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I just installed a new S244 Hayward sand filter. I put the recommended 300 pounds of sand in the filter. Running 1 1/2 inch pvc on the whole system. I just started the pump today. I think the pressure is too high. Running around 14-16 PSI. I replaced this filter because I hated cleaning the old cartridge filter. The cartridge filter ran at 8-10 when a new cartridge was in. Does this seem too high for startup of a new sand filter or do they run that high?
Rick
The 14-16 is right in the range of my 244T with a 1 HP pump.
Sometimes I go as low as 12 with solars wide open.
Not to worry.
Al
Any clean filter should not add more than 6 PSI to your total reading with 3 PSI as average so I would expect the difference between the two filters to be much less than 6 PSI. In fact, for similarly rated filters, cartridge filters should have a slightly higher PSI than sand and DE even higher. Also, most of the pressure reading in a filter gauge is due to the plumbing downstream from the filter and not the filter itself.
With a sand filter you also add a backwash valve that can increase the pressure by as much as 6 PSI depending on the valve type. About half of that will be post filter and half pre-filter so I would expect a 3 PSI rise on the guage from that.
So net net, I would not expect much of a rise at all between cartridge and sand. It could just be that the cartridge filter gauge was not working properly. This is pretty common so I would not worry about it too much.
I know the filter is new but have you backwashed it yet? See if it goes down after a good backwash.
15-20psi is normal for my 200# sand filter with a 1hp (full-rated) pump.
I only drop down to 7 or 8 psi when running on low speed.
There is nothing wrong with your pump or filter.
Thanks for the replies. The filter has steadied at about 14 PSI. All is well
Rick