Low suction through de filter

[jlvaron]

Here's my problem. My DE filter is freshly backwashed and re-charged with new DE. My pump basket is clean, and the pump lid and gasket are clean and tight. I turn on my pump. After it primes and returns to normal running speed, the suction pressure gauge immediately begins to drop to almost nothing . Within an hour, my pump basket is 1/2 full of air, and the water has basically stopped flowing back into the pool. If I bleed the air out of the top of my filter, that doesn't help.

But . . . if I bypass the filter and just recirculate the water, I have no suction problems at all. This indicates to me that it's something in my filter and/or it's connection that's causing this headache.

This is a brand new pool and the system is only 8 months old. I've contacted the pool builder, but they want to charge me to diagnose the problem, so if anyone has any words of advice on something I can check or do myself, I'm all ears.

Thanks, Jerry