Disassemble? I probably should have joined this sub 10 years ago since I got rid of my DE filter and switched to cartridges because of the PITA of getting into the tighter parts of the filter.
I didn't know it was possible.
Whattt? I disassemble once a year. And I don’t even do it it’s included with my pool closing lol. Rest is literally backwash and refill. Takes 5 minutes. Takes me 30 every time I do my spas filters. A pain in the ass.
Nah, it’s easy, even the first time. REassembly can be a bitch at first, though, especially if someone lost or broke the little template that holds the grids in place.
20 min?... I am quick but taking out, separate; I stack along a fence and clean each side then one last brief before putting back together, manifolds cleaned out, Clean the inside of the filter out via drain plug or vac. Lube gaskets, tichten back up, (sit for a frustrating 5 min to prime lol) DE in skimmer, Final check and chemicals. Im like 40 min.
I’ve actually never timed myself doing this chore before, but I run about the same steps 🤣. I’m curious now to know how fast I can do this and I’m around the 3-month mark that these need to be cleaned. How many bridal collar nuts have you guys gone through?? 😂😂😂
I also soak mine in TSP in big garbage can then chorline before I put them back together so it turns into a half day job for me.
But at least now I can put them back together in 5 mins. The first time took me lots of cursing and longer then I would like to admit.
Get skimmer socks. I went from cleaning my DE filter 4-5X a season to 2. Unfortunately DE is the best filtration. It’s heavy to lift out too. Takes me about an hour start to finish.
Oh so I'm not crazy.
I just started with 10 skimmers socks during spring last year for catching the oak pollen. During summer I didn't use the skimmer socks. Fall rolled around and I found a source for a 50 pack of skimmer socks and now I keep them on all the time. We had the DE filter cleaned in late Feb. It's now May and we have yet to need to backwash and recharge the filter.
Google pool skimmer socks. You can get them at a reasonable price online. They are like a thin mesh that fits snugly over the skimmer baskets. They collect a lot of the small particles that typically would make it to the filter. You just have to be diligent about keeping them clean…once a day is fine. It drastically reduces the need to back wash and clean DE filters. Game changer for me and I’m still surprise how much they keep out of the filter.
I've gotten pretty quick with this process. My only problem is what to do with the residual in the bottom of the assembly. I can get most of it off grids and into a garbage bag but when it comes time to flush the bottom half of the filter, I can't just open the drain without leaving a layer of DE on the ground all around it. My yard is small and I don't want pets or kids breathing it when it dries.
I use my rigid shop/wet vac from home depot instead of draining the bottom. If you have a place to dump the excess, it’s pretty quick and clean once you do it a couple times.
That's a good idea. I can easily dump it elsewhere. I have a nice shop vac but I don't believe it is designed to be a wet vac, so I may just get a harbor freight wet vac for this purpose.
I switched to cellulose substitute for this reason. To get the bottom part out I, unbelievably, open my bottom valve inside an old pillowcase and it gets most of it but not all of it. I do what I can to wash the remainder into the soil / off the deck.
I like the wet vac idea mentioned here and will likely try that next time around.
My drain to the bottom half is in an awkward place so this year I plan to add a fitting with a mail end and a 90° elbow with some PVC to get it more accessible because if I were to open it, it will run under my gate and all over my pavers
Everyone’s mistake is taking them all out at once cleaning and then trying to puzzle back together. It’s super easy if you just take on out at a time, clean it, then stick it right back in the same position. Can finish in 20 min. If done that way.
If you know how to take the grid assembly apart and reassemble then it's actually quite easy. Can be done faster than a cartridge filter. Reassembly can be difficult because the grids go in a certain order...having a second hand makes it easier. Won't know until you try it. So take lots of pictures or a video along the way, and you'll be ok.
Was that 2 hrs with taking the grid assembly apart? In any case, 2 hrs once or twice a year isn't bad. But it is a pain in the ass bc that DE mud hangs around the alley behind my house until a good rain comes thru
I also plan to replace with the largest cartridge filter I can afford. Large cartridge = fewer cleanings.
This isn't really true. A clean pool means less cleanings. A bigger filter will have more area to plug up and thus require more time to clean. You could probably find a pipeline single that would be easiest to clean 4 times a year.
You (or your neighbor helper) must be doing something wrong.
