working a DE filter

[fog80]

Hello everyone,

I am new to my pool and I know I have a DE filter. I noticed that the pressure is quite high, any suggestions on how to lower it?

I was told to backwash through the waste line until I get clear water (all the DE is out) and then to open up the filter and add more DE.

Is that right?

Any more suggestions on running and maintaining a DE filter?

[mwsmith2]

Um, kinda sorta right. Backwashing will lower the pressure by dumping all the DE media out. It needs to be recharged then, but not in the filter, you need to measure out the proper ammount of DE, mix it with water, and dump it in to the skimmer nearest the filter, it will suck it up and coat the grids for you.

If the filter is an old one, and you don't know if it has ever been broken down, you'll prolly need to break it down completely and manually remove all the built up DE. That's what happened to me. It's not hard, just time consuming.

Michael

[waste]

Fog, knowing what kind of filter and what it's supposed to (pressure) read at is kind of important.

Could you please post the filter size and recomended # of DE ?

Given this info, I could help you better

[StoshJ]

I can give you my numbers for comparison if that's any help. Running 2" piping with a 2HP pump (Got suckered into the bigger is better prior to finding this place). Anyhow, it's a Waterway Crystal Water DE 60 Sqft. When completely broken down and cleaned and recharged, I get a PSI hovering around 18-22 depending on whether the Solar is "on". Even after curing a new plaster finish, my PSI reading never got higher than 26 (after 6 months). I tore it down knowing that there must have been a huge mess of plaster inside, and there was. Anyhow, I've gone 6 months without a backwash and the PSI never moves more than 3-4. It's definitely oversized for my pool (16k), so that may explain the long time between cleanings.

[fog80]

hmm is there any way to find out more info on the filter? it just looks like a beige trash can almost :)

I did open it up last year and hose off all the worm looking things inside.

[blk133]

hmm is there any way to find out more info on the filter? it just looks like a beige trash can almost :)

I did open it up last year and hose off all the worm looking things inside.

Could be this one, there are Hayward EC 50, 65 75 I think.

Here is the attachment

[DavidD]

Fog,
What is "quite high"? First thing I would do is find out which filter you have, then you can find out the normal operating pressure. Let us know and I'm sure someone will help.

[fog80]

Could be this one, there are Hayward EC 50, 65 75 I think.

Here is the attachment

actually mine looks older than that. Mine doesnt have any black on it at all. It is all beige with a bunch of little bolts that hold the top cover on.


and when I say high, the psi was somewhere around 30 and I remember the previous owner saying that it should be somewhere around 15-20 i believe.

if it stays pretty warm today I will open up the filter, hose off the inside and put some more DE in it and run it.

one more question, how do i determine how much de I need?

[kaybinster]

As long as you have good water flow pressure really does not matter, what you want to look at is increase in pressure over time. You should record the pressure when you first coat the filter and then backwash it when the pressure has increased by about 5 psi.

[rrwcm]

re: how much de I need?

I was told that my 25000 gal pool needs 7 one pound coffee cans of DE each time I clean it. This is also supported by the chart on the DE bag. I was also told to add it slowly thru the skimmer without mixing it with water first. This forum seems to advise premixing it. I would appreciate any advice on this - should I premix or add directly to the skimmer?

[kaybinster]

Always premix it with water to get a nice slurry otherwise it will clump up in the filter rather than properly precoat the filter.

[blk133]

actually mine looks older than that. Mine doesnt have any black on it at all. It is all beige with a bunch of little bolts that hold the top cover on.


and when I say high, the psi was somewhere around 30 and I remember the previous owner saying that it should be somewhere around 15-20 i believe.

if it stays pretty warm today I will open up the filter, hose off the inside and put some more DE in it and run it.

one more question, how do i determine how much de I need?

