question about unicel 4607 filter fit in summer escapes pump

[PoolDoc]

The short answer is, "I don't know for certain".

If the seal is at the cartridge bottom, it shouldn't matter, But if the cartridge seals at the opening, it will matter. My Unicel book does not list Summer Escapes. The only advice I can offer is, call Unicel, and ask: 818-678-0400.

If you get a definite answer, please let me know.

[singingpond]

...
If the seal is at the cartridge bottom, it shouldn't matter, But if the cartridge seals at the opening, it will matter. ...

Well, that makes sense. I'll see if I can find out anything further.

Reading reviews at the Walmart website (of the A/C filters they sell there -- not Unicel brand), one sees quite a few complaints from people who say that the filter opening is the right size for Summer Escapes pumps, but too small for Intex -- a lot of those Intex owners ended up trimming material to enlarge the opening. That certainly made me wonder if the Unicel 4607 filters, which apparently have the larger opening to begin with, would be too loose in our pump.

I'll try calling Unicel, and/or just buying one of the Unicel filters to see how it works. If I find out anything definite, I'll update.

[PoolDoc]

It's possible that the large opening will fit both pools, but that the small opening will fit only Intex. However, you do not want a cartridge that bypasses pool water around the cartridge.

Please do let me know what you find out.

[singingpond]

Hello again.

I don't yet have new information to offer on this thread, as to whether Unicel filter makes a good seal in Summer Escapes pump...

I tried to start another thread with my new question (below), but the forum wouldn't let me do that, even though I tried to start the new thread in the 'Getting Started' area -- not sure what I did wrong... ?

Anyway, different, albeit related, filter question:

Reading in another thread (http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...ump-and-filter), I saw the following comment by user mas985 --
"Cartridge Filters: Most energy efficient and don't require backwashing. Best suited for areas with water restriction, high electrical rates and/or pools that use a SWG. But make sure it sized for at least 1 sq-ft for every 100 gallons of water."

We currently have a 1000 gallon Summer Escapes pool set up (10' x 30" size). We recently purchased a larger Summer Escapes pool (18' x 48", ~6000 gallons), but haven't set it up yet (we have to level a lot more ground first). Out of curiosity, we hooked up the pump (1500 gph) from the new pool to our existing pool, in hopes that filtration would be better. I can't really see much improvement, if any.

Looking at filter specs for the 1500 gph pump, the cartridges are described as 5 sq. ft. in area. If the above quote is accurate, filter area for our existing 1000 gallon pool should really be 10 sq. ft., and for the future 6000 gallon pool, filter area should be 60 sq. ft. That would mean the 6000 gallon pool is being sold with a filter that is about an order of magnitude too small... From reading about Intex pools on the forum here, I realize the Intex-type pools are sold with inadequate filtration capacity, but hadn't realized it might be quite this dismal.

Can anyone comment on these numbers -- is it true that we should ideally have closer to 60 sq. ft. of filter area to keep 6000 gallons of water clean?

Murky water is a problem we've had repeatedly during the several summers we've run the smaller pool; so I'm worried the problem may get worse with the ratios in the new larger pool (6 times as much water, and only about twice the filter area). We've been using the original crummy filters with the 1000 gallon pool all along; I sure hope switching to the Unicel or Filbur filters will help compensate for inadequate filter size...

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the 1 sq. ft. per 100 gallons number... does that properly refer to the pump throughput rate (i.e. 1500 gph in our case), rather than to the pool volume?

That would still mean that a 5 sq. ft. filter is undersized for a 1500 gph pump, but it isn't quite as bad as comparing it to the 6000 gallon pool volume (only too small by a factor of 3, not a factor of 10+).

[Watermom]

I'm going to let someone else help you with your question.

But, just to let you know ..... once your membership has been upgraded (like yours has), you can no longer access that 'Getting Started' section of the forum. That section is just for people who have just registered and are waiting for it to be reviewed and approved.

[singingpond]

..... once your membership has been upgraded (like yours has), you can no longer access that 'Getting Started' section of the forum. That section is just for people who have just registered and are waiting for it to be reviewed and approved.

Thanks -- I do see the 'Post New Thread' option now in this sub-forum.

[PoolDoc]

I've been checking on this, and bought some Summer Escapes cartridges myself, so I could measure them. It turns out the C-4306 filter is the designated Unicel replacement for the Summer Escapes "A" & "C" cartridges. It is NOT as high quality a cartridge as the C-4607 Intex "C". The 4607 *may* work, but I don't know.

Regarding sizing -- Intex-type pool equipment is undersized in most respects. That's one reason it's so hard to clean them up, after an algae episode.

But, it's a fair trade-off. The original US-made softside pools were very expensive. When you consider that, 8 years ago you might have paid $2,500 for a US made 18' round pool, with the same *functional* utility as this one -- $899 @ Amazon:

Intex 54925EG Ultra Frame Pool Set, 18-Feet by 52-Inch, Gray

And, when you consider that THIS pool -- $349@ Walmart.com:

Summer Escapes Round 18' x 42" Metal-Walled Swimming Pool

is currently on summer clearance for $199@ my local Sams Club, you're definitely getting a deal, even when you consider that probably 10% of Summer Escapes pools have some severe warranty issues.