I do this job by myself in about 30 minutes, and I take my time cleaning them.
Also, with respect to the order of install of the grids: mine only has 1 grid that's different from all the others and its place in the assembly is clearly marked by the manufacturer. So it is not difficult at all to assemble it.
The first time I did a DE filter, I didn’t know that there was a specific order the grids had to go back in with. I think it took an hour of trial and error to get it right.
Do you operate your stanley pump on 240V or convert it to 120? Ive been considering replacing mine but current runs off of 120V So I'd have to replace line potentially.
They don't, it's just branding. Blue torrent/Asia connection sells their pumps to various retailers each with a different brand, but they're the same pump. Circupool = discount salt pool, cali-mar = pool supply unlimited, black and decker = pool parts 2 go.
I got a black and decker because they come with 2 bases to better match the footprint of old pumps, unions are included in the box, and at the time they were also priced better.
They are all energy star rated and eligible for rebates
I am good at it so I don't mind too much. I have a filter stand. Make yourself one out of pvc. For de grids, put in a 1.5 inch pipe at the bottom to a drain and you'll be able to set them upside down to clean them.
That's too long imo, especially with how yours looks. I have the same style filter and I'm doing a full clean every six months and back washing it 3 or so months after a change. Your filter looks overloaded, too. Too much de or a massive build up of dirt. Watch your pressure. If your pressure is good then just ignore me.
I made the mistake of trusting one of my past pool man's techs to change my filter (I now do everything myself) and he overloaded my filter which caused the pressure to go so high it basically crushed the little fins inside the filter grids which then poked tiny holes in the grids. Had to replace a full set of filter grids that were less than 2 years old.
Assuming your pressure s are at your normal operating rpm/gph on your pump, you may still be waiting too long. General recommendation is to do something after your pressure goes up 25% or more. Backwash or clean. Your starting pressure while priming could also shoot up past 20 when it's dirty. That said, my system sits at about 15 when it's clean so I'm not sure 20 is "danger zone" for your grids. I'm sure there's some pressure where those grids are definitely gonna crush but I don't know it.
It is recommended to have your de filter cleaned completely every six months. Leaving it in the filter and spraying it off is a joke. That's when professionals get called because you have a huge column of de in the middle and all the grids are trashed
You take the grid assembly out of the tub and hose all the old DE off with a long skinny car wash nozzle. That gets in all the tight spaces. Even the center. Gets it completely clean without disassembly.
The only time I had those problems they were caused by breaking down the grid and reassembling.
I had a pool guy before I discovered PoolRx. He rubbed holes in the grid covering wrestling the contraption back together.
DE is great when you have a green pool. Cleans up in 24-48 hours. Cart can take a few days to a week and sand? Good luck.
Pros and Cons will all filter types.
So I dealt with my old DE filter for 5 years.
In the last year I finally switched over to Perlite. I absolutely wish I had switched sooner.
There are drawbacks but I did not have to backwash as often. Recharging was so much easier and no more itchy de hands ha.
The downside is you have to make the switch when you do a full filter clean. De and perlite do not play well at all.
Also if you are a big user of algaecide or things like it you can't use perlite. I however had switched to just liquid chlorine, baking soda and ash.
I stopped using any of the weekly perfect, and all that other crap after year two.
Never had an issue except when we had a power failure and a pipe break and my pool turned green.
Took me a few weeks to get it back because I had 0 water circulation for a month.
Backwash first. GardenHose and jet setting on nozzle. Or take pic before disassembly after backwash, mark each one on top. Reassemble. I learned the hard way 9 yrs ago. Done in 30 min now
It's not easy if you don't do it often or first time. One time I had to disassemble mine like 3 time a week for 3 weeks, by the end of it I could put it back together in 20 min.
Also they sell cleaning wands that attach to garden hose you can stick between the fins and get it pretty clean without taking it apart.
I really like the starite Cartridge filters. My spine doesn’t like them because them suckers get really heavy but even on a pool with trees nearby it will typically need 1 cleaning per year
I have a store a few minutes away. $35 they dissemble and clean it spotless. Well worth the trip. I drop it off in the morning on the way to work and pick up on the way home.
Back when I had a lot of these, I could get them clean at a car wash without disassembling....but if the material weakened, you could rip it right off with the wand.
I've got about 300 accounts and only two DE filters. I put one at my own house just so I could learn how to service it. And I hate it. I've only taken it apart one time in eight years.
