TFP FC Levels & Cartridge Filter Degradation?

[Rich807]

Changed out my Pentair OEM cartridge filters today for my 2nd set. Pentair ones were in the housing filtering water from Mar ‘21 to today.

The ends of the Pentair filters are disintegrating already as seen in the photo & that’s nuts to me. They came with the pool which was built mid June 2020 & they do duty only about 50% of the year (I swap them with the 2nd set referenced above).

This is the 1st pool I’ve run the TFP way. In 2 seasons now I’ve not shocked & SLAM’d the pool (have yet to have an algae problem = no need for SLAM levels of chlorine).

The only thing I can think of is either the material in this lot of filters was Crud or running higher levels of FC is killing parts of the filters?

I’ve run these type of filters in a previous pool for 5+ years & never saw this kind of degradation, not even close.

What say the TFP hive?

 

[Bperry]

View attachment 380210Changed out my Pentair OEM cartridge filters today for my 2nd set. Pentair ones were in the housing filtering water from Mar ‘21 to today.

The ends of the Pentair filters are disintegrating already as seen in the photo & that’s nuts to me. They came with the pool which was built mid June 2020 & they do duty only about 50% of the year (I swap them with the 2nd set referenced above).

This is the 1st pool I’ve run the TFP way. In 2 seasons now I’ve not shocked & SLAM’d the pool (have yet to have an algae problem = no need for SLAM levels of chlorine).

The only thing I can think of is either the material in this lot of filters was Crud or running higher levels of FC is killing parts of the filters?

I’ve run these type of filters in a previous pool for 5+ years & never saw this kind of degradation, not even close.

What say the TFP hive?

You’ll have to share your current and typical water chemistry logs. What’s your CYA level, pH, etc?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Rich,

My CCP-520 is 7 years old and still has the same cartridges.. They do not show any of the degradation your cartridge's seem to have.

I have a saltwater pool and keep my FC around 7 ppm...

Not sure what is causing your issue, but I doubt it has to do with your FC level.

I do not soak mine in anything, and I do not have a second set, so mine have been running, 24/7 for the past 7 years.. I clean then twice a year, normally in the Spring and Fall..

Do you soak yours and if so in what???

Thanks

Jim R.

 

[Rich807]

I try to keep my pH normally around 7.2 but it’s almost never banging 8 before I hit it with MA.

My CYA, best guess, is around 40. Reason I say best guess is my kit & when I had pool store run water test just for poops & giggles (like 6 months ago) read higher. I’ve not put any CYA or ran a tablet in the pool on about a year & a half. Would’ve thought the CYA would’ve slowly degraded away in my sun load & the amount of time it’s been since CYA had been injected in any form. But that’s prolly another topic for another day.

Don’t soak in anything when I clean them.

I’ve never seen ends of cartridges do this with exception of last 1.5 yrs on this pool, prior to that I’d never run my pools the TFP way.

 

[Rich807]

I normally run FC up around the 6-7 range due to summer sun load & my best read on my CYA values

 

[an1vrsy]

I live here in Las Vegas and I monitor my pool chem levels. I am curious what your CYA levels are. Without at least CYA 30 ppm, chlorine at 6 - 7 ppm would be, I would think, pretty harsh.

I have a SWG so I run my CYA minimum 60 ppm but I also have an autocover and it's closed the majority of the time. With all of that said, I now what to open up my cartridge filter and look at them. My pool was filled on 03/01/21 and after about 6 weeks I opened it up and cleaned the cartridges and didn't notice any effects like yours but that was mid to late April. Looks like I need to take another look.

 

[Rich807]

Test kit says cya no more than 50 normally. I do adjust for water temp when taking a cya read this time of year I.e. I let water warm up inside before I do the test.

I’ve been wondering for most of the summer & all fall if my CYA reagents are good b/c I can’t see how my CYA is anywhere near that high given how long it’s been since any CYA has been added to the water. When I switched away from the pool store way & picks to TFP method my CYA was around 60-70 iirc. That was a year and a half ago.

I bought new CYA test reagent/chems in the summer from the vendor here so they *should* be good but yet I don’t get why my CYA hasn’t bottomed out in the Amt of time that’s passed.

ETA: My pump runs 24/7/365 if that matters for this discussion.

 

[Bperry]

Test kit says cya no more than 50 normally. I do adjust for water temp when taking a cya read this time of year I.e. I let water warm up inside before I do the test.

I’ve been wondering for most of the summer & all fall if my CYA reagents are good b/c I can’t see how my CYA is anywhere near that high given how long it’s been since any CYA has been added to the water. When I switched away from the pool store way & picks to TFP method my CYA was around 60-70 iirc. That was a year and a half ago.

I bought new CYA test reagent/chems in the summer from the vendor here so they *should* be good but yet I don’t get why my CYA hasn’t bottomed out in the Amt of time that’s passed.

ETA: My pump runs 24/7/365 if that matters for this discussion.

Cya doesn't really go away over time, though I've read it can degrade over time. But a year probably isn't very long in the grand scheme of things. You need to get a full set of accurate test results not just "about 40". Just run the tests and report back the results that don't come from the pool store. Also if you really are maintaining your pH at 7.2, that's on the acidic side of the scale. How sure are you its 7.2?

 

[mknauss]

Where do you store the cartridges when they are not being used?

