More DE?

[Shifty]

I think I may take a shot at hosing off the grids after work. I found some pictures online that resembled my grids. My grids were kind of dark with the caked on DE and possibly dead algae. The pictures in the link below resemble the color of my grids.

If after I hose down the grids and vacuumed debris still comes out the returns, what could be the problem? I was thinking maybe there were a few holes in the grids but nothing was obvious when I looked yesterday.

When putting the top back on the fiilter, is there some kind of lubricant or sealant I should be using before putting the O ring back on? I noticed a small drip coming from the T pin on the O ring after I turned my filter and pump on last night.

This is very frustrating. My water is crystal clear but I am vacumming daily. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[PoolDoc]

I'd replace the multiport. . . .

[Shifty]

Pool Doc,

Yesterday evening, I hosed off the caked on DE from the grids. Then, re-coated the grids with 9.6 scoops from the DE scooper (each scoop covers 5 sq ft and I have a 48 sq ft filter) I have. The pool was filthy as the debris I vacuumed the previous day had come out the returns. After the DE coated the grids, I vacuumed the debris and next to nothing came out the returns until later in the evening. What did come out was minimal compared to the last few days.

Logic seems to dictate I did not have enough DE coated on the grids. I think I will need to replace the grids at some point. Most of the 8 grids were not as rigid as they should be. Some were flexible at the top and I found a hole in the bottom of another. I am hoping if I replace the damaged grids, the problem will be fixed. I found the full set of replacement grids from H2O pool products for $91.99. This seems to be a good price. What do you think? Have you ever order from H2O pool products?

Would you mind elaborating why in post #24 you said you would replace the multiport? I am very enthusiastic to learn as much as I can to aid in diagnosing any potential problems that may arise.

Thanks for your help.

[PoolDoc]

Problems like yours can result from multiport gasket failure. It's possible to replace these, but it often doesn't go well, due to the difficulty of removing old adhesive, and getting the new gasket to stick.

You'd stated earlier

I opened the filter and the grids looked fine with no noticeable tears or rips.

If there were -- in fact -- no failures internal to the filter, then the multiport is the next most likely failure. I don't really trust homeowner (nothing personal; just my experience here) evaluations of their filter's internal conditions, but I can't 2nd guess their judgement.

However, replacing a multiport tends to be a "go / no go" situation: you either get it replaced or you don't. So if you replaced the multiport, you'd either fix your problems or you wouldn't. If you did, great. If you didn't, then I would say, "Well the problem almost certainly is internal to the filter. You need to check it again."

As it turned out, you later stated:

Some were flexible at the top and I found a hole in the bottom of another. I am hoping if I replace the damaged grids, the problem will be fixed

but I hadn't seen that yet, when I recommended the multiport . . . even though I suspected it might be the case.

So . . . now you've seen how my mind is working, on the OTHER side of all these posts!

[Shifty]

Thanks for the reply Pool Doc.

I am thinking I am going to hold off until next season to replace all the grids. Since cleaning the grids and adding the fresh DE, the amount of debris out the returns has lessened to the point where I will need to vacuum once or twice a week. My thinking is that since I would need to remove the grids for the winter anyway, why not just start fresh next season and not risk damaging new grids over the winter.

[PoolDoc]

Sounds like a plan!