Pump pressure?

[John_A23]

say for example I put a cup of DE into my sand filter and it comes out the return I know my laterals *think thats the right spelling*are ok Any other ideas as to what it could be? This happen last summer as well just never got round to fixing it

[Poconos]

John,
If you throw in DE and it comes out the returns, and you know the laterals are OK, then something else has happened or there is a sneak path for fine stuff. All I know is how my Hayward filter is constructed. The center pipe from the laterals mates with a pipe in the variflow valve assembly. (top mount valve). Valve pipe slides over the center pipe. Very loose fit. I suspect they designed it this way to allow air to bleed off the top of the sand chamber. This gap could be a sneak path for the DE. Last Summer I was in there for some reason and found this situation. Wrapped a few layers of plastic electrical tape over the center pipe to close the gap and get a snug fit. Now any trapped air bleeds very slowly but that's OK. Just a thought.
Al

[John_A23]

I think thats the way mine connects up the valve that has the settings for the filter backwash etc sits ontop of the pipe from the laterals and then then lid screws on so do I wrap the tape around the pipe or ontop of the opening to close off the open end?

[Poconos]

Tape is wrapped around the top of the center pipe. Only takes a couple layers and I had to keep trimming, removing layers of tape, to get a good fit. You're increasing the diameter of the inner pipe from the laterals where it mates to the pipe in the valve assembly so the slip clearance between the pipes is reduced. You still want air to bleed out of the top of the sand chamber, but not as fast as the original design.
Al