I think it’s just because how tight it is. Plus I just go down to ace hardware and pick up an o ring pack. They have one that has a couple in the pack that fits.
If you use a pair of needle nose vise grips to hold the center rod, you can remove the top nut and remove the grids one at a time, and save your back. When reassembling, put the top bracket on the ground, start with short grid, and it goes back together fairly easily.
I just finished doing mine the other day. Is it a pain in the ass? Sure. Am I gonna pay someone to do it for me? Nah… they keep the chemicals balanced. I like to do the other stuff. Except electrical.
And since I’m doing my own filter, I set aside a few hours. I’m down to about half a hour.
I've never taken the grids apart. In the fall at pool shutdown time I hose off all the DE inside and out and then store for the winter.
I may have to backwash once or twice during the season. Maybe I'm lucky because mine doesn't get very dirty.
That looks like a lot of DE on the grids too. Isn't it 4-5 scoops first time and about half after a backwash?
I've haven't done this myself (always hired it out), but want to this Spring. For those curious, [this is the best video I've found that explains it thoroughly.](https://youtu.be/jjtVeH_iJp0?si=73k7ddJRbgjz6jyp)
THIS! I have 4 cartridges. Takes about 25 min each with a power washer. Looks about the same size as this guys DE. I guess it could take like 15 min each if i cleaned them more than three times a season 🤷🏼♂️
25 minutes each? WTH Just did all 4 of mine almost spotless white and shop vac out the bottom of the housing in about 30m total. Drank a beer too while doing it.
maybe i try to hard to get them clean. I run until no more black water is flowing. I also live close to a cornfield. So they tend to get exceptionally dirty.
Yeah that don’t need to be THAT clean. Get the crap off them. I use a pressure washer and work around the top working my way down and around. You should your cartridges every 3-4 years though if you have that much stuff
Yeah I don’t know what the hell these people are putting in their pool. I just got a cartridge filter to clean out a pool that was green as hell and I rinsed it off 5-10 minutes a day for 2 days and the pool was clean and the filter is clean. I’m thinking maybe they’re leaving it full of gunk for a year or something.
About half of my customers have a cartridge filter and it takes me about 90 minutes with a water hose, and they never get totally clean. Sometimes I'll soak them in a 1 to 10 mix of muriatic acid and water which helps a lot, but DE filters are so much easier lol.
Sand filters act very similar to your DE filter, typically sand doesn't escape while backwashing making monthly backwashing easier. The sand also doesn't need replacing for about 3-5 years.
A sand filter takes 5 minutes to clean with no mess and effort and just 50 cents worth of water, compared to 30 minutes with a cartridge filter and probably using almost the same amount of water to hose the filter off. 50 cents worth of water to clean a filter, rather than 30 mins of disassembly labor, any day of the week. DE filters are equally problematic to service.
If you use skimmer socks with a sand filter, or run a robot, you hardly ever need to backwash. If you're not regularly using clarifiers, flocs, or other potentially problematic pool store recommendations the sand will out last the filter, or even the pool itself, compared to having to buy new cartridges every couple years or so. Regarding the micron size filtering argument, I guarantee not one person here would be able to tell what kind of filter you're running just by looking at your water or swimming in your pool.
Need to clean mine this weekend. Use to hate it so much I'd pay the pool guy I use for repairs to clean it, despite doing the rest of the maintenance myself. But he hated doing too even if he was getting paid lol. Still hate it, but I've got it down now.
I have zero pool industry experience. My mom got a pool with one of these and I just figured they all suck. Sometimes backwashing just doesn't cut it. Are there better options?
I did mine this weekend. Since I am small 4’11 the hardest part is getting it out 😂 of the filter but after that I just put my headphones on -music and take each one out clean it and put it back in the same spot. I do take my time so at least 1 hour and I soak them in a cleaner after pressure/water remove all the junk… some people here say they can do it in 10 minutes… I doubt they take each one out and clean it well.
It’s a skill. Nobody likes doing it but I can dissemble, clean and reassemble in about 20 minutes flat
Disassemble? I probably should have joined this sub 10 years ago since I got rid of my DE filter and switched to cartridges because of the PITA of getting into the tighter parts of the filter. I didn't know it was possible.
