Sand in pool

[Thebybeebunch]

I am getting pool sand in the pool. This also happened with the brand new equipment when I first purchased the pool. So the company sent me new laterals and multiport valve. I also went ahead and replaced the sand just to make sure I had the right grade and everything.
Fast-forward a couple years and I am still getting sand in my pool. It piles up right at the return. I just dealt with it over the years since my kids also just got sand in the pool.
But now I'm over it. I just pulled apart the filter and none of the laterals or housing looks to be damaged. But are these gaps on the laterals to big? Sand is in between the crevices. Now the slits in the laterals taper to the inside so the slit is smaller on the inside. I am using the 20 grade sand that my filter recommends. I just purchased new sand. Mystic white grade II.
What else could it be?
How snug should the PVC pipe be inside the valve part? (Sorry not familiar with all the technical terms)
Mine has a little wiggle room.
Also my laterals screw in they do not flip up.

 

[Texas Splash]

Good morning. I just saw your post sitting in the unanswered section and thought we should follow up. Are you having any better luck with the sand issue? The Mystic White brand seems to be one of the favorable brands out there, so it's odd you're still seeing sand. The link below has a lot of really good info about sand. I see nothing out of sorts on your standpipe, lateral hub assy, or the laterals themselves. What about backwashing? Are you careful to do a very though RINSE cycle after each backwash? I wonder if that's where the sand is coming from?

My findings on how not all sand is created equal

Though just looking at the larger grains in the pictures posted here. A lot of those grains are much bigger than 1 mm. So I don't think the HTH sand has a #20 upper limit well enforced. The HTH sand looks a little big, whereas the Quikcrete sand looks a little small. It would be interesting to...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Thebybeebunch]

Still have the sand problem after replacing sand and inspecting the laterals again.
I do rinse well after backwash so it's likely not the problem.
We did upgrade the pump to a 1hp from a 3/4 but I had this issue with the old pump as well.
At this point I think I'm just gonna let it go and check the sand level upon opening each spring.
We may be changing to a cartridge filter soon anyway. Our neighbor is selling the house and giving away the pool equipment.
Thanks for the info.

 

[1poolman1]

Still have the sand problem after replacing sand and inspecting the laterals again.
I do rinse well after backwash so it's likely not the problem.
We did upgrade the pump to a 1hp from a 3/4 but I had this issue with the old pump as well.
At this point I think I'm just gonna let it go and check the sand level upon opening each spring.
We may be changing to a cartridge filter soon anyway. Our neighbor is selling the house and giving away the pool equipment.
Thanks for the info.

With that much debris getting into the laterals, you could have a pump that is too large and causing the filter to "channel."
The water is moving too fast and going down the side of the tank between the sand and the body and hitting the lateral un-filtered.
Also, you may not have enough sand in the tank. The kind of dirt that is inside the lateral says it is not being trapped at the top of the sand bed as it should be.
Your 16" filter has a filtration area of about 1.3 sq. ft. if filled properly (50# sand). That gives a maximum flow rate of 26GPM before problems can happen. That new pump is, as in your signature, moving too much water too fast.
In pool equipment bigger is not always, and usually isn't, better. Filters, VSP, and SWG the main exceptions.

 

[Thebybeebunch]

Thanks for the info. When we upgraded the pump I was unaware of the issues it could cause. Live and learn I guess. We are likely going to go with a pentair cartridge filter system and just be done with sand all together.