SwimClear Plus Cartridge Pool Filter

Was a direct replacement of prior system that lasted ten years. Though faded under intense sun the housing was still solid. The failure was the threaded rod the cap is held down with.. Saltwater had its way with it, and a turn too far with my gorilla grip snapped that puppy flush to the bottom of the casing. Insofar as the product is concerned, a stainless steel or zinc rod would hold up better, but after ten years? Its hard to complain. System came with filter already in it which was a nice surprise and explained the cost. I dont use Hayward replacement filters as i dont want to pay for them... Others are just as good for most part, with only slight inferiority. The trick is having two or three filters, allowing one to dry completely to be cleaned thoroughly, with one cleaned (or new) and the other in use... They'll last much longer than even five filters in constant use with this practice. One hint: the fittings for intake and exhaust are often tapered slightly, which means you should make liberal use of thread dope or tape, and seat them with even, constant/steady, and slow pressure until they are completely seated... There is nothing worse than cutting pvc, mocking it up sans glue/bonding agent, then putting it together with glue and realizing it leaks because you didnt seat the fitting threads properly.... Yeah, I may or may not have done that. Use thread dope or tape., a lot., make sure its seated.. Get two extra filters. Expect years of service, even in a salt water pool with consistent disagreement with metals... Ive nothong but good to say about performance..

Update: Purchased this in 2017, and got less than 4 years of service out of it. That might be acceptable, but my prior Pentair performed well for probably 15 years and I expect better quality from a good name like Hayward. I still agree that this filter cleans the water VERY well, but that's where my happiness stops. Over time it became impossible to latch down the lid completely and securely (latch system is a long metal rod that you screw the top down onto). It has been leaking for several months, just a steady small stream. This week it blew out completely, and it took several inches out of the pool level before I noticed. Unfortunately, it sprayed directly into my electrical control box (on/off switch for the pump). We reseated the lid two more times, and it blew out the side both times, before we placed an order for another Pentair. We're done with Hayward filters. Poor design caused it to fail MUCH earlier than it should have. Prior review: Bought this to replace another brand filter. It was easy to hook up and cleaned the pool water much quicker than I expected, and much quicker than our old filter system! Unlike other reviewers, we had no problems with the pressure gauge being damaged. It arrived intact, and in perfect condition. However, I could see from the packaging how the pressure gauge could easily be damaged, as it sticks out from the top of the lid and has very little protection in that position from the packaging. Overall, this is a perfect filter for our roughly 15,000 gallon pool and I expect we'll get many years of service out of it. We also have a Hayward in-line chlorinator, and it has been a real workhorse, too. I'm going to switch all of our equipment to Hayward now!

I ordered this filter as replacement for an older cartridge filter of similar manufacture. The old filter worked well, but after almost 20 years the casing cracked at the bottom. The new filter is physically smaller, which I was not sure would work as well, but has larger filtering area (175 sq. ft. versus 140). The filter was ordered Saturday and was received Wednesday, which is very good for free shipping such a large item across the country. While the pool had not had a running filter in almost a month, the new filter made the water sparkling clean in no time. The pressure drop through the cartridge is low (lower than with the old filter), which makes it easy for the pump and increases the water flow. Installation was very easy, even though I had to rerun the pipes because the inlet was in a different location from the old filter. Only issue: the pressure gauge housing was broken (but still functional) when the filter was received. It is obvious the packaging is OK for the filter itself which is quite rugged, but not for the gauge which is fragile and sticks out at the top. It is absolutely not protected. I have contacted the vendor and they quickly responded offering to send a replacement gauge by mail. I did not rate 5 stars simply for the packaging, particularly considering that I have read many reports of broken gauges for this particular product. I would think it would be the manufacturer's interest to fix that problem sooner rather than later.

I replaced an old Hayward sand filter with this 175 star clear. I was worried about the size since many reviews had people using it on small spas and my pool is 20x40 with an 8 foot diving section. Once I received the item I was sure I got the right size, it is about 3.5 or 4 feet tall. It cleans amazingly well compared to my old sand filter. I never had a complaint about my filter until I saw how well this cleaned. At night I used to have white haze in front of my pool light and I thought that was normal. after only a week with this filter (after 4 days of no filter) the haze is gone and the pool is crystal clear. My pressure went from 18 after backwashing on the old filter to 8 with this new one, I am moving a LOT more water. my heater used to cut out when the filter got a little dirty or I turned on my water slide. I have more than enough flow to run the heater and slide. Actually I have the keep the slide valve half open or I get to much flow on the slide. Last year I replaced my 2HP pump with a 1HP and had regrets until now. My pool is running lean and clean running only 4 hours a night using about a quarter the electric is was before the pump filter change.

I replaced my filter because it got destroyed in the constant sun in Florida and got weak. I also got tired of getting the loose fiberglass in my skin which made it extremely itchy. If you ever clean your filter and get itchy afterwards its the loos fibers getting into your skin. This happened to me all the time. As you can see in the picture my filter is in the sun all day long so I cover it with an old dog food bag and then place a bucket on top so it is basically completely covered. This is easy to do and has made the filter last allot longer. If you ever clean your filter and get itchy its the fiberglass wearing off. This prevents that from happening. You can definitely see the discoloration in the bottom of the filter from not being covered.