turbottt1 Posted April 15, 2006 Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 Hello to all. Were getting ready to open the big water[ 30,0000 gal. above ground] once again and before we start I have some questions and concerns. Last year we noticed that as we were vac. the pool that we would loose suction????? The only way we could vac. was to set the filter/pump on high speed????? After we backwashed the filter [ plenty of time for the discharge water to clear] and reset the multi. valve to the normal filter cycle that it blew tons of crap back into the pool??????? We changed the sand 3 times and made sure the figers were all good and clear. Should I replace all gaskets in the system or is there other suggestions??? Thank you in advance for all help and info. steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guzz Posted April 15, 2006 Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 Hello to all. Were getting ready to open the big water[ 30,0000 gal. above ground] once again and before we start I have some questions and concerns. Last year we noticed that as we were vac. the pool that we would loose suction????? The only way we could vac. was to set the filter/pump on high speed????? After we backwashed the filter [ plenty of time for the discharge water to clear] and reset the multi. valve to the normal filter cycle that it blew tons of crap back into the pool??????? We changed the sand 3 times and made sure the figers were all good and clear. Should I replace all gaskets in the system or is there other suggestions??? Thank you in advance for all help and info. steve After backwashing, did you run the filter in the rinse mode for 1 minute before switching to filter mode? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbottt1 Posted April 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 Yeap!!!!! We tried everything last year. I'm thinking the gasket under the multi valve is leaking????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkman009 Posted April 15, 2006 Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 Hello to all. Were getting ready to open the big water[ 30,0000 gal. above ground] once again and before we start I have some questions and concerns. Last year we noticed that as we were vac. the pool that we would loose suction????? The only way we could vac. was to set the filter/pump on high speed????? After we backwashed the filter [ plenty of time for the discharge water to clear] and reset the multi. valve to the normal filter cycle that it blew tons of crap back into the pool??????? We changed the sand 3 times and made sure the figers were all good and clear. Should I replace all gaskets in the system or is there other suggestions??? Thank you in advance for all help and info. steve What size sand did you put back in the filter when you changed it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbottt1 Posted April 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 ok you got me there. No clue. We purchased it at our local litehouse pool dealer. They sized to our needs. steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkman009 Posted April 15, 2006 Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 ok you got me there. No clue. We purchased it at our local litehouse pool dealer. They sized to our needs. steve The reason that I asked is the sand filter has to have 20 grit silica sand and if you dont use the right grit it can cause the problems that you were describing. Was there a lot of debris in the pool when you were vacuuming? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbottt1 Posted April 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2006 no I should of stated that this happened all summer long. One thing to add as my wife reminded me. we were running the pump on low speed [ 24/7] if we moved the switch to high speed it did the same thing. My concern is the pool does have a lot of debra in it right now and I don't want to spend the time cleaning it just to have a major portion passed back into the pool. steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbottt1 Posted April 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2006 ok I located one of the empty bags we used for the refill of sand. I don't see where it gives the grit size, but I will pass along what it does say. First name on the bag is hercules. It says for residential and commercial pools using sand filters. Highly pure non toxic. graded to meet major manufactures recommendations. Not sure if this helps. steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poollady Posted April 16, 2006 Report Share Posted April 16, 2006 ok I located one of the empty bags we used for the refill of sand. I don't see where it gives the grit size, but I will pass along what it does say. First name on the bag is hercules. It says for residential and commercial pools using sand filters. Highly pure non toxic. graded to meet major manufactures recommendations. Not sure if this helps. steve Hercules is Litehouse's own brand name. I don't think the problem is with the sand. Even though you said you checked the fingers in the bottom of the filter, I think there is something broken. Either the standpipe or the latterals (fingers). Maybe just a hairline crack. You also might try some Filter Aid. This is a fine powder you backwash into the filter and it coats the top of the filter. It will filter out finer particles that may be going right through the system. When you backwash is there dirty water coming out of the backwash hose? Hope you are not working too hard on Easter Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbottt1 Posted April 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2006 Yes there is dirty water when backflushing we run it till it appears clear. As far as working to hard. Yes I am but for good reasons. I only get home on saturdays and sundays right now [ work out of town]so there is a lot to complete. I would like to have some ideas to try when I get home next friday because it's time thanks to the solar panels to get the pool open. I will check the fingers and standpipe right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poollady Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 Yes there is dirty water when backflushing we run it till it appears clear. As far as working to hard. Yes I am but for good reasons. I only get home on saturdays and sundays right now [ work out of town]so there is a lot to complete. I would like to have some ideas to try when I get home next friday because it's time thanks to the solar panels to get the pool open. I will check the fingers and standpipe right now. Keep me posted, Turbott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkman009 Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 Yes there is dirty water when backflushing we run it till it appears clear. As far as working to hard. Yes I am but for good reasons. I only get home on saturdays and sundays right now [ work out of town]so there is a lot to complete. I would like to have some ideas to try when I get home next friday because it's time thanks to the solar panels to get the pool open. I will check the fingers and standpipe right now. If the sand is specified for a pool filter it will not be the issue. One thing you want to do on the multi port valve when you have a lot of debris in the pool is to vacuum with the valve in the waste mode so that all of the debris isnt going into the sand. In this mode it allows you to vacuum but sends everything through the valve and right out the waste line. This will make it so you dont have to keep backwashing. In this mode you will be pumping the water right out of the pool so you will want to throw the garden hose in the pool and be adding water as you are vacuuming. To help you diagnose your problem I need a little more info. What brand and model are your filter and pump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbottt1 Posted April 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 First I'm home for one more day this week.