Had a hard time this year with my inground pool. Specifically, a few filter panels in my Hayward DE 4800 filter had tears in the mesh lining. So the filter would not completely clean the water. Tears allow small amounts of DE (diatomaceous earth) back into the pool. This DE is used to filter the water; it clings to the panels and, like sand in an ancient Roman well, traps particles as the water runs through the filter. But when the DE (a baby-powder like material) is circulated back into the pool water, the result is a cloudy mess. And when the DE settles, it ends up at the bottom of the pool. It's just a mess.
I found several sources for replacing the panels, and they are not terribly expensive (about$30 to $35 apiece). I was able to take apart the filter and find tears in two panels.
The hard part was figuring out how to put the interior panels back together. The grid, as it is called, is linked to a manifold, and it has to be put together just right. There are 8 panels all together, including one that is slightly undersized. Putting the panels back in place was a nightmare ... until I discovered the ONLY way to do it.
You have to turn the grid system upside down, with the manifold on the bottom, and then push the panels into place. The manifold has one bit of info; it tells you ONLY where the small undersized panel fits into place. After that, you have to snap the others into the manifold.
Any way, it worked out.
Hope this helps all of you might run into the same problem.
