"clive" wrote in message
om...
Just moved house, now have a pool fitted with a sand filter. What does
a backwash amd a rinse operation do? which operation is done before
returning handle back to filter?

All as per Rich's explanation - but a couple of extra things

a) Your filter should have a pressure guage on it - you need to backwash
when the pressure starts to climb. The previous owner should be able to tell
you what the "normal" operating pressure is. If in doubt then backwash it
for a couple of minutes & then rinse for a minute.

b) Never move that multiposition valve with the pump switched on. Switch
off, move to backwash - run for 2-3 minutes. Switch off, move to rinse, run
for one minute, switch off, move to filter, switch back on & run - refill
pool as necessary depending on how much water you sent to waste.

c) Depending on what pump you have you can shift an awful lot of water very
quickly down the drain so don't leave it running to Backwash/Rinse!

you might have a "waste" position on the valve as well - this just bypasses
the filter & pumps water straight to waste normally.

The length of time you need to backwash for depends on how dirty the filter
is . You should only need to do it two or three times a year

HTH

I.