Swimming Pool Equipment Maintenance Tips What You Need To Know To Avoid Frustration AND Save Money

Swimming Pool Equipment Maintenance Tips – What You

Need To Know To Avoid Frustration AND Save Money…

From: The desk of Terry Duff.

If you’re frustrated with taking care of your pump or filter, this should alleviate some of that stress. This is a quick read and contains some very useful information. Enjoy!

Recently, I’ve spent quite a bit of focus and time addressing the appropriate chemical maintenance, levels and tips on how to save money on them. In this quick check sheet, I’m going to address an equally important side of the equation, pool equipment maintenance pointers.

I’m Here To Help You:

I really hope you enjoy this information. I make it a constant effort to provide content that you’d like to see…so, don’t be afraid to shoot me an email to support and let me know areas that you’re struggling with so I can write about it (it will likely help many others as well).

One of the ultimate objectives with good pool maintenance should be to instate a policy… being proactive with your swimming pool. The majority of the time when we find ourselves over spending on pool related “stuff” it’s because we neglected some area of either our water chemistry or the equipment.

By not being proactive in this respect one will cost themselves money in the long run. There’s no doubt about it. We all take care of our vehicles, we have routine maintenance programs that we partake in to prolong the life of the vehicle and we do our best to maintain the best retail value that we can.

Our pools should be treated no differently. For example, if one is not backwashing and their filter cracks or a return line cracks due to the increase in filter pressure, we’re now forced to spend hundreds to fix what should (and easily) could have been avoided.

Another example: If we find that are the wiring is exposed on the pump to mother nature and we choose to do nothing about it…we can only hope a breaker trips before the motor fries after a good rain.

In an effort to make this user friendly, I’ve broken this down into 2 primary categories: proper pump maintenance and appropriate filter measures:

Pump Maintenance:

Note: Air entering the system is the worst enemy. This can cause the pump nipple (plumbing going into the pump) to shrink, can warp the pump pod basket and it can “fry” a perfectly good motor (costing a couple hundred bucks to replace).

On a weekly basis make sure the water level is appropriate. If you have an AWL (automatic water leveler) manually push it down to confirm it’s working accurately. During the summer months a pool can lose up to ½” a day in water – it only takes a week or so of the AWL not working correctly to potentially cause damage to the pump.

Pump Lid O-Ring: Every few months check the pump basket and pump lid o-ring. If you notice the lid o-ring is cracked, weathered or broken in any way, replace it. A $10 investment can save you big in the long haul. Remember, “perfect maintenance” ultimately comes down to being proactive – NOT reactive.

Properly Functioning Pump: Make sure the pump is “priming”. The pump should be completely filled with water when the equipment is running. If it’s not fully priming, air is entering the system.

Remember, air is the enemy and can cause major problems with the system.

Common ways air enters a system:

1. At the pump lid o-ring. Inspect and replace based upon your findings.

2. If #1 checks out ok, the air is likely entering at the pump nipple – refer to the diagram below.

4. A don’t forget the most obvious…if the water level is below the skimmer, the pump can’t bring in water. It’s needs water to survive and do what it’s designed to do.

5. Inspect the pump lid itself. Any cracks or gouges? If so, replace accordingly.

General Points For Your Pool Pump:

1. Every few months brush away any spider webs, calcium buildup, leaves covering the pump or anything else you see that shouldn’t be there.

2. Make sure the pump is on a flat surface – it should not be angled or tilted. This can cause unnecessary pressure on the plumbing and even the filter, ultimately leading to preventable issue from taking place.

3. Ensure the electrical wires are not exposed. This is a common problem that can lead to unpleasant events – easy fix. Use electrical tape or remove the motor housing and secure appropriately so lose wires aren’t running wild.

4. If you see any water dripping from the pump “discharge” area, get this portion replumbed. Running water can lead to calcium buildup as well as potentially allow water to enter the motor via the housing unit.

Let’s move on and address proper filter maintenance:

I’ll be addressing and breaking down the 3 most common types of filters: sand, DE and cartridge filters.

Although they each use different mediums to filter water, the concepts and fundaments of the maintenance portion are completely identical – the specific “how to” will be different from medium to medium.

Backwashing Frequency: DE and sand filters should be backwashed when the filter pressure reaches 5psi greater than normal operating pressure. If you don’t have a filter pressure or it’s not functioning properly I would get this corrected. This is at the “pulse” of proper maintenance and it’s a great tool to diagnose many issues that relate to water pressure. If the pressure is excessively high, there is likely a return side issue or within the filter itself. If it’s low, there’s likely a suction side issue relating to the pump.

You can also backwash every 7-14 days as a rule of thumb if your filter pressure isn’t rising much. There is no downside with backwashing too frequently. That would be like saying washing ones car too frequently is more likely to cause a flat tire. There’s no relationship.

Same goes with a cartridge filter. Filter pressure gets to 5 psi greater than normal, tear down the filter and give the cartridge(s) a good cleaning with a pressure hose.

