Need a Pool Guy...

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
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...to troubleshoot a sand filter problem. Travel to Jarabacoa required.

I suspect a bad valve, because the filter won't filter, even after backwashing. Will do everything else, just won't filter.

Pm's gratefully accepted...

TIA-

Robert
 

bayaguanaman

New member
Oct 22, 2009
266
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...to troubleshoot a sand filter problem. Travel to Jarabacoa required.

I suspect a bad valve, because the filter won't filter, even after backwashing. Will do everything else, just won't filter.

Pm's gratefully accepted...

TIA-

Robert

Have you tried taking the off to gain access to the sand,remove top 1" of sand then replace with new sand and cleanse with sand cleaner ? Easily done. Have a look at Pentair pool pumps trouble shooting or I can e-mail you. You may notice the cycle time when cleaning your pool dropped significantly,even to a few minutes before needing back washed.
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
936
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I've owned pools all my life, so I know the drill.

The problem is everything that is removed from the pool-I religiously swept the dirt & debris to the drain and watch it get sucked dowh (the skimmers are off) is pumped right back into the pool, and the valve is in "filter" mode. It ain't filtering.

A quick innerweb search revealed the filter manufacturer changed valves because of the problems with the valve. I suspect, being in the DR, the valve is the old one.

I could do it myself, but Lord, I have enough on my plate already.

The landlord said the prior tenants "messed" the pool up, so he drained it. I had the bottom repainted and filled the pool (with river water from the local water folks, so there was a considerable amount of silt). Cannot get rid of the dirt. I suspect that when the landlord says the last folks messed it up he may have been witnessing a faulty valve.
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
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Bottom line: we replaced the sand in the filter. It was like concrete. The house owner said he never changed it since installation...like 8-10 years.

Works fine now. Had to backwash once to get the tiny sand/dust out, but all is well and pump pressures are normal.

Changing the sand was quite a job mainly because the pump room is 8' underground with a skinny metal ladder that doesn't allow large humans easy access down the 24" square metal hatch...
 

Spicedwine

New member
Apr 25, 2006
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Bottom line: we replaced the sand in the filter. It was like concrete. The house owner said he never changed it since installation...like 8-10 years.

Works fine now. Had to backwash once to get the tiny sand/dust out, but all is well and pump pressures are normal.

Changing the sand was quite a job mainly because the pump room is 8' underground with a skinny metal ladder that doesn't allow large humans easy access down the 24" square metal hatch...

Your pump room location is too funny : the house we are in now has a pump house that is only about 5 feet in height. We thought it was a little strange, but remember where we live. Commented on this to a neighbor. He says : the pump house used to be about 6 or 7 feet high - with steps going down 2 or 3 feet. Of course - this was in the direct path of water and rain run-off, and the pump house flooded on a regular basis - especially during rainy season. Instead of putting in proper drainage, or diverting the water run-off somehow - typical Dominican solution : they filled in 2 to 3 feet with concrete, bringing the floor of the pump house to about ground level. Except now - of course - all of the equipment ( pump, filter, plumbing, etc ) is about 2 to 3 feet higher. And about 1/2 foot ABOVE pool level. So system would drain back into the pool, when shut off. And lose it's prime. Eventually we had a check valve installed, which ( sort of ) solved that problem. But we still have a "midget" sized pump house - even for us vertically challenged people.
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
936
113
Your pump room location is too funny : the house we are in now has a pump house that is only about 5 feet in height. We thought it was a little strange, but remember where we live. Commented on this to a neighbor. He says : the pump house used to be about 6 or 7 feet high - with steps going down 2 or 3 feet. Of course - this was in the direct path of water and rain run-off, and the pump house flooded on a regular basis - especially during rainy season. Instead of putting in proper drainage, or diverting the water run-off somehow - typical Dominican solution : they filled in 2 to 3 feet with concrete, bringing the floor of the pump house to about ground level. Except now - of course - all of the equipment ( pump, filter, plumbing, etc ) is about 2 to 3 feet higher. And about 1/2 foot ABOVE pool level. So system would drain back into the pool, when shut off. And lose it's prime. Eventually we had a check valve installed, which ( sort of ) solved that problem. But we still have a "midget" sized pump house - even for us vertically challenged people.
That's funny...:cheeky:

This pool room is on the other side of the concrete wall from the pool deep end...far below grade. No runoff, but there is a tiny leak from the pool into it, enough to keep it damp all the time.

One downside is there is NO WAY to lose prime unless the pool is empty, and when we replaced the sand made a colossal mess...4" of standing water. And the submersible sump pump the landlord left didn't work. So I bought a new one and configured an adapter with clear tubing, hose clamps and PVC threaded fittings to connect a garden hose.

The pump got all but the last 1/2" of water. The solution? I wet-vac'ed the remaining, squeezing the shop vac down in the hatch, and when the vac tank got full, sump pumped it out. Repeat until finished, 3 times. Finally the standing water is gone and I'm hoping it'll dry out-with the open hatch.

At least all the equipment is on 1-2 concrete blocks off the floor: pool pump & filter, water pump and pressure tank. The room itself is about 7.5' tall. and 10'x10.'