Pool filter replacement

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J

jp4120

Well-known member
May 11, 2012
114
Norristown, PA
Currently have Nautilus DE filter that needs to be replaced before next season, my filter is leaking and the fiberglass housing is breaking down.
my pool guy (very good and reasonably priced pool guy) is recommending Pentair - and also advises going to cartridge.

wondering if anyone has any opinions or recommendations?

he also advises putting in a multi-port - I currently have push valve .... I do agree with that.
 
Beez said:
I think you should listen to your pool guy. DE is out-dated technology compared to cartridge IMO. And if you choose cart you won't even need the multiport.



Edited for clarity.
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A multiport will make it easier to drain off water though.

-sent with Tapatalk 2
 
I like the idea of a cartridge filter as long as oyu get a large one.

I wouldn't get a multiport valve. There's a possibility to backwash the filter and you don't want to do that to a cartridge filter. They're not designed to have water forced backward through them. I'd add a 3-way valve between the filter and the pump to get the waste function.

However, if you do get the multiport, you will gain the recirculate function, so you could bypass the filter if you ever needed to.
 
IMO I would go to sand over a cartridge. Just remember when the cartridge needs cleaning they are wet and heavy. If you are doing this yourself depending on the system the carts could weigh 50 to 75 lbs.
 
Ok, will do more research, so far have votes on here for each type of filter.
leaning toward keeping everything the same since currently I have good results running 8hr per day (2 am & pm 4 hour sessions)

Should I replace the pump at the same time? both pump and filter are 15 years old. Pump bearings were getting loud earlier in the season but have quieted down. I am thinking it can't last much longer but wanted to see what others thought?

Also if I do get a new pump, since my season is only 4 mths 5/15 to 9/15 - is it worth a variable speed ultra quiet pump?
single speed 1 1/2 pumps are ~$300 on Amazon - variable speed pumps go up to ~$1000.
 
Re: pump, I think most here advise that a 2-speed provides most of the benefits of the variable speed units at a much lower price.

Re: filter, cartridge seems easiest, de hardest in terms of hands on work. Cartridge filters (if sized right) seem to take little effort to maintain until they need cleaning. Even then washing them off seems reasonably easy. However I have sand and have not ever used de or cartridge. Long term use and parts availability seems to favor sand and de over cartridge since these have proprietary filter elements.
 
UnderWaterVanya said:
Re: filter, cartridge seems easiest, de hardest in terms of hands on work. Cartridge filters (if sized right) seem to take little effort to maintain until they need cleaning. Even then washing them off seems reasonably easy. However I have sand and have not ever used de or cartridge. Long term use and parts availability seems to favor sand and de over cartridge since these have proprietary filter elements.
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Cleaning cartridges is extremely easy and normally only need to be done MAYBE once a year if sized right. They shouldn't need to be replaced for many many years. When it does come time to replace, you don't have to use the manufacturer's cartridge. I found my cartridges for about 25% of what Leslie's had. So....even IF the generic cartridges were far inferior, I could replace them 4 times more often for the same price as the manufacturer's name brand.
 
Backwashing a sand filter is easy, and generally doesn't need to be done very often (fighting an algea bloom being a notable exception) if you have it sized right. This doesn't mean that DE and cartridge filters are better or worse - read the articles in pool school for a better discussion of that. I'm just saying that all my pool filter experiance is with sand filters, and I don't have any complaints.
 

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I find the timing of this tread personally interesting. While troubleshooting my own DE filter a couple of days ago, I was wondering why in the world would anyone buy a new DE filter these days. I can see the benefits of a sand filter, and obviously I have a bias towards cart, but DE just seems overly complex to me. The simplicity of cart sings IMO, and it filters very close to DE.

A multiport adds one more layer of complexity, and something to maintain. The drain feature of a multiport will be practically functional only if your main drain is plumbed with a separate plumbing run. It is very common for the MD to be plumbed together with the skimmer, and in that case you can only "drain" down to skimmer level.
 
Beez said:
The drain feature of a multiport will be practically functional only if your main drain is plumbed with a separate plumbing run. It is very common for the MD to be plumbed together with the skimmer, and in that case you can only "drain" down to skimmer level.
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That's not necessarily true. As long as the skimmer has a good diverter it will seal off the skimmer and allow the water to come exclusively through the main drain, draining the entire pool. I do agree however, that the usefulness of this function has very limited application as you don't drain a pool very often and especially if you're following the method taught here.
 
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