DE filter not circulating

I have been working on my pool for a few weeks now to get it opened. It is a mess! Right now I am having an issue with my DE Filter - an old Hayward EC65. I started with pressure of about 18 when I started the season - after soaking fingers in Muriatic acid and adding the 6 pounds of DE. I circulated for about a day and the pressure was up to 30, and the returns were barely moving water. I vacuumed to waste for a while to remove the old DE, then after lowering the water a bit too much, I restarted the filter, and added new DE through the skimmer like I usually do. The pressure did not go down much, and the returns barely have flow. I've vacuumed to waste quite a few times now, since we are getting so much rain and I don't need to use the hose to refill. Each time I re-add the DE, there is no circulation. The pump is going - I have a clear attachment from the pump to the filter so I can occasionally see a bubble moving through - but nothing (or next to nothing) is coming out. The water is coming into the skimmer - I can see it slowly entering (not a big pull like at startup).

If there was a leak, I assume the water level would be rapidly draining, so I don't think that is it. So, are the DE filter fingers so clogged with my filthy pool water that there is very little pressure - even with new DE? Do I need to open the filter and soak the fingers again? Should I even run the filter or just keep vacuuming to waste until the water clears a bit? How do I get the chemicals to work if it is not circuating (my aquabot is probably moving more water than the filter - I could also add my cover pump to pull water from teh stairs and flush it back it.)

Test Results - ???33 (Ben's older kit)
20x40 pool
DE filter hayward EC65
FC - 3.5
CC - 0
TC - 4ish (can't do the color test well)
CYA - 40ish
Alk - 100 (goes up daily with all the rain)
ph - 6.8 or lower - I just added ph+ to raise it

- betty

Really sounds like something is plugging the filter fast and from the 'mess' you describe it could be that simple. To maintain circulation I'd try bypassing the filter if you can do that, keep adding chlorine to kill off whatever is there, let stuff circulate, and after a bit, shut the pump down, let the dead stuff or whatever it is settle, and vacuum to waste once. Backwashing and Vac to Waste use a lot of water.
From your readings I'd get the pH up to 7.2 at least and hit the chlorine to about 12-15 and hold it there until the water clears.

Question...vinyl lined pool or what? If vinyl then the low pH is especially not good. Someone on the chemistry side can kick in but this will at least get you started.
Al

Thanks for the info. I do have vinyl and have added the 2.5 pounds the box said to increase the ph. I will add even more. I can not bypass the pump, unless I disconnect it and find buy the fittings and tubing to replace it. It may be worth tracking that down.

I am concerned about adding more bleach without circulation. Will it do anything? Assuming it is OK to add bleach without the pump circulating, my plan is this

1. re-test
2. add more ph+
3. add more bleach
4. let it work for a day b/c I hope it will be enough to see the bottom again!
5. vacuum to waste
6. take apart filter and soak fingers
7. add DE and start filtering again

If it is not clear, I will be doing steps 1-4 with added step of refilling from hose until it is clear enough that I want to take the filter apart. I'm only doing that ONCE. It has been pouring around here (5+ inches so far) and is supposed to continue for a few days, so vacuuming to waste is not quite a pain as it could be, since I don't have to re-fill.

I see the small 0-ring through the bump handle, so I'll replace that while I have the thing apart. Thanks for the advice.

- betty

Betty,
You really need to circulate when adding chemicals. I can't help any more on the DE filter issue because I have sand and no experience with DE filters. I'm kind of surprised there isn't a 'bypass' or 'recirculate' position on the valve. An option for circulating without filtering would be to go the the 'waste' mode and dump the waste line back into the pool if you can do that. Don't know if you have hard plumbing on the waste line that would prevent you from doing this.
Al

BTW...consider building an ARK.