Yours then is Hayward EC 65 or EC 75. Do a search in google for Hayward EC 65 and look at the picture.
I have EC65 (beige), they used to be beige, now they make them in gray color

My pressure is between 18-20 with 1 1/2 inches piping
Some info I found on backwashing:

Turn pump off.
Open backwash valve.
Bump handle slowly 15 times.
Turn pump on and run it for 2 minutes.
Turn pump off.
Bump handle slowly 15 times.
Turn pump on for 1 minute.
Turn pump off.
Close backwash valve tightly.
Turn pump on.
Add D.E. to the skimmer located closest to pump.
For Hayward EC-40 / EC-50 Filters use (3) 1 LB coffee cans of DE
For Hayward EC-65 / EC-75 Filters use (5) 1 LB coffee cans of DE (some websites say for EC-65 it's 6 lbs and for EC-75 it's 7 lbs)

I don't think it will hurt to put 6 lbs even if it's 5 that it needs.

Add D.E. to skimmers SLOWLY. Don't CLOG them !

Check pool water level after backwashing - add more water if necessary !

Hope this helps.

B.

[fog80]

Yours then is Hayward EC 65 or EC 75. Do a search in google for Hayward EC 65 and look at the picture.
I have EC65 (beige), they used to be beige, now they make them in gray color

My pressure is between 18-20 with 1 1/2 inches piping
Some info I found on backwashing:

Turn pump off.
Open backwash valve.
Bump handle slowly 15 times.
Turn pump on and run it for 2 minutes.
Turn pump off.
Bump handle slowly 15 times.
Turn pump on for 1 minute.
Turn pump off.
Close backwash valve tightly.
Turn pump on.
Add D.E. to the skimmer located closest to pump.
For Hayward EC-40 / EC-50 Filters use (3) 1 LB coffee cans of DE
For Hayward EC-65 / EC-75 Filters use (5) 1 LB coffee cans of DE (some websites say for EC-65 it's 6 lbs and for EC-75 it's 7 lbs)

I don't think it will hurt to put 6 lbs even if it's 5 that it needs.

Add D.E. to skimmers SLOWLY. Don't CLOG them !

Check pool water level after backwashing - add more water if necessary !

Hope this helps.

B.

thanks I think your right.

I just found some paperwork the previous owner had left and he said to add 6 lbs of DE after backwashing.

[waste]

Yours then is Hayward EC 65 or EC 75. Do a search in google for Hayward EC 65 and look at the picture.
I have EC65 (beige), they used to be beige, now they make them in gray color

My pressure is between 18-20 with 1 1/2 inches piping
Some info I found on backwashing:

Turn pump off.
Open backwash valve.
Bump handle slowly 15 times.
Turn pump on and run it for 2 minutes.
Turn pump off.
Bump handle slowly 15 times.
Turn pump on for 1 minute.
Turn pump off.
Close backwash valve tightly.
Turn pump on.
Add D.E. to the skimmer located closest to pump.
For Hayward EC-40 / EC-50 Filters use (3) 1 LB coffee cans of DE
For Hayward EC-65 / EC-75 Filters use (5) 1 LB coffee cans of DE (some websites say for EC-65 it's 6 lbs and for EC-75 it's 7 lbs)

I don't think it will hurt to put 6 lbs even if it's 5 that it needs.

Add D.E. to skimmers SLOWLY. Don't CLOG them !

Check pool water level after backwashing - add more water if necessary !

Hope this helps.

B.
Sorry, but 'bumping' again after the water is out of the filter won't do anything. The way I've always done an EC-(whatever) is to;
1. Turn the pump off.
2. Open the air relief valve for 5 sec. - to relieve the pressure.
3. Push the handle down SLOWLY and raise it up Quickly. Repeat 4 - 6 times.
4. Open the bottom plug on the filter( some smart installers put in a valve).
5. turn on the pump for a minute (+/-) till the water runs ~clear.

Hooray! You just got a bunch of your DE out. If you have water in the pool to spare, replug the bottom drain, run the pump for a couple of minutes and do it all over again (steps 1 - 5). You will see more 'stuff' comming out of the a** end of the filter.
The big piont is that you won't get more than 80% of the stuff out, so only add ~ 5 lbs back into the filter when you put the DE into the skimmer - 'more is better' is a typical American ideology' - and it's usually wrong.
Sorry to contradict the previos poster, but you came here for good info and his is just a little off.

[fog80]

thanks a lot.