Advice on replacing Hayward Swimclear Cartridge Filter clamp and seal

[Don1]

Hello - hope everyone is well,

I have a Hayward C2020 4 cartridge Swimclear filter unit. It is at least 12 years old, as I inherited it with the house when we bought.
I've changed cartridges frequently and replaced the rubber o-ring seal that sits where you join the top to the bottom (o-ring purchased from Leslie's.)

I recently got to wondering whether I should replace the clamp on general principle that its pretty old. There does not appear to be anything wrong with it. However, the combo package of clamp and seal on Amazon has some sketchy reviews that the available new clamp is aluminum, not steel which is what I think I have, and that it corrodes quite fast, and that the new one doesn't fit as universally as it would appear from the ad on Amazon.

So, some questions for the hive mind of us all:
1) should I replace the clamp at all just because it is old?
2) If so, is the one on Amazon - apparently from Hayward itself - the best choice?
3) For $216 just for the clamp and seal, should I be thinking about a complete new cartridge unit? Are new ones safer or made with better materials etc? (I have to use a cartridge model due to the water company regs here regarding backwashing.)

 

[mas985]

1) I wouldn't

My filter is almost 15 years old and the clamp is in great condition. Just inspect the metal to make sure there are no cracks.

 

[djdonte]

I have the same set-up and my clamp is aluminum and looks to be original. All the paint is slowly flaking off and there is some corrosion but it still works good. I would not replace it just on account of being old. Honestly I think carbon steel would corrode a lot faster than aluminum with chlorinated water. If its not cracked or damaged, leave it and save the money. If it bothers you maybe clean it up and paint it? Same thing on a new unit.. if its not broke don't fix it. This isn't rocket science so there's really nothing better about a new filter set up. I have had the pressure gauge port crack on an older pool and I just had to replace the top part of the filter housing. Still not cheap.

Also, why are you "changing" cartridges? They should just need to be cleaned periodically. If they have been neglected then they might have scale that wont clean off, but if they are kept up they last a long time. I use filter socks on my skimmers, and although I have to hose those off twice a week, my pressure on the filter pretty much never goes up. I just clean every 3 months no matter what. Before that I was cleaning about every month due to pressure increase.

 

[Don1]

Thank you both for your responses.