Every 3-4 months inspect the filter o-ring. If you notice any cracks or splits, replace it. This is fairly inexpensive and sure beats coming out one day to notice a puddle of water surrounding your pool equipment.

If you have a metal band clamp around your filter, over time, calcium can buildup. Take a wire brush and clean it.

Standard Push/Pull Backwash Valve:

Every few months inspect the backwash o-ring set as pointed out by this diagram.

Backwash o-ring sets are very inexpensive. If one (or more) is compromised, they can allow the water to bypass and end up escaping through the backwash line, causing the pool to slowly (or quickly) lose water.

Sand Filter Sand Change:

If you have a sand filter, every 3 years or so the sand should be replaced. You can pick up sand at Home Depot. Check with the specs of your filter model to see the quantity it requires. A good gauge for when to do this is if you notice the sand “clumping” together when you remove the filter lid, this is a good sign to remove the old sand and add new.

The best method to use is a wet/dry vacuum. Vacuum out the old sand and inspect the laterals at the base of the filter. These are plastic “fingers”. Most sand filters have been 8 and 10 of them. Check them for any cracks or breaks. If you see anything, replace it accordingly. You can purchase them individually…they unscrew and screw back in.

Here’s a good image so it makes better sense.

If one (or more) of that laterals break, this can cause sand to end up back in the pool through the return lines. If you ever see a pile of sand at/near one of the return lines, there’s a very possible chance this is what has happened.

This is a very common problem that takes place immediately after a sand change. When you’re adding sand, do so slowly to avoid this taking place.

Sand Substitutes:

You can also use Zeobrite – this is a very good filtering medium that filters the water better than sand. Zeobest is a similar product that will also provide great results. If you’re looking for alternatives to sand also check out AquaQuartz – it’s built on the philosophies as the prior references.

DE Filters:

Probably my personal favorite for a variety of reasons…it can also be the most expensive. DE filters trap particles finer than any other common swimming pool filter. It’s also important to recognize that if you did a blind test study with 1,000 people and half swam in a sand filter

based pool and the other half in a DE filtered pool one would never know the difference. A lab would…

The maintenance process here is similar to a sand filter. When the filter pressure exceeds 5psi greater than its normal operation pressure, do a backwash. Be sure to recharge the filter with DE. This should be added through the skimmer and swirl the water at the same time while adding it.

One should also inspect the filter body o-ring once every few months. An opportune time to do this is when you’re doing a filter clean. Remove the top half of the tank (depending on your model, it may be one tall cylinder) and inspect the o-ring that separates the two halves. If you notice any cracks, pinches or rips…it should be replaced.

The filter “tear down” should be completed every 3-4 months with most models. This is the process of removing the filter grids and hosing them down. Remove all the gunk and grime from the grids. This will allow the greatest amount of water flow to take place within the filter and create efficiencies. While doing this, inspect each grid for any cracks or rips. Replace any grids that have run their course.

Cartridge Filters:

Cartridge filters cannot be backwashed. It’s simply a “cartridge” inside of the tank – it’s this cartridge that is the cleaning medium for the filter.

Here’s an example of a smaller cartridge filter (although the appearances will change based upon the model/manufacturer):

The same approach applies here. When the filter pressure exceeds (or gets to) 5 psi greater than normal operating pressure, remove the cartridge and give it a good cleaning.

When/if you see calcium building along the outside of the filter figure out where it’s leaking water from. There is a reason calcium is building up.

When you do a filter clean, also inspect the body o-ring. Look for any pinches, cracks or excessive drying – replace it accordingly.

** Note ** With any filter, if you remove the element or take it apart, upon the equipment startup it’s always a good idea to “bleed” the filter of any air that is in the system. Typically, you’ll find the “air release” valve towards the top of the filter. It’s often located near the pressure gauge. This will vary from filter to filter.

The one item I really want to stress is that this is about knowledge. It’s really about understanding our equipment and pool system and then being proactive when applying that knowledge.

Whether you have a pool professional that maintains your swimming pool or if you’re that person, it’s very important to have the necessary knowledge…even if it’s a basic

understanding so you know how things work and how they do what they do. Pools and water flow in general have always fascinated me.

If we have a better understanding of our pool, our equipment, water flow and the basics of chemistry we can do a much better job of making the investment last and save money at the same time.

Pools are not complicated when we have a better understanding of them.

I truly hope you’ve found this information beneficial to your needs. If you have ideas for content or things that you’re looking for based upon problems you’re having or have encountered, I’d love to hear from you!

I’d really like to hear your feedback on this and I value your input.

Before I go…one MAJOR announcement!

Mark your calendar…Wednesday, May 20th_{, 2009, at 2:00 PM EST I’ll be launching a}

BRAND NEW product. How to save the environment, your swimming pool and your wallet. I’m super excited about it. I’ll be addressing many of the common questions I receive over the next few days so be on the lookout…

You’re truly going to love what I’ve got in store for you. And, I promise…it’s going to be extremely inexpensive to ensure everyone can afford a copy of it.

To better understanding,

Terry Duff