ok, i dont have pea soup..more like cool blue listerine

[fog80]

I just uncovered my pool to a aqua blue type color. The pool definitely has algea at the bottom, because i cant see it. I put about 4 gallons of bleach in to try and lighten it up a little.

Now the way my system is, when i vacuum to waste it also releases the DE from my filter, so i would like to vacuum to waste before i put any de in the filter (dont want to waste it).

after my initial vacuum (to get the big stuff) i will put fresh de in and start the filtering process.

is there anything wrong with that?

also my pool is a kidney shaped ig pool, i think its gunite but im not sure. how do i figure out how many gallons my pool is?

[waste]

Hey Fog!, How are you doing (other than the algae)?

With your EC 65, there is a chance that the 'slime water' willend up on the uncoated fingers and 'gunk' them up. A method to possibly minimise this is to keep the plugs in the returns, the pressure may be enough to keep the water from filling the tank. You probably know your normal filter pressure, so check to see that it's not too much higher after you coat the fingers - if it is, you'll have to break the filter apart and hose the fingers clean

As for the volume, it can be figured out by breaking the pool into simple solid chunks usually, but the differing radii (and the reversed radius) make that a little tough - perhaps someone else has a formula. What I would do is measure the perimeter and multiply that # by the average depth of the pool and multiply that # by 7.5 to get a reasonably good ESTIMATE - then add chems as if it were 1/2 that size and see how much of a change you get - add more chems as needed to get your #s where you want them -- eventually (if you keep a log of results and additions) you'll get a good idea of how much of whatever chem is needed to raise the parameter X ppm.
If anyone has a better idea, I'd like to hear it as much as Fog would .

Good to see you back! - have a great summer and enjoy the pool!!

[fog80]

Thanks Waste, I can always count on you to help me with my problems.

Yeah I'm pretty sure I have to open the filter up and clean off the fingers. The only thing im worried about is that my pool is so dirty that if i add fresh de to the filter, i will have to backwash within a few days and lose all the de.

i wish i could vacuum to waste without losing my de.

[fog80]

ok i opened up my de filter and it was a nasty lime green color inside. I cleaned off all the tentacles and the inside of the filter and put the cover back on. Then i added about 5 lbs of de to the skimmer and let the filter run.

within an hour the pressure went up from 20psi to 30psi, so i bumped the handle and it came down to 20 again. Then another hour later the psi went back up to 30 and no amount of bumping will bring it down below 25.

Do I need to backwash and put more DE in? I mean I just added it a couple hours ago.

[ChuckD]

Hi Fog,
I also have an EC-65 (thanks Waste for that great tip about leaving the plugs in!). What kind of pump do you have? Mine's a two year old 3/4 hp SuperPump and when my filter's freshly charged with DE it runs about 11psi. Bump time is around 20. Sounds like you may have a more powerful pump which might be why your working pressure's a bit higher.

When I first opened my pool, and was filtering lots of dead algae, I was bumping at least once an hour. I just kept at this until the water started to clear (36 hours or so) and then backwashed. Now that it's about clear I'll probably backwash once more which should hold me for most of the summer.

BTW, here's another tip: pick up one of those Hayward wands you connect to a hose and insert into the open drain of the tank. Do it whenever you backwash and you'll be amazed at what a normal backwash misses.

[fog80]

im not exactly sure what kind of pump i have but i know its at least ten years old. i believe its a 3/4 hp pump by hayward.

I dont remember exactly what my starting psi was last year but i think it was in the 12-15 range.

This year my psi wont drop below 20 even when i add fresh de. I think im going to break my filter down tonight and give it an acid wash.

when you bump, does the low psi hold for a while? when i bump my psi goes down about 5 but then it goes back up very quickly. what is your procedure for bumping?

[ChuckD]

im not exactly sure what kind of pump i have but i know its at least ten years old. i believe its a 3/4 hp pump by hayward.

I dont remember exactly what my starting psi was last year but i think it was in the 12-15 range.

This year my psi wont drop below 20 even when i add fresh de. I think im going to break my filter down tonight and give it an acid wash.

when you bump, does the low psi hold for a while? when i bump my psi goes down about 5 but then it goes back up very quickly. what is your procedure for bumping?

I think that might have been a common package, the 3/4 with the EC-65. I've seen it several times.

Right, once the initial cr*p is cleared from the springtime opening, my psi stays pretty stable for at least a day.

Also, I think your absolutely right to give the elements (fingers) a wash. If you're at all like me, and dislike working with acid, I've had great success with OxyClean. 3-4 scoops in a five gallon bucket of hot water. Let it soak over night then hose it off and resoak in fresh water for a couple minutes to flush.

Bumping:
-turn the pump off
-turn the valve at the inlet closed so prime isn't lost and your efforts at the handle are optimized. On my three-way Jandy this means the handle is pointed directly away from the pump.
-Press down the handle, slowly (1 to 2 seconds to depress)
-Pull sharply up
-Repeat 7 to 10 times. I usually look for the DE to start clouding the water in the clear tube that connects the pump to the filter receptacle.
-I usually take this opportunity to clean out the basket as well.
-IMPORTANT! Open the valve back up.
-Turn pump back on.

[waste]

Chuck, just a couple of quick things on this AM's post on bumping:

1 Please remember to open the air relief valve for a few seconds (then close it again) to relieve some of the pressure on the tube sheets so they don't crack from being 'Bumped'. Cracked tube sheets will allow DE to bypass the fingers and end up in the pool.

2 There should be a backflow prevention 'flapper valve' where the water from the pump enters the filter. They fall off a lot and as long as you have the Jandy valve closed it's no problem, unless the pump is higher than the pool in which case, you may find DE on the pool floor near the MD or in the skimmer, before the pump turns on for the day. It's a minor thing, but the DE shouldn't be able to get into the pump from the filter. It's probably not a problem for you, but might be for others (some systems get plumbed without a valve )

I wish the both of you well and hope you get to enjoy your pools a smuch as posible

[ChuckD]

Wow. Thanks for that waste.
So I guess if I had a functioning check valve I wouldn't see that milkiness in the clear elbow assembly connecting the pump and the filter?

AFAIK, this EC65 is around twenty years old, I inherited it with the house two years ago. I've never seen DE returning to the pump when the pump's been turned off by the timer (and the Jandy remains open), even for a couple hours. And I've definitely never seen DE in the pool (and the pump/filter's 2 feet above the water level). But as I said, I stop bumping when I start to see it migrating into that elbow (when the Jandy's closed).

About the pressure relief: When I turn off my pump the gauge goes to zero so there wouldn't be any pressure to relieve. Is this normal?

[fog80]

chuck,

I saw some paperwork the old homeowner left behind and the pool filter and pump seem to be from 1987 which would make my setup 20 yrs old as well!

I did the acid wash this evening, but i didnt let it soak overnight, just for an hour or so. I also noticed that my pressure gauge isnt screwed into the filter like the picture on the manual. It seems like the previous owner plumbed some pvc in an L shape so that the gauge is visible from the top. It also looks like he glued the gauge in, so I wont be able to open it and flush out the de with a hose like the manual suggests.

However the filter wash did the trick so far, the psi is holding steady at 10 when before i couldnt get it to hold at 15 for more than a minute.