Manual Air Relief Valve..When To Relieve Air Pressure From A Sand Filter..
by Eva
Last Friday my filter's top poped up and almost quater of my pool water wasted. What could be the reason? This happend to my filter two times. The pool filter is just one year old. Thanks for the question Eva Relieving the pressure on your filter is obviously important. When you have lots of air in the system, the air will find the path of least resistance. Many times it's through the top of the pool filter or the lid on the filter pump housing. Swimming Pool Sand Filters Pool Sand Filter Maintenance Pool Sand Filter Problems Here are the most common times you'll want to relieve the air pressure: 1. After cleaning out the pump basket 2. After backwashing Remember sand filters do better with a little (mid) pressure, but you'll want to backwash when the pressure gets 8 - 10psi over the "just backwashed" pressure. With normal use, a pool sand filter needs to be backwashed once per month. Write down the just backwashed pressure on a piece of masking or duct tape and tape that to your filter. This way you won't need to remember what it is. 3. If the water level gets below the skimmer. Keep your water level between 1/3 - 1/2 up from the bottom of the skimmer. 4. If you need to take the top off the filter for any reason 5. After vacuuming The hose sometimes partially sits on top of the water and may have a small crack or tear that goes unnoticed. This will allow air into the system. Check the gasket around the pump lid. Be sure it's clean without any tears or rips. If it is torn or worn out, replace it with a new one. A bad gasket doesn't give a good seal. Also check the gasket around the filter lid. Check the plumbing for any signs of air or water leaks. Here's an easy way to check this: Turn the pump motor off and close the skimmer valve and open the bottom drain valve all the way. Turn the pump back on. If the pump loses it's prime, you know air is being drawn into the system through the drain plumbing. Do the same with the skimmer. With the pump off, close the drain valve and open the skimmer all the way. Pump on, then check the pump for air. The air release valve might also have a very small gasket. You may be able to unscrew it all the way and check it. When you put in back in, be sure to relieve the pressure because you just allowed air into the filter. Hope this helps and have a great swimming season. Robert |
