MartinLuther

Anyone know whether cartridge filters are better than sand filters or vice versa (or if something else is best)?

Thanks

moneypenny20

We have a self cleaning cartridge. Works brilliantly but I believe sand ones are too. I was just worried with the amount of water needed to back wash a sand one - people say you wait for it to rain a lot and do it then but it still seems majorly wasteful considering the drought.

MartinLuther

I've been thinking about the watefulness. Currently I've got sand which is starting to get a bit tired. I'm looking at whether I should replace the sand or replace the system.

Cheers

Wol

Cartridge filters last for years and only take a moment to wash and clean.

biggy

we have a cartridge filter takes 5 mins to hose clean and the water from that gets used to water the garden so no waste there

migrantoz

We have a cartridge filter and after I hose it down and refit it the water flow is increased dramatically but after only around 7 hours use it blocks up sufficiently to stop the pool vacuum working. The problem with cartridge filters is that body fats and other matter clog up the filter material. You can submerse them in a cleaning solution for 24 hours which I am currently doing, which helps to remove the grease etc but not particularly well. If this clean doesn't improve the filter this time then I will have to try replacing it with a new one.

biggy

I only need to clean my filter once every 2 weeks, and even at that it hasnt lost its suction power. Have you made sure that your pump isnt faulty.

Wol

We used to clean our cartridge every month and there were no body fats on it! Water was sparkling too. Perhaps you are using gallons of suncream?

biggy

eewww body fats sounds rather disgusting lol we clean ours once a month in winter but more often in summer as we are never out it. When its really hot weather we wear 100+ CLOTHES AND HATS IN THE POOL TO SAVE PUTTING LAYERS OF SUNSCREEN ON

Our pool has that wonderful sparkle to it too

ps sorry fir shoutin lol

moneypenny20

I think you have some other problem with the pump etc. We have had ours since May and only cleaned it out once after a load of building work was done and it was grimy. We checked it the other day and it was fine, but we have been using the socks in the skimmer box for a few months which stops stacks of stuff getting through.

MartinLuther

Sounds like the cartridges work for most people by the sound of it. I did read a tip about soaking them in NapiSan to get them really clean.

I think I might go for a big revamp of the pump room. As I said before the filter is beginning to fade but I've also got a broken chlorinator and an 30 year old gas heater thing that I haven't dared using.

Anyone know if you can get a log burner to heat the pool? I've got tonnes of logs and only 1 log burner in the house which seems to be more for effect than usefulness.

Thanks

BadgeIsBack

Pump room? My oh my. My filter sits under the deck and I just have to duck under a portion of it to get there!

My sand needing replacing and it worked well - if I was chucking money at it I would go the catridge route.

Refer to heating, I now use a solar banket - on intime for Stage 3 - and next summer will go the option where you install a sleeve of pipes on the pergola and then pump water (get a 'small' Twainese pump) to shift it around. My mate has a thermometer and thermostat - alternately you wait to the afternoon and just flick the switch.

My problem at the moment, is that after a few weeks of tardiness I haven't scrubbed and there is muck which I can't shift easily on the bottom of the pool in a corner where the circulation is not quite optimum. I need to get some sort of chemical to shift it and hold my breath longer as I need to get up close!

MartinLuther

It's more of a pump cupboard than a pump room.

Unfortunately I don't have the money to throw at it but I'm at that point where everything is starting to fail and I'm wondering whether I should bite the bullet or continue to limp along. Unfortunately I can her my SIL's voice ringing in my head "Buy cheap - buy twice".

With the filter not working 100%, I'm having to run the pump for longer and even then it's not doing a brilliant job. Fortunately the kids aren't too fussy so we've been making good use of it the last 2 days. The pool temps been 29C even without the solar heating (now there's another job I've been putting off).

biggy

sod the napisan u put it in an acid wash that sorts it

Wol

Muriatic acid! (Known in the chemi lab as hydrochloric!).

The problem is getting it into contact with a stain: what I used to do in Florida was to join a funnel to a length of pvc pipe long enough for a foot or so to stay clear of the water when the funnel was touching the bottom then pour the acid down the pipe. It's heavier than water so displaces it and after a minute or so it gets to the funnel and leaks out around the stain. Works wonders for stains like reinforcing rust patches etc.