All of a sudden, this season, when the pump stops running, I get a backwards
flow of water through the skimmer, bringing along with it some diatomaceous
earth from the filter which then gets into the pool and ends up on the
bottom. Never had this problem before. Other than that, the system still
works fine. Any thoughts as to what's happening?

--
Dave Schwartz
Commack, NY

"Dave Schwartz" wrote in message ...
All of a sudden, this season, when the pump stops running, I get a backwards
flow of water through the skimmer, bringing along with it some diatomaceous
earth from the filter which then gets into the pool and ends up on the
bottom. Never had this problem before. Other than that, the system still
works fine. Any thoughts as to what's happening?

Last time your filter was cleaned, was the proper amount
of DE added? Adding too much will cause this problem.

Dave Schwartz wrote:
All of a sudden, this season, when the pump stops running, I get a
backwards flow of water through the skimmer, bringing along with it
some diatomaceous earth from the filter which then gets into the pool
and ends up on the bottom. Never had this problem before. Other
than that, the system still works fine. Any thoughts as to what's
happening?
Your sucking in air somewhere
open the bleeder vavle see if air comes out

On Fri, 1 Jul 2005 06:35:32 -0400, "Dave Schwartz"
wrote:

All of a sudden, this season, when the pump stops running, I get a backwards
flow of water through the skimmer, bringing along with it some diatomaceous
earth from the filter which then gets into the pool and ends up on the
bottom. Never had this problem before. Other than that, the system still
works fine. Any thoughts as to what's happening?


Air is getting in. I've had this sort of problem twice and both times
it turned out that the drain plug in the bottom of the filter strainer
had cracked and was letting air in.

Ashton Crusher wrote:
On Fri, 1 Jul 2005 06:35:32 -0400, "Dave Schwartz"
wrote:

All of a sudden, this season, when the pump stops running, I get a
backwards flow of water through the skimmer, bringing along with it
some diatomaceous earth from the filter which then gets into the
pool and ends up on the bottom. Never had this problem before.
Other than that, the system still works fine. Any thoughts as to
what's happening?


Air is getting in. I've had this sort of problem twice and both times
it turned out that the drain plug in the bottom of the filter strainer
had cracked and was letting air in.

same place my air was getting in

"Dave Schwartz" wrote in
message ...
All of a sudden, this season, when the pump stops
running, I get a backwards
flow of water through the skimmer, bringing along
with it some diatomaceous
earth from the filter which then gets into the pool
and ends up on the
bottom. Never had this problem before. Other than
that, the system still
works fine. Any thoughts as to what's happening?

--
Dave Schwartz
Commack, NY



It sounds like the back-flow valve or flapper isn't
doing its job. Sometimes, as in a Hayward, the "valve"
is a simple piece of rubber that gets sucked down onto
the inlet if the water tries to backflow.
Do you have a see thru pump cover to see the earth
coming out of the tank? Check it when the pump stops.
If not, open it up and then open the air-release on
the filter and watch to see if water comes back from
the tank. This will lose your prime, but if it's self
priming it shouldn't matter.

Just a thought, esp if it was disassembled for
cleaning.

Pop

Dave Schwartz writes:

Any thoughts as to what's happening?

Check valve (or vacuum breaker) somewhere has stuck open (or closed).

"Dave Schwartz" wrote:

All of a sudden, this season, when the pump stops running, I get a backwards
flow of water through the skimmer, bringing along with it some diatomaceous
earth from the filter which then gets into the pool and ends up on the
bottom. Never had this problem before. Other than that, the system still
works fine. Any thoughts as to what's happening?

--
Dave Schwartz
Commack, NY
================================================== ===========
Hi Dave,

Most pool filters have an antt-backflow valve that prevents water from
going the wrong way. On my Hayward EC-40, it's located at the water inlet to the
filter (where the pump is connected to). Mine broke many years ago, but I have
an above ground pool, and the water would have to travel up hill for the DE to
get to the skimmer. You didn't mention if yours is above or in ground, but I
would guess that it is an in ground pool, and your DE is going downhill. If it's
a Hayward, the valve is replaceable, but I think it is glued in place, and you
would have to totally dissassemble the filter to get to it. You can check if it
is still there, by blocking both the skimmer and the return pipes, and uncouple
the pump from the filter. Stick your finger into the filter and you should feel
a hinged piece of plastic that flaps up & down. If you don't feel it, then
that's your problem.


RON
================================================== ======
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