Swimming Pool Filter Selection Question

[MiamiCuse]

I have a Hayward C1200 catridge filter and it's a hassle to clean the filter.

I have been reading about sand filters and DE filters, so I decided to do some research and they don't seem to be clear winners either.

The sand filter requires back washing, but I don't know how clean you really can achieve by back washing alone. Seems to me one may have to replace all the sand in there once in a while. Also it is not clear to me if the water has to be travelling through sand to get to the bottom, will the filtration be fast enough to circulate the water?

The DE filter requires the powder to be added, since the powder are so fine, will it again cause the water movement to be inefficient?

Right now after a while my pump won't prime because the catridge gets a lot of grease and dirt and I have to wash the filter thoroughly for the pump to prime. I hate cleaning catridges, it is a very laborious task because you have to reach into each fold to clean the interior surface area and this is no small task. If you don't clean it enough the grease and dirt will again impede the flow and water does not circulate as quick as possible.

There is no perfect filter?

MC

[Steve B]

I have a DE filter, and I'm happy with it. No matter what you have, you either have the option to pay someone to take care of it, or learn yourself and spend the time it takes to keep the pool right.

You sound like someone who needs to hire a pool guy.

Steve

[MiamiCuse]

I do not have the luxury of hiring a pool guy. I have to do it myself because my pool is not accessible to anyone, the house is a wrap around house with the pool in the central courtyard. To get to the pool one must have the keys to the front and back doors. I am not yet comfortable to hand my door keys and security alarm code to a pool guy, and I am too busy to sit around and wait for the pool guy to come by (if I sit and wait might as well take care of it myself).

I am just not sure the catridges are meant to be cleaned between each fold. Now if there are catridges I can disassemble and unfold it and spread it out so I can hose it down, then it's easier but with the standard catridges I don't know how you can really thoroughly clean it, it seems an impossible task to me.

MC

[tom]

Maybe not. My sand filter (dunno about DE) is relatively straightforward: Backwash, and start filtering again. Yes, after a while, the sand loses its edges, requiring replacement. It's been 7 years on the same sand for me, however. Now the hot tub cartridge filter is another story...I soak it in a solution of laundry detergent when it get really grunged, then spray the pleats clean. Ain't alt.home.repair great? Tom

[MiamiCuse]

Do you pry open each pleat and spray it clean one at a time?

Thanks,

MC

[Avery]

Get a sand filter. The biggest you can afford/fit. Yes, you will need to replace the sand maybe every 5 years probably longer. Providing everything else is OK the sand filter will scrub your water perfectly clean.

[Richard J Kinch]

Filtering necessarily costs flow. That's the price of purity.

Cartridge filters are for suckers. That's what the pool contractor puts in because it is cheap. Not cheap if your time doing dirty work is worth anything to you.

Sand filters work. They work better than cartridge, and are easiest to use. Filter sand is cheap and readily available at retail. It's just ordinary sand that's been screened to certain grain size population. Mine is 30 years old, and has had its sand replaced several times, but still works like new.

DE filters work the best but require more attention. DE is a perfect filter medium, ready-made tiny screens, not like sand at all:

Based on what you say, I would recommend a sand filter.

[MiamiCuse]

One more question. Suppose I buy a new filter and pump, what do I do with the existing Hayward Clear Plus C-1200RE and 3/4HP superpump?

Does it make sense to route them in series? A catridge filter then the DE filter with two pumps, other than this will cosume a lot more power, will this not clean better?

MC

[Richard J Kinch]

I would keep them for spares, to swap in if your primary equipment fails. Then you can take some time to make repairs, instead of paying high prices for urgent service.

No, it will not clean better. You're paying to send it through a good filter, why twice to put it through a poorer one? Depending on what's getting filtered out, the cartridge will catch larger stuff that DE alone would have caught, and the DE will catch everything smaller, assuming they're plumbed in that order. Cleaning the DE less often is the only potential benefit, not worth the expense.

[tom]

Heck, no. Too much worry. Tom

[gfretwell]

DE will give you trhe best filtering but that is also more maintenance intensive. It is perfect for a commerrcial pool with an onsite staff and a large bathing load. Sand is at the other extrreme, not really that good a filter but cheap. The paper element is in the middle on filter capability and the easiest to maintain, assuming you just throw it away. I have 2, one in the spa and one for the pool. I have found a cheap electric pressure cleaner does a great job cleaning them. Adjust it for a fairly wide fan spray and it will hold the pleats open while you are cleaning. Start from the top and work the dirt down. There is still a limit to how often cleaning works but I usually get a couple years out of a filter running 12 months a year. The spa lasts longer than that but I am filtering less water. One thing that affects it is how much junk you get in the pool in the first place. If there are a lot of trees dropping pollen and other trash the filter plugs faster. Eventually the pores in the paper will close up and you can't get it clean. Watch your pressures. I wrote the pressure with a new filter on the can with a sharpie for a reference.

[Steve B]

Alright, then, if you're stuck with the job, I'll help you. Look at your pool filter cartridge. Some have a dome on the top, and if you stick a broom stick or pointed rod inside, it will rest on the impression in the top of the dome at top. You can then shoot a stream of water on it with a hand sprayer, and it will spin around, throwing off the gook that needs to come out. It is also a good idea to soak them in chemical once in a while, even a little bleach. Get you a big trash can with a lid, and re use the water, as some of the chemicals are expensive. If there's a hole in the top of the cartridge and you can't use the broom handle trick, look around and buy some old type of turntable, perhaps at a yard sale, and sit it on there. You want it to spin while you are spraying it. It's messy, but it's fun. Rinse it a lot, that's dead skin and old farts you are washing off there.

Steve

[Steve B]

"MiamiCuse" wrote

Not necessarily. What will probably happen is that it will explode at the weakest point.

Steve

[MiamiCuse]

Makes sense. I just thought I would prolong the filter and the pump's life. Seems a waste to put that all into storage and let it sit. May be I should split the incoming line into a "T" with a valve and just plumb both in parallel - one to old filter and one to new filter so it would be ready to be a spare when necessary. I do have the room to do that - all it would take is an electrical line and a few new valves. Just thinking out loud, probably not a good idea.

MC

[Steve]

I have a cartridge filter and I hose it down about every 3 months. Just = get a good hose nozzle (set it to a heavy stream) and turn it on the filter. = Start from the top and work down. It takes me about 10 minutes to completely = clean a filter. Most good pool stores sell a special nozzle that makes it easier= to clean the filters.

If I had to repipe the pool, I would put a sand filter in series with = (and before) the cartridge filter. The cartridge will keep the water clean = better than the sand filter, but you can backwash the sand filter. You will = have to clean the cartridge filter about once a year (or just replace it).

On Fri, 4 May 2007 21:57:10 -0400, "MiamiCuse" = put together some random words that came up with:

[Richard J Kinch]

Well, fine, but beware of the madness of plumbing. It can be hard to stop once you get started. Before you know it, you'll have caged yourself in where you can't reach the saw to cut yourself out.

[gfretwell]

Also look at one of the "pool hydraulics" web sites and figure out what the head load is of all that extra pluimbing. At a certain point you may be losing all the "filter money" you save in wasted power fighting the extra head in your system. (takes longer to turn over the pool so you run the pump more) Pool plumbing is more than just getting the water from here to there. The path it takes makes a lot of difference in the head it presernts to the pump.. Everything (elbows, valves and filters) add up.