HaywardW3C4030 SwimClear Cartridge Pool Filter, 425 Sq. Ft.

Our 23,500 gal. pool equipment suffered collapse from the 2021 Winter Storm that hit Texas over 6 weeks ago (single digits for a couple of days and no electricity). Pump seals burst, heater header assembly cracked, and every join and lever cracked... PLUS the bottom of our Hayward Filter cracked wide open. A pool sitting idle for 6 weeks becomes a chlorinated pond. Not pretty at all.Five weeks later, our pool company was able to get out to replace/fix everything but the filter. Said it would be weeks, 12 weeks or longer to get a replacement filter. Found this one on Amazon and it was delivered within 6 days. The pool tech made time and installed the filter 4 days later. The fittings were different from the original, so he had to cut the existing plumbing and redo some joins. We initially thought the tube and screen for air relief valve was not included but found those rattling around in the bottom of the filter.The filter has been running now for 48 hours with one cleaning of the cartridges so far, and will need another today. The pool is beginning to clear up and I owe it to the Hayward Filter. It has been working steady and I expect it to be just as good as the one it replaced, which worked terrific for the 10 years prior to this Valentine's Week deep freeze.

To enyone who is looking to purchase a new filter and go with cartridge one thing to keep in mind all filter manufacturers base the fitters on the square footage of water not so much on depth unless you go over 40 k gal the gallon are how long you need to run the pump depending on the pump you have take in to consideration when you purchase a pump better oversized than understanding the clear the water and chemically balanced water the longer the equipment and the finish will last and less maintenance costs. Properly balance pools less wear and tear on everything. Pressure vac are better do that vac debris don't go in to filter down fault need to empty vac head lot easier than to clean filter more often.

This unit is a direct fit to my older unit. Unfortunately, it had a different style connection that I attribute to the age of my older canister. I would have to re-plumb the entire system in order to make it work. I was able to remove the old threaded connections from the old canister and use them alleviating the problem of having to cut and glue PVC pipe. It only took about 20 minutes to install. The unit works well with no leaks and a tight seal around the ring. I also added at the bottom a valve for drainage as opposed to leaving the plug that comes with it. That plug will become tougher and tougher to install as the years go by. With the valve it is just open and close easy Peezy.

At first the filter arrived damaged but the vendor was very helpful and took back the damaged unit and replaced it with a new one. The connection was about 1" higher than our previous filter but since our pump was sitting on the ground before it was easy to raise it up . Compared to our previous one cartridge filter which only managed to clear the water after 2 weeks of 9h/day runs, this unit created crystal clear water in 3 days of 10h running (water was very green). It's also less tall so we cant see it anymore behind the gas pool water heater, which is a nice unexpected bonus

Had to do a little plumbing work as the old ports were at the top of the filter and the new ports are in the middle of the filter. Also, the plumbing for my pool and the old filter uses 1 1/2" pipes. The ports from this filter use 2" pipes. If you have that issue, you will need to pick up some supplies to increase/reduce the pipe size to fit the new filter. It wasn't super complicated to do the physical work, but the planning might be a bit challenging. Make sure you have a clear plan of how the pipes need to go before starting your work. I would suggest hiring a plumber if you do not feel confident and can afford to do so.That said, it works GREAT! We had a sand filter with super cloudy water. I worked on it for weeks trying to clear it up with chemicals. No good. Changed out the filter and overnight, the pool was crystal clear. It works amazing!The only issue I saw was that on one of the ports, a very very small piece of plastic was chipped off the end. I do not believe it will affect how the filter works at all. I believe this was a fluke and possibly a handling issue, but not any fault of the vendor.

Very simple to fit and plumb in, about the same footprint as the old sand filter. So much more efficient, just does a better job for sure. And knowing that the changeout of the filter cartridges will be so much easier than dealing with that old sand filter is worth the cost of admission. Thank you!

This filter leaks, no matter what you do , I honestly believe it has a design flaw on the lid and seal because it does not seal ...leaks constantly no matter what I do to remedy that , I am about to throw this pos away!