Several threads have pooped on it, but it looks like it was determined they had a quality control issue for a little while that was causing problems with sand size. Has that been resolved, or is it still an issue?
What's the final word on the quikrete sand?
- Thread starter cnshough
- Start date
CJadamec
TFP Expert
Other than there hasn't been any mention of actual problems recently there is no solid answer to that question. If its all you can get your hands on I would use it. If there is a pool store near by I would consider the sand they carry and compare price / risk.
I have used it twice recently starting up new filters. No sand found in the returns and no other issues. I would not hesitate to use it again. Got it at Home Depot.
Why take the chance? My understanding is that the Quikrete sand is "bagged" at several facilities across the US......we have seen pics of inadequate uniformity in the grain size.
I am very new to this forum, as a matter of fact this is my first post. I came to this site because I had to troubleshoot my brand new intex sand filter which was allowing sand by the laterals and into the pool from the very moment of first start-up. I had used the quikrete sand from Menards. It was confusing because this is my first sand filter and I had researched a lot before purchasing and I knew that I had set it up correctly. I got quite frustrated and ended up reading everything I could find about the situation, including a few threads on this forum.
I ended up taking the filter completely apart yesterday and upon inspection I was not able to find anything wrong with any of the laterals. I went to our local pool store and asked if they had heard anything about the quikrete sand being too fine. The guy I talked to stated that he hadn't heard anything about it. I bought a few bags of their sand which did not have any label or brand name that I could find. It was priced at $15/bag which is about double the price I had paid for the quikrete. They promised me that it was good stuff and I would be fine using it.
When I got home I compared the quikrete sand to the sand from the pool store and I could not believe the difference. I should have taken pictures.
After putting everything back together and cleaning out the sand in the bottom of my pool it has been working great with no sand entering the pool.
So, I am not going to tell anyone here what to use but I can promise that I will not be using the quikrete sand again.
I ended up taking the filter completely apart yesterday and upon inspection I was not able to find anything wrong with any of the laterals. I went to our local pool store and asked if they had heard anything about the quikrete sand being too fine. The guy I talked to stated that he hadn't heard anything about it. I bought a few bags of their sand which did not have any label or brand name that I could find. It was priced at $15/bag which is about double the price I had paid for the quikrete. They promised me that it was good stuff and I would be fine using it.
When I got home I compared the quikrete sand to the sand from the pool store and I could not believe the difference. I should have taken pictures.
After putting everything back together and cleaning out the sand in the bottom of my pool it has been working great with no sand entering the pool.
So, I am not going to tell anyone here what to use but I can promise that I will not be using the quikrete sand again.
I have attached a photo of the two sands. The one on the left is the sand from my local pool store. The one on the right is the quikrete sand. You can see a major difference. This is evidence to me that they have not corrected their quality control issues.
Attachments
CJadamec
TFP Expert
The quickrete stuff looks like regular mason sand or playground sand. That was seriously in a bag labeled pool sand?
<Maddie adds Quikcrete to her list of products to never buy for my pool. First on the list being Clorox products....>
Yeah, we need to keep track of these problematic products.
THANK you very much for the picture!
Maddie
Yeah, we need to keep track of these problematic products.
THANK you very much for the picture!
Maddie
Yes, it was labeled pool filter sand. Not knowing what I was looking for, I trusted the spec sheet I downloaded from the menards site and figured it was correct. Lesson learned.
Lmk.87
Member
I currently have Quikrete pool sand in my intex filter. It’s terrible! Within 2 days of vacuuming my pool has a significant amount of sand on the pool floor right below the return. Unbelievable! This weekend I’ll be taking apart my filter & replacing the sand [emoji31]
i have been using quickrete for 3 years with no issues. some sand will always come through the laterals. its the nature of the material and how its screened.
what makes pool filter sand pool filter sand is that its fractured. this creates sharp edges that allow it to pack together more closely. Masonry sand is round from being tumbled in the river. it can filter, but not as well as the sand with sharp edges.
what makes pool filter sand pool filter sand is that its fractured. this creates sharp edges that allow it to pack together more closely. Masonry sand is round from being tumbled in the river. it can filter, but not as well as the sand with sharp edges.
3 years ago, the quikrete sand was different. It changed 2 years ago in a number of parts of the country.
Lmk.87
Member
This is 2 days after vacuuming. Brand new filter & sand was slowly added in so no damage to laterals. Backwashed & rinsed before use.
CJadamec
TFP Expert
Not quite right. Yes pool filter sand is fractured. The other thing that makes it filter sand is that it is graded to a uniform size. In this case a #20 sive. Proper filter sand should never get past the laterals and in to the pool. At least mine hasn't in 3 years.
You can see in the photo comparing the quickrete sand to filter sand that the quickrete sand does not look like fractured sand at all and is not graded properly.
The sand that I had before the quickrete was the pool store sand. All of the pool stores buy from Independent Materials here in Tulsa. Their sand was twice as much when I bought Quickrete from HD. Before I swapped mine I always had sand in the Polaris bag. Like a handful. I wonder if it is just a certain plant that makes the sand you guys are having problems with? We have a Quickrete plant in town.
PoolguyinCT
In The Industry
As my fellow Connecticut citizen said, the quickcrete looks like washed dead / mason sand.
I have always been satisfied with Mystic White #20 crushed quartz..
OP - interesting treatment on pool rails? Is that a decal? Looks cool!
I have always been satisfied with Mystic White #20 crushed quartz..
OP - interesting treatment on pool rails? Is that a decal? Looks cool!
CJadamec
TFP Expert
I also have the mystic white sand in my filter, $10 for 50Lb at Job Lot this year. It's very uniform and noticeably larger grain size than the quickrete sand.
Wow, it is hard to believe that Quikcrete still can't get this right! Considering that you only need to put sand in your filter one time there is no reason not to get the best pool filter sand you possibly can.
Lmk.87
Member
Sorry to keep bringing this back up but I’ve been meaning to share this picture. Here is the size of the Quikrete I got. I wish I knew what I know now. But I had no idea there would be this significant of a difference. I wasn’t going for the cheapest sand I was simply buying what was available closest to me.
