it in the skimmer, filled it with water so it wouldn't float, turned it right side up so the open end slid right into the hole in the bottom of the skimmer. I then put the basket back in to hold the baster bulb in place and voila! I had a skimmer plug!

Oh just a side note for those that may find it helpful, my other two favorite pool filter assembly tools are a "rubber wrench" and a "dead blow hammer". both are totally invaluable. The rubber wrench is adjustable and the dead blow hammer is SO much more effective than a rubber mallet which just bounces off the filter ring thingy that holds the top and bottom of the filter together.