Waterco MultiCyclone 16

[HOUPoolNovice]

I'm interested in these since I get a fair amount of dirt in my pool. (Reviews say they are good at pre-filtering large particles of dirt- not so good on the smaller stuff).
There are two models - the 12 and 16.
For the 16, I see various part#'s - but can't tell the difference between them. Does anyone here know how to decipher these part #'s?

#200370
#200370NA
#200374
#200385

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Greetings,

Check out page 3 of the manual below. It does a good job of laying the differences. The 12 and 16 have different plumbing connection sizes, 1.5" or 2". The "Ultra" 12 and 16 models have a larger filter area.

https://waterco.us/waterco/manuals/pool-spa/centrifugal-filters/multicyclone-plus-ultra-manual_w99279.pdf

 

[Jimrahbe]

H,

I am not a fan.. much more of a marketing gimmick than any real help. Does it catch a little dirt, sure it does. Does it actually have any impact on how clean your pool stays, or how long between filter cleanings? I very much doubt it. It just adds more complexity to what should be a pretty simple system.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[bertschb]

I'm interested in these since I get a fair amount of dirt in my pool.

Don't let the people who have never owned a MultiCyclone sway you away from buying one. They work fantastic at keeping dirt out of your filter and extending the time between filter cleaning. They are inexpensive, require no power, have no moving parts, are simple to install and ridiculously easy to clean.

I keep my pool covered at night and this is how much dirt has accumulated in my MultiCyclone in about 5 days and we've had no wind storms. Over the course of a year, that's a LOT of dirt that won't end up in my filter. It takes 10 seconds to flush this dirt out of the MultiCyclone by simply opening a valve. Mine is model# 200370

 

[bertschb]

H,

I am not a fan.. much more of a marketing gimmick than any real help. Does it catch a little dirt, sure it does. Does it actually have any impact on how clean your pool stays, or how long between filter cleanings? I very much doubt it. It just adds more complexity to what should be a pretty simple system.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Jim

Look at the picture I posted above. That's just a few days worth of dirt. You're correct that it catches "a little dirt" but it does this whenever the pump is running and as you can see, it adds up quickly.

I've only cleaned my cartridge filter once and I didn't enjoy it. The filters are awkward to handle and it takes a lot of water and time to clean them. Anything I can add to my pad that extends filter cleaning is a big plus in my book. I have no data to back this up but based on how much dirt I flush out of my MultiCyclone each week, I'll bet it doubles or triples the filter cleaning intervals.

You either don't get any dirt in your pool or you enjoy cleaning your filter

-Brian

 

[Jimrahbe]

Brian,

I have a large cartridge filter and clean it twice a year. I doubt that adding a cyclone would make any difference in how often I clean my filter.

I am not convinced that it really helps you or not, but as long as you are convinced that is all that matters.

I really doubt that pools in Houston get too many dust storms like you see in AZ.

I do appreciate your inputs so that the OP can see both sides to the story.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Consider also, by adding the device, your adding several points of failure to the plumbing system. The connections to the pool plumbing and outlet to the ball valve use unions that are sealed with o-rings. The cartridge lid is sealed with a large o-ring and ball valves are prone to failure.

Before buying and installing, make sure you can source replacement parts for the device and check prices. Here is a link to the parts lists:

Pool & Spa - Spare Parts - Waterco

waterco.us

Thanks @bertschb for providing first-hand user experience.

 

[bertschb]

I give up.

 

[Jimrahbe]

I give up.

Brian,

I really doubt that..

And you shouldn't... Just because not everyone is a fan, is no reason that you should not keep up your support for a product you believe works well for you.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[HOUPoolNovice]

I appreciate the back & forth - and both of your opinions match the general consensus in the product reviews.
I had not considered the "adding places to fail" angle - it's a good point and would probably hold me back if this was the only change I was contemplating, except I already decided to replace my DE filter with a cartridge filter so there is about to be a whole lot of replumbing anyway.
For me, $300-ish isn't a lot to spend to extend the time between cleanings a bit.
I will add, while I am in Houston and we don't have the sand & dust of other locations - the guys that mow my yard always seem to blow a bunch of debris into my pool when they come by (and yes, I keep telling them to be more careful).

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Thanks for the follow up. Let us know how it works out for you.

 

[markayash]

I had one and for me was more trouble then it was worth. Yes it caught some dirt but but in Atlanta I get more tree junk and. It a lot of heavy stuff like sand.
The problem I had was because it was heavy and sat on top of my pump it was leak, usually happened if my pump has air and would cause it to bounce around and come loose at the flange. I finally tossed it in the trash can.
That was 10 years ago so maybe they are better but like Jim said i had it because my cartridge filter was too small but has since bought a bigger cartridge filers and don’t see a need.

If you live where you get a lot of sand in your pool it might help

 

[bertschb]

Just wanted to post an update since we finally got a couple dust storms in our area...

As shown in post #4 above, during "normal" weather (with a pool cover on at night and no dust, wind or thunder storms), our MultiCyclone traps quite a bit of dirt that would otherwise be in our cartridge filter. Well, we finally got a couple dust storms this week. We were on the edge of the serious storms but still, we had a ton of dirt get trapped in the MultiCyclone! I've been flushing an inch of dirt out of it several times a day.

We come from Oregon where there were no dust storms. In that environment, the MultiCyclone wouldn't trap much dirt. But, if you live an area that gets dust storms, the MultiCyclone really helps a lot. With the amount of dirt I'm flushing out of it, I'm guessing I'm at least doubling and maybe tripling the amount of time I can go between cleaning my filter cartridges.