It’s rough the first few times but rewarding once you get the hang of it
Well, today I learned, and today I regret.
Don’t regret, cartridges are so much less of a hassle over all.
Meh. You only have to disassemble a DE filter once or twice a year.
Whattt? I disassemble once a year. And I don’t even do it it’s included with my pool closing lol. Rest is literally backwash and refill. Takes 5 minutes. Takes me 30 every time I do my spas filters. A pain in the ass.
DE filters 2-5 microns Cartridge filters 10-15 microns Up to 7.5x the cleaning potential for a little "hassle" 100% worth
Nah, it’s easy, even the first time. REassembly can be a bitch at first, though, especially if someone lost or broke the little template that holds the grids in place.
I did it so well then over tightened by one turn and the metal wrong popped. Waiting til Friday when a new one gets in to finish the job
Where do you rinse the DE off.l? I'm worried about it blowing all over the yard.
Wherever it doesn’t bother anyone
Do you even need to disassemble though? I seem to clean it just fine without doing it.
It was still better to switch, DE is just a mess and they should be gone by now!
20 min?... I am quick but taking out, separate; I stack along a fence and clean each side then one last brief before putting back together, manifolds cleaned out, Clean the inside of the filter out via drain plug or vac. Lube gaskets, tichten back up, (sit for a frustrating 5 min to prime lol) DE in skimmer, Final check and chemicals. Im like 40 min.
I’ve actually never timed myself doing this chore before, but I run about the same steps 🤣. I’m curious now to know how fast I can do this and I’m around the 3-month mark that these need to be cleaned. How many bridal collar nuts have you guys gone through?? 😂😂😂
employee lost one today, was a trip to the store. Rookie mistake
Lmao. I usually buy two at a time because they break so often.
I also soak mine in TSP in big garbage can then chorline before I put them back together so it turns into a half day job for me. But at least now I can put them back together in 5 mins. The first time took me lots of cursing and longer then I would like to admit.
One hour is my goal. Windy Wichita. 3x a year. Even with a new pump, backwash doesn’t do the job.
You’re HIRED.
My pool guy charges $80 and the pool requires a change every 3-4 months.
Lucky you my company charges 130 4 times a year or 150 twice a year.
I can do it upside down in 10mins
Get skimmer socks. I went from cleaning my DE filter 4-5X a season to 2. Unfortunately DE is the best filtration. It’s heavy to lift out too. Takes me about an hour start to finish.
Oh so I'm not crazy. I just started with 10 skimmers socks during spring last year for catching the oak pollen. During summer I didn't use the skimmer socks. Fall rolled around and I found a source for a 50 pack of skimmer socks and now I keep them on all the time. We had the DE filter cleaned in late Feb. It's now May and we have yet to need to backwash and recharge the filter.
skimmer socks made a huge difference!
Help me out here please - skimmer socks? what how and will this considerably lighten the load on the DE grids looking like loch ness?
Google pool skimmer socks. You can get them at a reasonable price online. They are like a thin mesh that fits snugly over the skimmer baskets. They collect a lot of the small particles that typically would make it to the filter. You just have to be diligent about keeping them clean…once a day is fine. It drastically reduces the need to back wash and clean DE filters. Game changer for me and I’m still surprise how much they keep out of the filter.
Thank u immensely- i thought this was some type of homemade jargon. 30 years with a pool - still learning!
This
They do suck, but damn they're good at their job.
I never knew how good they were until I had to filter out 20,000 gal of muddy water. Don’t ask. :/
You can just hose it off. If you backwash before taking it out it will knock most of the dirt and debris off.
This is a good tip
I use the wand extension on my water hose and it helps get down in there so you don’t have to take em apart which is a pain.
I only ever see this large de filter on things that don’t need such a large de filter
That’s me. Have a house with a filter that size for just a spa. No pool.
I've gotten pretty quick with this process. My only problem is what to do with the residual in the bottom of the assembly. I can get most of it off grids and into a garbage bag but when it comes time to flush the bottom half of the filter, I can't just open the drain without leaving a layer of DE on the ground all around it. My yard is small and I don't want pets or kids breathing it when it dries.
I use my rigid shop/wet vac from home depot instead of draining the bottom. If you have a place to dump the excess, it’s pretty quick and clean once you do it a couple times.
That's a good idea. I can easily dump it elsewhere. I have a nice shop vac but I don't believe it is designed to be a wet vac, so I may just get a harbor freight wet vac for this purpose.
