Well, I thought I resolved my increasing pressure issue today by hand vacuuming all the dirt on the bottom, then backwashing, using the Hayward wand to clean inside the filter as best as possible, then connecting everything. The pool is crystal clear and all readings are ideal.

The pressure started at 8psi, that was around noon. It has slowly increased over the day as I can see the returns are pushing out less and less. At 7PM the pressure reading is 18psi. The 3 returns are still pushing out water, but not nearly as strong as before. When I opened the little bleeder at the top no water or air came out.

I figured in order to rule out a filter clogging, I expect to take this puppy apart tomorrow. My question is other than the 15 bolts on the top, is there anything special I need to know? Are there any tricky procedures to put her all back? I would hate to be saying "I should have just left it alone" tomorrow night.

If this does not do it, the only other thing I can think of is a leaky basket cover. I just bumped the filter and when I plugged it back in there was a lot of air blowing out the returns. Just an idea.

Thanks all, my mind won't be at ease until this is resolved.