 

[Rich807]

Cya doesn't really go away over time, though I've read it can degrade over time. But a year probably isn't very long in the grand scheme of things. You need to get a full set of accurate test results not just "about 40". Just run the tests and report back the results that don't come from the pool store. Also if you really are maintaining your pH at 7.2, that's on the acidic side of the scale. How sure are you its 7.2?

Yeah I get that but I have am the kit recommended here & know how to use it. The results I’ve gotten seem suspect… something isnt right somewhere.

From what I’ve read all over this forum / site, CYA does degrade over time, slowly, but it does degrade. My timeframe is over a year & a half.

Water has been taken out on people & their clothes & has been splashed out during that time. Also you’re aware of the sun/heat here for months out of the year.

Has anyone else had plastic ‘melt’ or otherwise fall apart in CYA water that’s between 40-60 ppm?

I’m head scratching on a couple things here

 

[Rich807]

Where do you store the cartridges when they are not being used?

In the box they came in, in my garage. The ones shown here sat in the box over last winter.

My 2nd set sat in the box in my garage all spring/summer (March-to-today). No signs of degradation on those today when I pulled them out of their box & installed them in the filter housing.

The set that’s falling apart sat in my garage for 1 winter basically.

 

[Bperry]

Yeah I get that but I have am the kit recommended here & know how to use it. The results I’ve gotten seem suspect… something isnt right somewhere.

From what I’ve read all over this forum / site, CYA does degrade over time, slowly, but it does degrade. My timeframe is over a year & a half.

Water has been taken out on people & their clothes & has been splashed out during that time. Also you’re aware of the sun/heat here for months out of the year.

Has anyone else had plastic ‘melt’ or otherwise fall apart in CYA water that’s between 40-60 ppm?

I’m head scratching on a couple things here

Your pool math log just has acid/chlorine additions, no water test results. Are you able to post some?

 

[Mdragger88]

You’re not pouring chems in your skimmer are u? That can have a detrimental effect on plastic/rubber parts.
Some of my replacement filters for my spa have some kind of coating on the plastic that gets mushy & comes off after they’ve been in the water a little bit . Other people have also noticed this with some newer filters. But Your plastic looks to be eaten away. More than just the coating on top.
I agree with those above that keeping ph at 7.2 over long periods of time is aggressive & can be harsh on surfaces, swimmers, & equipment.

 

[Rich807]

Your pool math log just has acid/chlorine additions, no water test results. Are you able to post some?

Hmmm. I thought I was inputting some of the other values in there but perhaps not. I started out with CYA about 60 a year & a half ago & have religiously managed my chlorine IAW the CYA/Chlorine chart on the website here ever since.

My Ph is always in proper range & is quite stable.
My alkalinity is high for most chart purposes at 120-140 range due to the Colorado river water we have here for tap. I don't fuss with trying to beat it down anymore as it's an exercise in futility, my pH is stable as can be.

I did see since I posted this question someone else had seemingly the same issue as me but as far as I saw there was no solution / follow up to his thread.

 

[Rich807]

You’re not pouring chems in your skimmer are u? That can have a detrimental effect on plastic/rubber parts.
Some of my replacement filters for my spa have some kind of coating on the plastic that gets mushy & comes off after they’ve been in the water a little bit . Other people have also noticed this with some newer filters. But Your plastic looks to be eaten away. More than just the coating on top.
I agree with those above that keeping ph at 7.2 over long periods of time is aggressive & can be harsh on surfaces, swimmers, & equipment.

Emphatic 'no' to putting chems in skimmer. This pool as never seen anything poured into the skimmer or even near it for that matter.

I thought I've read here over the past year + that 7.2 was within 'normal range' & that folks with hard &/or high-alkaline content water were often better to be toward the lower end of the 7.2 - 8.0 range?

I'm open for any/all ideas though.

Note: My other set of filters came out of the housing after their 1st stint in the rotation perfectly fine. The only difference with that duty cycle was it was fall/winter vs spring/summer & that they're from a different manufacturer (at least as far as I know, labeled differently for sure). Other than those 2 factoids I've managed my chemistry pretty much the same for a long time now.

 

[Mdragger88]

Glad to know about not putting stuff in the skimmer Just hunting for obvious reasons for the degradation you’re seeing.
In pool math when u are on the overview page select new log+ (at the bottom)
then select log test results +
input all your most recent test results- then they will show on the overview cards as your “current” automatically & also be logged.

 

[Bill1974]

This is a stretch guess, were the filters stored near an electric motor something else that generates ozone? I am not sure if the material that is in the filters is harmed by ozone, but other rubber materials are.

How is chlorine added to your pool? Do you pour it in or is it pumped in before your filter?

 

[Rich807]

No to anything electrical near where I store them.

I pour my chemicals in by hand & that's always thin stream of product into usually 2 separate return streams i.e. if I'm dispensing 60oz of liquid chlorine I'll usually pour 30oz of it in front of 2 separate jet returns.

I'm really stumped here. Appreciate everyone's thoughts on the matter. Kinda bummed I went thru a set of these big cartridge filters this fast.

 

[Mdragger88]

Where did u order them from? Are there any reviews that mention the problem you’re having? Perhaps a manufacturing change has occurred & they are using different materials

 

[Rich807]

Where did u order them from? Are there any reviews that mention the problem you’re having? Perhaps a manufacturing change has occurred & they are using different materials

They came from a local pool builder supply company along with all the rest of the equipment at the time of my pool build (spring-Summer 2020). I was home when everything was delivered & thru the entire build process (COVID working from home).