I switched to cellulose substitute for this reason. To get the bottom part out I, unbelievably, open my bottom valve inside an old pillowcase and it gets most of it but not all of it. I do what I can to wash the remainder into the soil / off the deck. I like the wet vac idea mentioned here and will likely try that next time around.
My drain to the bottom half is in an awkward place so this year I plan to add a fitting with a mail end and a 90° elbow with some PVC to get it more accessible because if I were to open it, it will run under my gate and all over my pavers
Everyone’s mistake is taking them all out at once cleaning and then trying to puzzle back together. It’s super easy if you just take on out at a time, clean it, then stick it right back in the same position. Can finish in 20 min. If done that way.
this is what I do but I have an extra set and clean them after I put it bad together
If you know how to take the grid assembly apart and reassemble then it's actually quite easy. Can be done faster than a cartridge filter. Reassembly can be difficult because the grids go in a certain order...having a second hand makes it easier. Won't know until you try it. So take lots of pictures or a video along the way, and you'll be ok.
Took a solid 2 hours but got it done. Definitely looking into a cartridge filter.
Was that 2 hrs with taking the grid assembly apart? In any case, 2 hrs once or twice a year isn't bad. But it is a pain in the ass bc that DE mud hangs around the alley behind my house until a good rain comes thru I also plan to replace with the largest cartridge filter I can afford. Large cartridge = fewer cleanings.
2 hours in total with my neighbor helping.
Took me two hours the first time. I can do it in <15 mins alone now. You’ll get the hang of it.
Just having a power tool to loosen the nut that holds the band onto the filter body shaves like 10 min off the process
Yeah this is a 30-minute solo job for me. It gets easier.
This isn't really true. A clean pool means less cleanings. A bigger filter will have more area to plug up and thus require more time to clean. You could probably find a pipeline single that would be easiest to clean 4 times a year.
You (or your neighbor helper) must be doing something wrong. I do this job by myself in about 30 minutes, and I take my time cleaning them. Also, with respect to the order of install of the grids: mine only has 1 grid that's different from all the others and its place in the assembly is clearly marked by the manufacturer. So it is not difficult at all to assemble it.
The first time I did a DE filter, I didn’t know that there was a specific order the grids had to go back in with. I think it took an hour of trial and error to get it right.
I hate your black and decker pump lol
Why? I love mine and works really well
Less business for the pool guys?
I also use Pool RX. The death of paying for pool maintenance 😘
Do you operate your stanley pump on 240V or convert it to 120? Ive been considering replacing mine but current runs off of 120V So I'd have to replace line potentially.
tbh I didn't even know Black& Decker made pool pumps
They don't, it's just branding. Blue torrent/Asia connection sells their pumps to various retailers each with a different brand, but they're the same pump. Circupool = discount salt pool, cali-mar = pool supply unlimited, black and decker = pool parts 2 go. I got a black and decker because they come with 2 bases to better match the footprint of old pumps, unions are included in the box, and at the time they were also priced better. They are all energy star rated and eligible for rebates
I am good at it so I don't mind too much. I have a filter stand. Make yourself one out of pvc. For de grids, put in a 1.5 inch pipe at the bottom to a drain and you'll be able to set them upside down to clean them.
Woahhh how long did ya wait to clean em? Central Valley California here I take it out and clean it at least twice a year.
I clean them once a year just before Summer begins
That's too long imo, especially with how yours looks. I have the same style filter and I'm doing a full clean every six months and back washing it 3 or so months after a change. Your filter looks overloaded, too. Too much de or a massive build up of dirt. Watch your pressure. If your pressure is good then just ignore me. I made the mistake of trusting one of my past pool man's techs to change my filter (I now do everything myself) and he overloaded my filter which caused the pressure to go so high it basically crushed the little fins inside the filter grids which then poked tiny holes in the grids. Had to replace a full set of filter grids that were less than 2 years old.
Thanks for the advice. Current pressure is at 10 after cleaning. Before cleaning it was at 20
Assuming your pressure s are at your normal operating rpm/gph on your pump, you may still be waiting too long. General recommendation is to do something after your pressure goes up 25% or more. Backwash or clean. Your starting pressure while priming could also shoot up past 20 when it's dirty. That said, my system sits at about 15 when it's clean so I'm not sure 20 is "danger zone" for your grids. I'm sure there's some pressure where those grids are definitely gonna crush but I don't know it.
