This post is about switching from sand filter to a cartridge filter. Let's get some preliminaries out of the way. I've owed two pools since 1996 with sand filters so I'm quite knowledgeable on their operation. I am familiar with cartridge filters even though I've never owned one. I'm not trying to solve a filtering problem. The sand filter works just fine. I'm trying to solve or at least possibly prepare to solve an issue with the backflush water.
I bought this house with a pool that has a sand filter installed. The previous owner hard piped the backflush outlet to the property line at the back of the lot. Behind my house is unmaintained wood HOA land. It is steeply sloped away from my back yard. Below my property is the town's storm water runoff for the neighborhood. The pipe exit is around 4 to 5 foot in diameter. During a rain storm, it sound like a river flowing behind my house. Even though they dumped large rocks at the exit of the pipe, the water flow is slowly eroding the water runoff creek bed. It's cut about a 10 foot deep ditch into the wooded area. I have a good feeling that it won't be many years before the town addresses the issue.
When I backflush, the water volume out the 2" pipe is cutting its own little ditch into the hillside. The backflush water runs directly into the outflow from the stormwater pipe. I have this feeling that the town will not be happy to see backflush being dumped into the woods. Also I'm an HOA board member. It probably doesn't look good that I'm dumping my pool water on the HOA land.
For the above reasons, I'm thinking about switching to a cartridge filter since I would eliminate backflushing. If I do think this is the solution, I have to consider if I want to be proactive and do it now or reactive when the town makes me do it. That may never happen but with the current erosion situation, I think it may be in the next few years. As for different solutions on where to dump the water from the current sand filter, I thought of two. One is to run the backflush to the sewer cleanout in the front yard. That would be a long run to that cleanout and I'm not sure the town would like that either. The other is to remove the hard pipe and just use a backflush hose to dump it on the yard. That really doesn't help much. I'm on a cul-de-sac so my lot is more wide than deep. It's only about 8 foot from the pool to the fence line. Not much yard to spread out the water runoff which would still end up running down the hill to the stormwater runoff area.
If you read this far, would you opt to switch to a cartridge filter? If so, what cartridge filter would you recommend? It shouldn't be hard to fit one in the space now occupied by the sand filter. The current pool equipment my pool has is in my signature. The pump will be replaced sometime in the future since I want to go to a larger one to run the system at even less rpm. I think I've decided to wait until the current one dies but it wouldn't take much for me to change my mind since I don't like the current one.
I bought this house with a pool that has a sand filter installed. The previous owner hard piped the backflush outlet to the property line at the back of the lot. Behind my house is unmaintained wood HOA land. It is steeply sloped away from my back yard. Below my property is the town's storm water runoff for the neighborhood. The pipe exit is around 4 to 5 foot in diameter. During a rain storm, it sound like a river flowing behind my house. Even though they dumped large rocks at the exit of the pipe, the water flow is slowly eroding the water runoff creek bed. It's cut about a 10 foot deep ditch into the wooded area. I have a good feeling that it won't be many years before the town addresses the issue.
When I backflush, the water volume out the 2" pipe is cutting its own little ditch into the hillside. The backflush water runs directly into the outflow from the stormwater pipe. I have this feeling that the town will not be happy to see backflush being dumped into the woods. Also I'm an HOA board member. It probably doesn't look good that I'm dumping my pool water on the HOA land.
For the above reasons, I'm thinking about switching to a cartridge filter since I would eliminate backflushing. If I do think this is the solution, I have to consider if I want to be proactive and do it now or reactive when the town makes me do it. That may never happen but with the current erosion situation, I think it may be in the next few years. As for different solutions on where to dump the water from the current sand filter, I thought of two. One is to run the backflush to the sewer cleanout in the front yard. That would be a long run to that cleanout and I'm not sure the town would like that either. The other is to remove the hard pipe and just use a backflush hose to dump it on the yard. That really doesn't help much. I'm on a cul-de-sac so my lot is more wide than deep. It's only about 8 foot from the pool to the fence line. Not much yard to spread out the water runoff which would still end up running down the hill to the stormwater runoff area.
If you read this far, would you opt to switch to a cartridge filter? If so, what cartridge filter would you recommend? It shouldn't be hard to fit one in the space now occupied by the sand filter. The current pool equipment my pool has is in my signature. The pump will be replaced sometime in the future since I want to go to a larger one to run the system at even less rpm. I think I've decided to wait until the current one dies but it wouldn't take much for me to change my mind since I don't like the current one.
