Sta rite system 3 using 3 filters?

[Jmaire]

Hello all,

Thanks for starting this forum. I'm a new pool owner just learning the ins and outs of our pool. I just stumbled onto this site and am glad I did, there is a ton of good info on here.

Anyways here's my question: we just moved into our new home. The prior owner had neglected the pool for a while so we paid a local pool company to clean out the pool and get the equipment running right. They replaced the filter cartridges, Polaris sweep, gave it a shock trratment, repaired the filter, heater, and a few other things.

The other day the filter PSI shot up to 30 (3 weeks after cartridges were replaced). We have a Sta rite system 3 filter. I took it apart to see what was going on and noticed they had replaced the standard 2 filters (1 large filter w/smaller inner filter) with 3 smaller filters. They were full of leaves which I cleaned and determined was because both the filter basket and basket on the pump moter had large holes in them. I've replaced both but am wondering about the new filter setup they put in. Does it make a difference having the 3 smaller filters compared to the two filter setup that is standard in the system 3?

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

I've never heard of using three filters instead of two, but as long as they all seal correctly at the top and bottom it is quite possible for that to work correctly.

 

[jjslinger]

You probably have this: http://www.poolfiltersusa.com/pool-spa-cartridges/starite-system-3-retrofit-kit

I have a system 3, and was considering this retro kit, but I have no experience with it.

 

[jjslinger]

I have a system 3, and was considering this retro kit, but I have no experience with it.

Elaborating on that a bit, the main complaints about the Sta-Rite System 3 cartridge filters seem to be:

1. Lot's of fussing around with 7 or 8 knobs to get the top tank on and off.
2. Heavy big cartridge.
3. Hard to clean inside of small cartridge.
4. Expensive to replace cartridges.

My main issues are 1 and 4. 2 is not a issue for me, and I am by no means some super strong guy, just average strength, and I can handle the big cartridge okay. 3 does not really bug me, I can clean in there okay. 1 is my biggest complaint, the last thing I want to do after cleaning the carts is fuss around with all those knobs to get the thing back together. 4 I could live with, but wouldn't mind something a bit less expensive, then I could get a backup set to swap each time, but at $450-$500 a set, I'm not doing that.

The retro kit addresses some of that, but there would still be those knobs to deal with, so I probably won't get it.