It is recommended to have your de filter cleaned completely every six months. Leaving it in the filter and spraying it off is a joke. That's when professionals get called because you have a huge column of de in the middle and all the grids are trashed
You take the grid assembly out of the tub and hose all the old DE off with a long skinny car wash nozzle. That gets in all the tight spaces. Even the center. Gets it completely clean without disassembly.
Okay but how can you fully inspect the grids for holes broken end pieces or the bottom of the manifold.
The only time I had those problems they were caused by breaking down the grid and reassembling. I had a pool guy before I discovered PoolRx. He rubbed holes in the grid covering wrestling the contraption back together.
Cleaning these filters has made me damn near impervious to bacteria. I haven’t been sick in a very long time (cleaning these for 16+ years).
Hahaha. Love it
do it upside down. trust me. takes your hour long process to 20/30. two crescent wrenches rags and lube make all the difference.
Cartridge or sand all day.
DE is great when you have a green pool. Cleans up in 24-48 hours. Cart can take a few days to a week and sand? Good luck. Pros and Cons will all filter types.
That's why I like my cartridge, it's sort of a happy medium
I would take a Sand filter everyday over DE for a green pool…..backwash daily to remove everything….much quicker in my opinion
Thanks for the input everyone. Much appreciated.
So I dealt with my old DE filter for 5 years. In the last year I finally switched over to Perlite. I absolutely wish I had switched sooner. There are drawbacks but I did not have to backwash as often. Recharging was so much easier and no more itchy de hands ha. The downside is you have to make the switch when you do a full filter clean. De and perlite do not play well at all. Also if you are a big user of algaecide or things like it you can't use perlite. I however had switched to just liquid chlorine, baking soda and ash. I stopped using any of the weekly perfect, and all that other crap after year two. Never had an issue except when we had a power failure and a pipe break and my pool turned green. Took me a few weeks to get it back because I had 0 water circulation for a month.
I hope you replaced at least that one grid that has broken ribs in it.
I thought my Jandy 460 filters were a pain the clean. That looks like it might be harder.
I’ve seen some folks just clean it off while still in the housing. What did you up doing?
Ended up pulling them all out, hosing them down and putting back in the same positions.
Backwash first. GardenHose and jet setting on nozzle. Or take pic before disassembly after backwash, mark each one on top. Reassemble. I learned the hard way 9 yrs ago. Done in 30 min now
I bought a small kid/pet pool for this. Just take it out, hit it with a pressure washer, then put it back in.
Everyone does.
It's not easy if you don't do it often or first time. One time I had to disassemble mine like 3 time a week for 3 weeks, by the end of it I could put it back together in 20 min. Also they sell cleaning wands that attach to garden hose you can stick between the fins and get it pretty clean without taking it apart.
I really like the starite Cartridge filters. My spine doesn’t like them because them suckers get really heavy but even on a pool with trees nearby it will typically need 1 cleaning per year
I have a store a few minutes away. $35 they dissemble and clean it spotless. Well worth the trip. I drop it off in the morning on the way to work and pick up on the way home.
Backwash it till water comes out clear then take apart
Back when I had a lot of these, I could get them clean at a car wash without disassembling....but if the material weakened, you could rip it right off with the wand.
I've got about 300 accounts and only two DE filters. I put one at my own house just so I could learn how to service it. And I hate it. I've only taken it apart one time in eight years.
DE grids aren’t too bad. What model?
Always break the o-ring on the feed pipe to the manifold. Every time that thing breaks.
Use silicone lube not ptfe
I think it’s just because how tight it is. Plus I just go down to ace hardware and pick up an o ring pack. They have one that has a couple in the pack that fits.
If you use a pair of needle nose vise grips to hold the center rod, you can remove the top nut and remove the grids one at a time, and save your back. When reassembling, put the top bracket on the ground, start with short grid, and it goes back together fairly easily.
I backwash and rinse to cut the weight before I even open the tank. Saves time, mess, and most importantly, your back.
I just finished doing mine the other day. Is it a pain in the ass? Sure. Am I gonna pay someone to do it for me? Nah… they keep the chemicals balanced. I like to do the other stuff. Except electrical. And since I’m doing my own filter, I set aside a few hours. I’m down to about half a hour.
