Quality Cartridge Filter Company

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Hagefamily

Well-known member
Jun 4, 2012
78
It’s been about 7 years since my pool was built. Never have had any major algae or cloudiness at open or during the season however, filters are definitely in need of being replaced this year.
Since this is the first time I have to replace the cartridges (4), I’m hoping the community can share opinions about where they get your replacements —- or places/manufacturers to avoid? For example, I found the Jandy CV460 at Discount Filters. Should I worry about their quality vs. buying direct from Zodiac/Jandy?

Thanks in advance for your guidance!

ClearChoice CCP175 4pk | Pool Filters | DiscountFilters.com

Guaranteed Free Shipping & Returns On ClearChoice Replacement filter for Jandy Industries CL 460, 4-pack. Buy Pool Filters Today!
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I've used Pleatco and Unicel. Both worked fine for me. 7 years is a long time for cartridges. Did you monitor pressure and clean? What made you decide to change them?

I did a bunch of research on filters a couple years ago. All manufacturers use a polyester material that was invented by Dupont decades ago as the filter media. There are differences in the mechanical design of the core and the way the pleats are constructed that in theory extends life. Seemed to me that Pleatco is the leader in this area. But at the end of the day I really don't see this as an advantage for me since I change the filter cartridges at 3-4 years so I just went with the cheaper Unicel. In your case since you go much longer Pleatco may be a better choice.

I hope this helps.

Chris
 
@setsailsoon - Yes, pressure was always low (10-15 psi/clean) and I'd take out the filters whenever the psi rose above 20, gave them a good cleaning, and back in. Last year, I had to do that about 4-5 times plus I can see parts ripping. It's time to replace them. Their too dirty to clean & beat-up. I'll probably try to the Pleatco this time around.

Thanks everyone!
 
setsailsoon said:
7 years is a long time for cartridges.
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Chris,

I'm curious why you believe that 7 years is a long time for a filter cartridge?

The reason I ask is because my cartridges are about 5 years old and look the same today as they did when new, except the color is darker, I have only hosed them off and have never soaked them in anything. When running most of the time the filter pressure is about 1 or 2 lbs..

What should I expect and how do you, or I, tell that they "need" to be replaced? I assumed when the bands started to break, but maybe there are other reasons.. :scratch:

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Chris,

I'm curious why you believe that 7 years is a long time for a filter cartridge?

The reason I ask is because my cartridges are about 5 years old and look the same today as they did when new, except the color is darker, I have only hosed them off and have never soaked them in anything. When running most of the time the filter pressure is about 1 or 2 lbs..

What should I expect and how do you, or I, tell that they "need" to be replaced? I assumed when the bands started to break, but maybe there are other reasons.. :scratch:

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...

Jim,

With very low pressures you are experiencing you must have very low flow rates which extend life dramatically. I think from your previous posts you run very low rpm 24/7 so this probably explains your filter performance. You're probably picking up most of the particulates with your robot and the filter is sort of "coasting". Not a bad way to go at all and I'd expect very long life. As you mention your filters will probably fail from mechanical damage before the media plugs. I would just check them carefully for clumping of the pleats, band damage and sealing surfaces on the ends. If they're not messed up I'd keep 'em running. If you do have any indications of mechanical damage I'd change them out to avoid pumping anything large through the system which could damage seals, valve seats etc.

My filter experience is mostly with industrial applications in the water treating units for the utility section of a large chemical plant. The utility section produces demin water, boiler feed water, potable water and utility water. In those applications cartridge life was determined by frequency between pressure drop build up cycles. Each time you clean them even though the clean pressure drop will be about the same as the prior cycle there are some particles that don't get removed. Over time, more and more particles stuck in there increase and clean filter pressure rises causing filter cycles times to reduce. You can do chemical and soap cleanings to reduce this but the extra labor costs weren't justified. Sort of ironically, as they plugged they also got more effective (trapped more smaller particles) but this makes them plug quicker and further reduces the cycle time. Also, you can see more mechanical damage where the pleats are clumped together and sometimes the bands were loose or broken. I've sort of extrapolated this experience to my pool cartridges. When I ratio the 24 hr industrial to 8-10 hr residential pool with way oversized filter media I come up with 3-4 years. And that seems to be what I'm experiencing with my limited experience here. But that's only based on my one pool built in 2013. All this said filter life depends on particle size distribution, total particle loading, and flow rates. Pool location, wind, dust, algae all vary a lot so it's hard to generalize how long they should last. The polyester fibers themselves last way longer than the time it takes to plug or mechanically damage the filter. Pressure drop and clean pressure plus mechanical damage are the only practical ways I know to determine when to change. I don't think there's any other real limit to cartridge life.

I hope this helps.

Chris
 
Chris,

I have no clue what my flow rate is at 1200 RPM, but it "feels" like there is plenty of water flowing out of my 4 pool returns.. The pool skims well, as I get plenty of debris in the skimmer baskets, so not much falls to the pool floor. My IC40 SWCG says it requires 25 GPM to work and since it works fine, I have to assume my flow is slightly more than 25 GPM.. I do use hairnets in both skimmers and I'm sure that helps with cartridge life.

I have not been paying much attention to the filter pressure as it is hard to tell the difference between 1.5 and 1.6 lbs.. :mrgreen: That said, it seems that my clean pressure may have gone up slightly, so I'll start paying more attention...

I may try soaking the cartridges the next time I clean them, just to see if I can tell any difference.

Thanks for the feedback,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Chris,

I have no clue what my flow rate is at 1200 RPM, but it "feels" like there is plenty of water flowing out of my 4 pool returns.. The pool skims well, as I get plenty of debris in the skimmer baskets, so not much falls to the pool floor. My IC40 SWCG says it requires 25 GPM to work and since it works fine, I have to assume my flow is slightly more than 25 GPM.. I do use hairnets in both skimmers and I'm sure that helps with cartridge life.

I have not been paying much attention to the filter pressure as it is hard to tell the difference between 1.5 and 1.6 lbs.. :mrgreen: That said, it seems that my clean pressure may have gone up slightly, so I'll start paying more attention...

I may try soaking the cartridges the next time I clean them, just to see if I can tell any difference.

Thanks for the feedback,

Jim R.
Click to expand...

Jim,

Glad to help. I forgot you have the Pentair fully optimized 3 HP pump I can only dream about! I'm sure you have plenty of flow. Could still be your robot is helping to reduce load though.

Chris
 

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RMcGirr83 said:
Neighbor of mine would die before replacing his AG filter. Thing was so old he was using duct tape to hold the pleats in the correct orientation. He must have had the thing for 15 years. ?
Click to expand...

Yeah and was probably spending more then the cost of the filters, in increased power costs, for the poor pump to be pushing the water through that old half-clogged filter......
 
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