Regenerating a Hayward EC40 DE Filter

by Felicia A. Williams

What a concept! The regeneration feature is a time (and DE) saver.

Ok, I’ll repeat myself a little because most people don’t read blogs from beginning to end. Here’s a concise recap: I bought my neighbor’s old filter/motor set up which was a Hayward DE EC40 filter. No instructions, no guarantee, no nothing. I gave him $100 and I got the setup (read earlier posts for more of the gory details).

I’ve been cleaning my very dirty pool and had been cleaning the filter and replacing the DE several times a day in order to get the water crystal clear. Because of the rusted backwash drainage spout, I can’t use the backwash feature (not quite sure how that works anyway).

Since I couldn’t backwash I thought the large black handle on the top of Hayward filter’s housing was useless. I didn’t realize that it regenerates the DE which gives the filter power/pressure again! It helps to get more mileage out of each application of DE.

The Power of the Black Handle

Whether your drainage spout works or not, you can regenerate your Hayward DE filter. It’s so easy. One piece of advice before you regenerate your filter. Check the pressure gauge to see what it says and then perform your regeneration.

All you have to do is shut off the filter, slowly push down on the handle and lift it up quickly. Do that three times and then turn the filter back on. Check the filter’s pressure after the regeneration. You should notice a drop in the pressure gauge and a more powerful return flow in the pool.

Regeneration vs. Cleaning

Regenerating the Hayward filter is great, but it doesn’t replace a full cleaning. If you have to regenerate several times in order to get through the normal cleaning cycle, in my opinion, it’s time to clean out the filter. Because my pool is so dirty, I’m replacing the DE at least once a day, that’s even with using the regen feature (I told you my pool was very dirty).

Keep an eye on the pressure gauge. I can’t tell you the perfect pressure for your pool, but when you first add DE to your cleaned filter, take a look at the pressure gauge and take note of the reading. This is your clean filter baseline. When it starts creeping 7 to 10 points above your starting point, it’s time to do something (either regenerate, backwash or clean the filter).

Personally, at this stage in the game, I use the pool’s water flow as my indicator (I can look out the window to see the power of the circulation). Once the pool’s water movement seems to slow to a trickle, I go outside to look at the pressure gauge even though I already know it’s time to regenerate (or clean the filter depending on how many times I’ve regenerated).

Hopefully in a week’s time or so when my pool is pristine and clear the need to regen and clean will diminish drastically. In the meanwhile, I continue to regen and clean.

Oh no...is that a hint of green that I see in my pool? Ugh, it’s always something...

About the Author: Felicia Williams is a wife, mother and grandmother who likes to write about a host of topics.

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Last Modified: 24 March 2020