I've never taken the grids apart. In the fall at pool shutdown time I hose off all the DE inside and out and then store for the winter. I may have to backwash once or twice during the season. Maybe I'm lucky because mine doesn't get very dirty. That looks like a lot of DE on the grids too. Isn't it 4-5 scoops first time and about half after a backwash?
I've haven't done this myself (always hired it out), but want to this Spring. For those curious, [this is the best video I've found that explains it thoroughly.](https://youtu.be/jjtVeH_iJp0?si=73k7ddJRbgjz6jyp)
Get a sand filter and use a cup of DE when you really need to clear fine particles in the water. Sounds like way too much maintenance for a DE filter.
How do you clean those ?
Devil hellspawn. Most of routes are sand filters, thankfully. I hate these things! Takes foreverrrrrr
mine needs a cleaning too but these DE filters do make the pool water very clean.
I would rather clean 100 of these than one cartridge filter
THIS! I have 4 cartridges. Takes about 25 min each with a power washer. Looks about the same size as this guys DE. I guess it could take like 15 min each if i cleaned them more than three times a season 🤷🏼♂️
25 minutes each? WTH Just did all 4 of mine almost spotless white and shop vac out the bottom of the housing in about 30m total. Drank a beer too while doing it.
maybe i try to hard to get them clean. I run until no more black water is flowing. I also live close to a cornfield. So they tend to get exceptionally dirty.
Yeah that don’t need to be THAT clean. Get the crap off them. I use a pressure washer and work around the top working my way down and around. You should your cartridges every 3-4 years though if you have that much stuff
Yeah I don’t know what the hell these people are putting in their pool. I just got a cartridge filter to clean out a pool that was green as hell and I rinsed it off 5-10 minutes a day for 2 days and the pool was clean and the filter is clean. I’m thinking maybe they’re leaving it full of gunk for a year or something.
About half of my customers have a cartridge filter and it takes me about 90 minutes with a water hose, and they never get totally clean. Sometimes I'll soak them in a 1 to 10 mix of muriatic acid and water which helps a lot, but DE filters are so much easier lol.
Get a sand filter and enjoy your pool.
What’s a sand filter? I’ll look it up but what’s the benefits?
Sand filters act very similar to your DE filter, typically sand doesn't escape while backwashing making monthly backwashing easier. The sand also doesn't need replacing for about 3-5 years.
Got it. Thank you for the reply.
A sand filter takes 5 minutes to clean with no mess and effort and just 50 cents worth of water, compared to 30 minutes with a cartridge filter and probably using almost the same amount of water to hose the filter off. 50 cents worth of water to clean a filter, rather than 30 mins of disassembly labor, any day of the week. DE filters are equally problematic to service. If you use skimmer socks with a sand filter, or run a robot, you hardly ever need to backwash. If you're not regularly using clarifiers, flocs, or other potentially problematic pool store recommendations the sand will out last the filter, or even the pool itself, compared to having to buy new cartridges every couple years or so. Regarding the micron size filtering argument, I guarantee not one person here would be able to tell what kind of filter you're running just by looking at your water or swimming in your pool.
Agree! Sand filter + fiberglass pool = virtually nothing to do but turn it on and dump a crap ton of chlorine
Need to clean mine this weekend. Use to hate it so much I'd pay the pool guy I use for repairs to clean it, despite doing the rest of the maintenance myself. But he hated doing too even if he was getting paid lol. Still hate it, but I've got it down now.
Fuck I'll take that over a system 3 or a 2000 where it's upside down and the backwash is always stuck.
Yeah but I charged $100 and recommend it annually.
I have zero pool industry experience. My mom got a pool with one of these and I just figured they all suck. Sometimes backwashing just doesn't cut it. Are there better options?
I did mine this weekend. Since I am small 4’11 the hardest part is getting it out 😂 of the filter but after that I just put my headphones on -music and take each one out clean it and put it back in the same spot. I do take my time so at least 1 hour and I soak them in a cleaner after pressure/water remove all the junk… some people here say they can do it in 10 minutes… I doubt they take each one out and clean it well.
De is best filtration overall, than cartridge then sand, de is just most expensive when repairing
the worst
100% I usually just back flush and spray down while sitting in there.
Doesn’t that tickle your bum? 😂