De4820 Progrid Not Performing.

[meowcat]

Hello all. I just replaced my old Pentair 8000 series DE filter with a brand new Hayward DE4820 Pro-grid filter. My old filter, (18 years old) before it required parts that were no longer available, filtered the pool water with absolute clarity. I could not see a single micron of nothing through the light, at night. I've had my new Hayward filter installed for 8 days, now and the clarity of the water is quite poor. I can clearly see micro debris reflecting from the light at night. During the day. it is quite obvious that the water is nowhere near as clear as it used to be. It's a 48 Sq ft. filter and I added 6 lbs of DE powder (6, 1lb coffee cans) through the skimmer. Nothing else in the system has been changed. What is wrong with my new filter?

[Pool Clown]

I think your filter requires about 4.8 lbs of D.E. A one pound coffee can will not get you 1 pound of D.E. coffee is more dense than D.E. So you need 10 one pound coffee cans for a 48 Sq ft filter. You're running a little on the light side with 6.

[meowcat]

I think your filter requires about 4.8 lbs of D.E. A one pound coffee can will not get you 1 pound of D.E. coffee is more dense than D.E. So you need 10 one pound coffee cans for a 48 Sq ft filter. You're running a little on the light side with 6.

Thanks, Pool Clown. I think that may be a problem. When I say 1lb, I'm referring to the container that my pool store gave me to measure DE powder. They told me that the container was the exact same size as a 1 lb coffee can and the measured DE would be 1lb. I think they were wrong. I usually added 7 containers to my old filter which was much smaller than my new one. My theory was that the new filter was much more efficient and required less DE. Thanks for the tip, I'll try adding a few more pounds.

[meowcat]

Okay, I did some more research. The measuring container that I bought from the pool store is made specifically for measuring DE powder. It is a 1 lb. container as it's marked as such right on the side. It is the exact same size as a 1 lb. coffee can. Before I installed my new filter, the pool had about 1 or 2 lbs of DE powder settled on the bottom of the spa. I added 5 lbs. of DE powder to the new filter and then vacuumed the DE from the bottom of the spa. My guess is that the spa had a little more than a lb. of DE powder at the bottom of it. I also lost an amount of DE powder at the new filter when I cut open a PVC pipe to repair a leak. I'm guessing about 2 lbs. Anyway, last night I added 2 more lbs. to the filter and I'm waiting to see what happens.

My crusty old Pentair filter, which was half the size of my new one would clear a foggy pool in about a half a day with stunning clarity. So far, I'm less than thrilled with my new Hayward.

[Pool Clown]

I don't suppose you are getting any DE back to the pool while you are adding DE? That would indicate something has become undone in the tank, or something happened (or didn't happen) during assembly, or shipment.

And i gotta ask the obvious, You plumbed the filter in correctly right? Pipe from pump to the 'inlet" on filter.

[meowcat]

I don't suppose you are getting any DE back to the pool while you are adding DE? That would indicate something has become undone in the tank, or something happened (or didn't happen) during assembly, or shipment.

And i gotta ask the obvious, You plumbed the filter in correctly right? Pipe from pump to the 'inlet" on filter.

Thanks. No, I have absolutely 0 DE powder in the pool or spa. The DE that was left on the bottom of my spa was vacuumed up already. The filter is plumbed correctly. I double, triple, and quadruple checked things before I cemented PVC together. At first I thought it was DE sediment that I was seeing stirred up in the water from the last filter, but, 8 days? That should have been cleared up by now.

[Pool Clown]

"I usually added 7 containers to my old filter which was much smaller than my new one. My theory was that the new filter was much more efficient and required less DE. Thanks for the tip, I'll try adding a few more pounds."

If your old one took 7, and was smaller, then your new one will take more. Remember, the DE doesn't enhance your filter, the DE is your filter! The filter grids are just a platform for the DE to set on, and do the actual filtering.

[quantumchromodynamics]

I think that if the water does not clear up you should disassemble the filter, clean and inspect it for any type of defect.

Don't backwash; you want to see what the DE looks like. Drain the filter before opening. The DE should be evenly coated on the outside of the grids.

[meowcat]

I think I've discovered other issues. I noticed the pressure gauge on the filter is only reading 5-6 lbs. I purchased a Go-Kit and I'll be tearing down the pump to inspect things.