Low pressure after using auto cleaner

Pool pumps, pool filters and the plumbing of
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arizonarain
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Low pressure after using auto cleaner

Postby arizonarain » Wed 03 Nov, 2021 16:53

Hi all, so in short, this is what occurred in our brand new pool:
We purchased an automatic cleaner, nothing special just the cheap Xtreme Power from Amazon, and the first day it was running well, for around 3 hours. It vacuumed some dust that wind blew in, pressure went over 20PSI which is when we usually backwash the filter. So we turned the pump off and went to bed. The next morning, turned the pump on, backwashed, put the cleaner on to finish the job (because it is kinda doing the repetitive patterns all the time and kept missing certain areas), and we noticed that it was still vacuuming but operating barely above zero PSI. We took the cleaner off because the pressure was so low, turned the pump on to clean, but the filter is now doing 8PSI, and not crossing it.
We bleed the air from the system, cleaned the skimmer, backwashed it again, but we can not get the old reading back. It's been two days now, and pressure is still reading under 10. Before the cleaner fiasco, it was always around 15.
Our pool is 18K gallon, no bells and whistles, the filtration system is new but pretty simple, with nothing on it to turn on and off aside from the sprinkler valve. There was never any debris in the pool, just some dust, no leaves or branches to clog the system.
As usual, the company that did our pool remodel and took all our money is blowing us off, and I can not get the plumber to call me back. Does anyone have any idea what might have happened here? 8 PSI does not seem okay to me at all.


Teapot1
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My Pool: 12000 gallons vinyl liner,

Re: Low pressure after using auto cleaner

Postby Teapot1 » Thu 04 Nov, 2021 07:40

Hmm where to start.
Firstly manual cleaning is better, you wont miss bits and its quicker, not to mention the money you save on these robotic gadgets that dont work very well.

That out of the way, why do want the pressure higher than 8PSI? It could be because it normally runs at 15PSI etc. That doesn't mean thats correct. There is this daft idea in the pool world that this 8-15 PSI is correct. What you really want is good flow, pressure is due to bad plumbing, small filter and big pump in the mistaken idea that big pumps make things work better but the reverse is true, slower filtration is better filtration as you are not trying to force dirt through the filter, known as breakthrough. By example my pool, built to be very efficient low energy (electricity) use runs with a clean filter pressure of 0.5 PSI and 1.5 PSI when dirty. I only use around 65watts of electricity per hour where I would bet you are using 725-1500 watts per hour. The addition pressure is friction you don't want as it wears out pumps and cost a lot in electricity also worse water quality because of worse filtration.

Now back to your pool and possible issues. It could be you have a dirty filter that has the sand gummed up with silt or body oils and sun cream etc. This cause sand to stick together and clump. When you backwash sometimes it creates an easy pathway through the sand, called channeling, water takes the path of least resistance hence a clear path and lower than usual system pressure. Also that leads to minimal filtration. If that is the problem you need to open the filter get the hose in there give it a good clean with a sand filter cleaner breaking up any clumps of sand. You may have had a blockage somewhere else that has now cleared difficult to give much more sat here behind the computer.
I may not give you the answer you want to hear, but I will give an honest opinion of your situation as you decribe it.
arizonarain
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Joined: Mon 06 Sep, 2021 12:46

Re: Low pressure after using auto cleaner

Postby arizonarain » Thu 04 Nov, 2021 16:57

Entire system is 2 months old. It was a complete remodel, pump and filter are both new. We went swimming like, 3 times, before it became too cold. Sand is new as well, and there are no leaves that could cause blockage. I think we will have to learn to live with it, seems like there is no problem other than that.
Denniswiseman
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My Pool: 10k inground fibreglass, Telescopic Cover, Hayward Powerline pump, Quality filter with glass media, 27kw output heat pump, K-2006C test kit
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Low pressure after using auto cleaner

Postby Denniswiseman » Fri 05 Nov, 2021 02:38

As Teapot says low pressure isn't a problem, in fact it's desirable for better filtration
Keep an eye on it but you are probably about to winterise soon anyway

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