[excellent] I got the info. I believe. Filter 21" laguna # 58811000 sand weight 150-200pds. max. flow rate [gpm] 47 filter sq. ft. 2.35 max. pressure 35 operates with #20 silica sand pump 2 hp. 115v. 2 speed dynamo [ pentair] century laser pool/spa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkman009 Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 First I'm home for one more day this week.[excellent] I got the info. I believe. Filter 21" laguna # 58811000 sand weight 150-200pds. max. flow rate [gpm] 47 filter sq. ft. 2.35 max. pressure 35 operates with #20 silica sand pump 2 hp. 115v. 2 speed dynamo [ pentair] century laser pool/spa First thing that filter is undersized for a 30,000 gallon pool so when you have a lot of debris in the pool the filter is going to plug up fast. On your pump does the basket have any holes in it or is the handle broken off. The reason that Im asking is after reading your original post you could have some debris that has made it past the basket and into the impellar. This could not only reduce your suction but when you go to backwash the pump will not be pushing enough water to churn the sand up and get a good cleaning and would allow debris to pass back into the pool. Is there a lot of large debris like leaves in the pool? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbottt1 Posted April 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 Ok handle and basket look like new. There is large debra in the pool right now. We will clean these leaves and other large items out before we start the pump. It's not surprising to me that the filter/pump are the wrong size. Right after we purchased this pool[ a display model] the dealer up and closed the doors. Go figure!!!!!! The reason I wondered about the gaskets is. They had the pool up and running on the showroom floor. We inturn did not set it up that summer so it sat quite awhile before we put it back into service. Does this matter as far as the seals??????? They look good, but I know this does not mean they are. Proper size filter/pump for our pool????????? Something else my wife reminded me of. The handle on the multi valve seems soft when put into different positions. [ It does not snap or seem to apply pressure. It seems like I always try to make sure it's seated] steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 Hello to all. Were getting ready to open the big water[ 30,0000 gal. above ground] once again and before we start I have some questions and concerns. Last year we noticed that as we were vac. the pool that we would loose suction????? The only way we could vac. was to set the filter/pump on high speed????? After we backwashed the filter [ plenty of time for the discharge water to clear] and reset the multi. valve to the normal filter cycle that it blew tons of crap back into the pool??????? We changed the sand 3 times and made sure the figers were all good and clear. Should I replace all gaskets in the system or is there other suggestions??? Thank you in advance for all help and info. steve I have a smaller soft sided pool, 10,000 gallons, and had a similar problem; the suction kept getting progressively worse and not able to vacuum well. My deal was my neighbor has a tree that drops a ton of thin/long leaves in my pool which sink quickly and have to be vacuumed. The wet end of my pump it has a secondary basket to collect any debris from vacuuming and when I'd go to empty the basket (which was always full) I'd sometimes notice a few of those skinny leaves had gotten past the basket due to their size. I'd just remove what I saw by hand and go about my business but when the suction dropped enough I realized what was happening. Sure enough, I removed the wet end of the pump and found some of the leaves would get past the basket and get jammed up in the impellor. I had to carefully use a long/thin screwdriver to pry out the impacted leaves and VOILA, like new again (until this summer when I'll have to do it again probably). The entire process took about 10 minutes to complete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbottt1 Posted April 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 I never really thought about helicoper buds getting pass the basket. I can't say I remember seeing any in the pool, but once those babies get spinning all over the place I might of not paid attention. I can add that with our pool came one of those automatic vac. that run around the bottom. It works for about 2 minutes then stops sucking. I checked the skimmer and the basket in front of the pump and both had nothing in them. Also this is after we changed sand in the filter and checked all the parts for cracks or breaks. If you have ever had well water and one of the old style holding tanks that would water log it seem real close to what our pool does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 I never really thought about helicoper buds getting pass the basket. I can't say I remember seeing any in the pool, but once those babies get spinning all over the place I might of not paid attention. I can add that with our pool came one of those automatic vac. that run around the bottom. It works for about 2 minutes then stops sucking. I checked the skimmer and the basket in front of the pump and both had nothing in them. Also this is after we changed sand in the filter and checked all the parts for cracks or breaks. If you have ever had well water and one of the old style holding tanks that would water log it seem real close to what our pool does. If your impellor is impacted, removal of the debris will make all the difference in the world and your little vacuum bug will start working like a champ (at least that was my case). You don't need to be a mechanical person to unbolt the wet end and check it out so I'd look into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbottt1 Posted April 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 ok I took apart the wet end. I found nothing that would lead me to believe there was a problem. [ 5 or 6 pine needles. I flushed everything out, cleaned, checked o-ring and put back together. I wonder if I could have been sucking air from around a loose fitting???? The other thing I wonder about is where the multi valve attaches to the top of the tank???? even if this explains low vac. I don't believe either one could cause the junk back into the pool. steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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