Replacement filter cartridge quality differences?

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redraiderdave

0
May 2, 2012
4
Arlington, TX
Purchased home with existing pool 12+ months ago and replaced the 4 coated, bloated, duct-taped cartridges last December with "Pleatco" PCC130 replacement cartridges. I did a mid-Spring cartridge hose off and I took them all out again yesterday (Dec 2) for another cleaning to discover 3 of the 4 cartridges had split/ruptured at the top or bottom end caps and most of the pleat bands had broken (but the pleats were still in position). Internal filter pressure has always been on the low end of the gauge and the cartridges had very little debris adhering to them. Certainly nothing was caked-on like the first set of cartridges I inherited with the pool. Is this a "Pleatco" cartridge-quality problem and I got what I paid for ($50 a piece on Amazon vs $100+ Pentair OEM replacements) or are these cartridges all the same and I have a filter problem to diagnose?

Many thanks!
 
If the end caps are split they need to be replaced or they will let dirt past the filter back into the pool. Some after market products are better then the original and some are not. You do not have a filter problem just bad luck with filters try oem filters you should get a 1 year warenty
 
I am a little confused. Did the cartridges tear outward? The bloated word you used makes it sound like the cartridges have pressure on the inside ... which they should not. The dirt collects on the outside of the cart correct?

The cartridges are not designed to see pressure from the inside ... but maybe I am misreading your post.
 
jblizzle said:
I am a little confused. Did the cartridges tear outward? The bloated word you used makes it sound like the cartridges have pressure on the inside ... which they should not. The dirt collects on the outside of the cart correct?

The cartridges are not designed to see pressure from the inside ... but maybe I am misreading your post.
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The rubber/plastic end caps were typically torn along the radius and there were a few pleats pushed outward which led me to believe the cartridges were being blown out like overcooked hot dogs. If water is flowing out-to-in, which I agree should be the case, how are pleats getting pushed out and why are all the pleat bands broken?
 
jblizzle said:
That is what I am wondering ... any chance the filter is plumbed backward so the water is pushing the pleats out?
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I'll have to get somebody qualified to look into that possibility. But your question reminded me that I had a pump motor impeller come loose several months back and learned that water was flowing back into the pump from the filter everytime the pump was turned off. I had a pool guy put a backflow valve on which seemed to solve that problem but maybe the blow-out(s) had already occurred. Can't really imagine there was enough pressure involved to tear the end caps though.

Now the cartridges I inherited with the pool were heavily reinforced with duct-tape around the end caps and pleat bands so this blow-out issue appears to have been well-known by the previous owner and that was his attempt to prolong the life of the cartridges.
 
Post up some pictures of your filter and plumbing between the pump and the filter. I am sure we can figure out if that is the problem based on a few pictures.

Water should not have been flowing backward from the filter through the pump even without the backflow valve (which could be masking some other problem now).
 
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