DE Filter Problem

[DavidD]

We bought a new DE filter system with pump from hayward about 3 month ago. It works great, but we have to keep bumping the handle every other hour and change the DE powder at least once a week. When I called "in the swim" where we bought the pump, they tell me that this is normal. But two pool places told me that this is way too much.

What is right now? I can't imagine that you have to change the DE powder every week.

Somebody mentioned that I would have to open the pump and clean something chemically. But I looked in my instructions and all it said is the following..

While Perflex filters are basically resistant to the difficulties often encountered as a result of chemical build-up in
swimming pools, it is important to keep in mind that the mineral content in a pool increases every day as a result of
the chemicals and the normal water evaporation process. If the concentration of minerals is allowed to get too high,
the minerals will form deposits on the Flex-Tubes inside the filter, and will eventually result in shortened filter cycles.
To guard against this, a yearly chemical cleaning (soaking) of the Flex-Tube assembly is suggested. Use
commercially available 20% muriatic acid added to water in 1 to 1 ratio; OR use other commercial filter element
cleaner mixed in accordance to the package instructions.

but there is nothing about how to do that, what do open ect....anybody have any input to anything I just wrote?

I have the Perflex EC75 filter and have had no problems whatsoever. My D.E could last all season but I usually change it 2 or 3 times, mainly because I have to do stain treatments on my fiberglass pool. Otherwise, I'd leave it in all year. I rarely have to bump as well. Dave (duraleigh) might be right

Something (like algae) may be afoot in your water. A complete set of test results would probably give an indicator.

Also, tell us what type and horse power pump you have and how you are measuring the D.E. My thinking is if it is not as Dave S. suspects, the problem could be a: you could be overpowered and/or b: you could have too much D.E. in there. If it had not been for a neighbor who had the EC65, I, following the directions, would have used a Large Coffee can to measure the D.E. rather than a smaller one which would have been twice the D.E. that I needed.
Now, to clean the filter, you have to remove the 15 bolts on top. Then lift the top out. Spray the fingers off with your hose using a nozzle to up the pressure. If the fingers aren't white, they probably need cleaning. I do this every year when closing but I have heard of people having to do this after clearing up a serious algae problem. To clean, Dilute some muratic acid and water (add acid to water, not water to acid) in a 5 gallon bucket. I usually add 1 gallon of acid to 3 gallons of water. Place the top of the unit in the acid/water and let soak for 45 minutes or so. It usually takes me an hour and a half or so to disassemble soak and re-assemble, soaking taking most of the time and again, should only have tobe done when closing the pool every year.

Dave