Hayward W3S180T ProSeries Sand Filter, 18 In., Top-Mount for Above-Ground Pools

I purchased this filter to replace my existing cartridge filter. The new filter cartridge was going to cost over $100, so I decided to spend a little more and get a backwashable sand filter for my 10'x16' KD above ground pool. Available w/ Amazon Prime, it was at my door in two days w/ free shipping. Well packaged and complete. Can't beat that.After getting it plumbed in, I stood back and admired my professional looking plumbing job. I started the pump and the pool got pretty cloudy and after a few hours the valve popped up and began shooting water out of the discharge port. As you can imagine, I was pretty PO'd. I remember reading one of the other reviews which had mentioned just this problem with this valve. "I knew it", I said to myself. I sat down full of anger and emailed Hayward Pool Products, and was prepared to be blown off, as the same review had mentioned. To my surprise, early the next day my phone rang. I did not answer because I didn't recognize the number. It was Hayward's service dept calling about my issue. How's that for a quick response? It did take me another two days of phone tag with Hayward before I actually spoke with a rep. He was very nice and professional, and asked me if I was home and could take a look at the filter. When I did, he asked me very nicely to follow the plumbing line from the pump to the filter. As soon as I did, my jaw dropped and I felt like a complete idiot. I had plumbed the pump to the discharge port, and the intake to the return to the pool. Completely backwards!! Apparently I am not the only one to do this, and I suspect that was the problem in the earlier review. The Hayward rep was very nice and said this happens sometimes. I would not have blamed him if he had laughed at me. After redoing the plumbing, this time correctly, the pump works fine and has done an admirable job of keeping my pool water sparkling clean. It was a bit of a pain to get all the sand vacuumed up, but after I did, all is well.The point of this long winded review is that this is a quality product, it works well and as advertised, and my impression of Hayward's service is nothing but outstanding. Just make double sure of your plumbing connections, or have it installed by a professional. I refuse to pay someone to do something that I can do myself, but this requires extra dilligence where necessary. I hope this helps.

My old filter was a cartridge type that I seemed to have to clean every other week or so, and the replacement cartridges are expensive. I bought this as I thought it would require less maintenance - and it does.The vari-flo valve has several different positions for Filtering, backwash, rinse, waste, recirculate, winter and closed. During normal operation the valve is in the 'Filter position' and after an extended period of operation it requires 2 - 3 minutes of backwashing to clean the sand. Don't do this too often! The filter only needs cleaning when the supplied pressure gauge shows an increase in pressure of greater than 6 psi, and it is still working even when the pressure has risen by as much as 10 psi. If you backwash too often, the filter does not work as effectively. As the pressure increases it is telling you that the sand is more tightly packed, at which point the size of the particles it is removing is smaller than those which are removed immediately after backwashing where the sand is no so tightly packed. After backwashing (you can tell when the process is complete as there is a glass viewing port on the side of the valve and you will see the water run clear) Just switch the valve to the 'rinse' position and run for a further 30 seconds to 1 minute. This reseats the sand bed and removes any particles which were lying on top of it.ALWAYS shut off the pump before changing the position of the valve!The waste out position is very useful if you use a pool vacuum, as it dumps the water straight out of the backwash port (there is no hose supplied so you will need to get one), but it means the filter doesn't get clogged with all the gunk you are vacuuming from the bottom of the pool. The recirculate position simply bypasses the sand bed and returns the water back to the pool without filtering. The 'winter' position seems to open all the ports so that the water can drain more easily from the drain plug at the bottom of the filter, and finally the closed position closes all the ports so that water doesn't back-flow into your pump should you be cleaning the leaf basket or whatever.Overall, and having run this filter for 2 seasons now, I really like it. It's low maintenance and easy to use. It has standard 1.5" internally threaded connectors for the 3 ports: In from pump; return to pool and backwash/waste out.CONS: this unit takes about 50 lbs of sand, and even when empty it is HEAVY. It won't stand freezing, so if you need to move it at the end of the season, you will need help. It doesn't come with all the pipe connectors you will need, and it doesn't come with a backwash hose. You'll be needing to spend and extra $20 - $30.00 for those parts, plus the cost of the sand (although it does come with a stand, pressure gauge and detailed instructions for both the filter and the vari-flo valve). Having said that the sand will last for about 5 years, and as it is so large, backwashing only takes about 5 minutes total every couple of weeks.Overall an excellent product which has reduced my maintenance time considerably and cleaned my pool up very well.

FWTW mine came with a base :). Easy set-up, intuitive design and ergonomics. If you use vinyl/poly tubing you will need 1 3/4" screw thread to 1 1/2" slip on (male male) hose fittings, which you can order or buy at any pool store. Hayward is the one to have if you want reliability and durability. The one I just replaced lasted 18 years. If you are reading this wondering about sand vs. paper give it up. I have a hot tub with a paper filter, it works Ok but sand gives you crystal water with the least effort and paper filters are pricey!

only kind I’ve ever used. They work well.

I bought the S 180T 18 inch for my 24 foot diameter round above ground pool, water is 4 feet high.This filter is pretty great. Setup is very easy. The problem I had is that the fittings were leaking a little at the pump in and pool out connections, even after several attempts with the teflon tape, but it does seem like it's down to a very small occasional drip at this point. I have been using for 3 weeks now and it works great. The pool is extremely clean. This filter really circulates the water well. I swapped out my cartridge filter for this one and couldn't be happier.I'll answer a few questions that I had, and that I find on here.The 18in filter will work with any above ground pool, regardless of size. It's a big filter.It takes 150 pounds of filter sand.Here's what was included: Filter, base (which does fit on the pump/filter base combo), 2 fittings, teflon tape, all equipment necessary to put the top switch assembly on. So if you already have hoses and all that, then you just need the sand.