Replacement cartridge pool filter buyers beware

Dec. 16, 2012 - PRLog -- When looking to make a purchase online, most people will go to either AMAZON or GOOGLE and search for the filter they need by searching for the original manufacturer part number.  Most people would expect that the results returned are for the product searched for.  Well, in case you are not aware, there are several options to consider when buying a replacement cartridge pool filter.  First of all, you need to realize that there are, in most cases, more than one replacement cartridge available to fit your pool filter.  Typically, there is a cartridge made by the original manufacturer such as Hayward, Pentair, or Sta-Rite as well as potentially several other alternative cartridges that are considered "generic" replacements.  These generic replacement cartridge filters are made by other manufacturers to fit your pool filter, but offered at a lower price.  The reasons for the the lower pricing can vary, depending on the manufacturer of the generic replacement.  It's important that you pay attention to the manufacturer of ANY replacement pool filter cartridge you purchase online so you are aware of what you are getting.  

UNICEL has been the industry standard as a quality generic replacement filter manufacturer.  They are an American company, headquartered in California.  They make their products based on the quality specifications of the original manufacturer.  They are durable, provide quality filtering capability and are typically anywhere from 10% to 25% lower in price than the original manufacturer products.  You can find out more about them by visiting http://www.unicelfilters.com.  

PLEATCO is another quality generic replacement filter manufacturer.  They are also an American company, headquartered in New York.  Years ago they were considered as a lower quality generic replacement, but a couple years ago the company was sold and the new owner's have focused on quality.  They have improved their filter design to allow for improved water flow while still providing maximum filtration capabilities.  Part of their manufacturing changes included changing the filter fabric.  The new fabric is a pharmaceutical grade filter fabric that does provide quality filtration.  However, consumer feedback so far has a few complaints.  The complaints are basically about the durability of the filters.  They don't seem to hold up as well as original products or even Unicel filters.  Please note many consumers are happy with this product primarily because the price in many cases is lower than even the Unicel product, so.........you tend to get what you pay for.  You can read more about Pleatco pool filters at http://www.pleatco.com.

Lastly, there are some other companies manufacturing replacement pool filter cartridges other than the ones mentioned above.  Any other manufacturer's of filter cartridges do NOT have the quality that the others mentioned here will provide.  They may be cheaper, but you'll need to replace them sooner and they may not provide the filtering capabilities designed by the original manufacturer.  No other manufacturers of pool filter cartridges can boast the same quality as original manufacturer filters, Unicel, or Pleatco.

The point of all this is to give consumers information to assist them in making an online purchase of a replacement pool filter cartridge.  So, when going online and searching for a product please consider the following:
● When searching for your replacement cartridge do NOT assume that the search results are all bringing back the same product (they may be made by different manufacturers and thus have different quality)
● When comparing prices, also compare the manufacturers of the products so you are comparing apples to apples
● If a seller is NOT disclosing the manufacturer of the product, most likely you are looking at a poor quality "generic" pool filter.  

Please note that the opinions in this article are the opinions of the writer only, Gary Bowers.  The writer of this article owns and maintains a swimmimg pool as well as an e-commerce website selling pool filters at http://www.allpoolfilters4less.com, and therefore has experience and knowledge in the topic area.