Help...Sand Filter leaking

[Fiveattripp]

A little concerned about our large sand filter. A very small amount of water seems to be seeping through the fiberglass at the top of the filter. I have never noticed this before. Is there something that I should do to repair...maintain that fiberglass sand filter? It is 16 years old. I don't want it to explode. The pressure is at about 28 with the pump running on high...is that too high?

[swimdaddy]

What PSI do you normally run at? Does 28 represent a recent increase in PSI, or your norm? I am not sure what too high is, but that seems high. Your owners manual should say.

[Fiveattripp]

Well...last year we replaced the pump and converted to salt. With the old pump it ran at about 10psi normal. When it shot up to 18 to 20 i would backwash and back down it would go. When we replaced the pump...running on high I don't remember what it was last year... I remember that it was higher than it was with the old pump though. When we started it this year it was at 25psi. I did back wash it the other day again and it went back down to 25. How long is it safe to use the filter with that seeping? I was afraid running it on high with the pressure at 25 to 30 it might have a blow out...not sure how much pressure it can take or how it will respond. I guess I will be replacing it very soon. Maybe I should just run the pump on low most of the time until I replace the filter.

[Anonymous [GDPR] European in the UK]

Your old pump was ok at 10psi, your new pump is a whisperflow? therefore turn down the speed until you get to about 8-10psi on the gauge and enjoy the massive saving in electricity! As to the leak, hopefully it will stop when the pressure is reduced but 28psi is normally within it's operating range.

I don't know your pool plumbing pipe size or setup or how long you run your pump for but you could, I am sure, set the pump to run at 5psi on the gauge, save even more and no notice any difference or possibly an improvement in water quality as slower filtration is better filtration. On my pool the gauge shows 1/2 of 1psi, the pump runs 24 hours and that uses less electricity than the old single speed pump running for 2 hours.

[Fiveattripp]

Each time something goes wrong I see I'm still learning. That is great to know that it will be fine on low and use less electricity running 24/7 and slower filtered water is better. I did find something yesterday that made the pressure jump up. I'm not sure why, but the salt cel was clogged on the inlet side with debris. That shouldn't be because the water leaving the filter should be clean. My multiport might be leaking...will have to check that today. The pressure dropped down to 18psi on high and 8 on low. The water still looks great. Hopefully the lower pressure will stop the leaking. I know I am on borrowed time though, seeing that this is the filters 17th season.

Thanks for your help.

[swimdaddy]

Did the leak stop with the lower pressure?