Hayward W3S244T ProSeries Sand Filter, 24-Inch Top-Mount Pool Filter

This is my second filter of the same type. The other one still works fine, we just moved to a different house with a different pool. The main reason I changed it was because I was tired of washing out the cartridge filter once or twice a week. I can tell no difference in the water quality compared to the cartridge filter. the main thing to remember is that it has to be back washed before you run it on circulate. If you don't do that the fresh sand is always going to have some sediment in it and it's going to cloud your water. you can always vacuum it up but it sure makes it a lot easier to backwash it for 5 or 10 minutes before you use it. It's very intuitive to plumb.Don't buy your sand from Amazon as it is going to be three or four or even five times as much as just getting it at a local pool place. I used my last filter for at least six years and it was still going strong when we sold that house. At about five years, I had to replace the o-ring in the valve. It was still working, but it was getting harder to turn turn. It was a cheap fix and I did it all myself.

The filter it replaced was badly over its age of use, so I decided to tackle this project since no electrical skills were required. Watched a few youtube videos on cutting, and connecting pvc pipe , applying the purple primer and clear connector cements, and took on the job. The filter is working well, the pool is clear, and no sand was seen in the pool, which tells me I did not break any of the plastic water intakes I insgtalled inside the sand.

My old filter (same model, not sure how old it was but it was old) got a split in it and was leaking water. So I called all the local suppliers and no one could get one and could not get a date of when one would be available either (seems there is a local shortage). So after checking Amazon and a few clicks later there it was at my door the next day. Price was slightly more than from the local suppliers quoted if they could have got one. Install was pretty easy, I had the same filter already so the plumbing almost matched up perfectly. I did have to make a few adjustments but that took only one fitting and more time to drive to the store to get it than actually make the change. Getting the sand out of the old filter and moving the old filter out of the way was the more works. Not hard just slow going vacuuming wet sand. I cleaned the old sand and reused it (it's only a 3 years old) and added some new sand. Installing was pretty easy. Only only tiny drip on a fitting that should stop by itself. New filter seems to have a lower pressure drop (guessing that from cleaning the sand).

Well worth the money. I replaced a Hayward cartridge filter system. I was constantly cleaning filters and annually buying filters. I ran into several problems in the installation process. The sand filter comes with 1 1/2” ports , cartridge filter housing has 2” ports..you have two use close fittings in the installation or you have to much hanging which results in a lot of vibration. Also most PVC adaptors have a large shoulder on them that will foul filter housing clamp. Bad to discover after pvc glue has set up.

Some improvements over the last design, ie the filter legs - once inside the body - the filter risers simple fold out from the central tube. Very nice and easy to do. The top valve moves easily. So after you filter all the body parts or the neighbor's kids out of your pool water, it is easy to switch between waste or backwash. If those urchins piss in da pool - you are on your own for that one. Remember, there is no "P" in pool! Good unit. But it! But it now, you procrastinator!!!! Stop stalling ........

This was an exact replacement for the old one so I didn’t have any plumbing to do. Just disconnected the unions and take off the valve. Drain and empty the old sand of course. It took about 2 hours because the pad the filter sits on isn’t level, so I had to lever the base before refilling. After that, smooth sailing. When you are ready to turn your pump back make sure the valve is in the back wash position. If not all that dirt on the sand will get washed into the pool. Ask me how I know? 🤦🏻‍♂️

I replaced a 28+ year old Hayward sand filter with this one. Install was easy. Had to re-do the plumbing because the new valve sits on top of the filter instead of on the side. Filled half way with water, checked laterals and added the sand. But the filter keeps discharging sand into my pool, even after back flushing and rinsing again. Seems to be a major defect. Totally unacceptable. Photo shows discharge after 5 minutes of operation on 3rd attempt.

The filter and valve got to me in about 48 hours which kinda surprised me, but the problem I had was when I opened up the box for the multi-port valve. It was cracked with a chunk of it missing from the top of it. Since I got home at 6pm on a Friday, and the support line for the company works M-F till 5pm, I had to wait till Monday morning to have it swapped out. They did send the new one right away and gave me the FedEx label to have them pass each other which I really appreciated. It was the sellers fault as the valve box had a puncture about where the damage was. It was sitting on the top of the filter with just 2 pieces of cardboard between them. They had no packing material in either box which really surprised me seeing all the room inside the box that it will go through during transport be it from the Hayward facility to the store to the customer. This is a big box with some delicate parts inside, so, yeah, it surprised me. After all is said and done, the new valve came in, and it is flawless after I double checked the laterals and snapped them down. They are up during transport which probably kept them safe. I filled it halfway up with water and put in the 300lbs of sand. After some some chemicals and 48 hours of filtering, my water is clear and just need to vacuum the floor of the pool now. Taking off a star because of the lack of shipping material in the box.

I got tired of my old DE filter，coz it's not easy to maintain it. So I ordered this and got it the next day. It was finally installed today when the pool was opened. So far it's working fine and the water is getting clearer. The reason I chose this was the easy backwash and low maintenance. The backwashing function has not been used yet, and I hope it can be as simple and effective as advertised.

works great