Hayward S244S ProSeries Sand Filter, 24-Inch, Side-Mount

We ordered this filter to replace an old larger filter that was too big for our pool and had worn out. The filter arrived and the plumber installed it. Once we turned it on, it had a small leak in the pipe on the side where the handle was mounted. I contacted AMAZON and they wanted to replace the whole filter but it was already full of sand and water. I ask if they could just replace the black pipe on the side. They got me in contact with Hayward who sent out the needed replacement part. The plumber installed that new handle and black pipe for just $20. Amazon gave me a credit back to my card for the plumber's fee plus tax! I was shocked! But very pleased. The filter cleaned the water in the pool as good as the old on and we haven't had any trouble with it all season. The new filter is smaller so it takes up less space and works perfectly. And it uses 300 pounds less sand! So I am very happy with this new filter. And Amazon has made return customer out of me with the way they handled this problem.

We had an aging Heyward 240S (25yrs old) that cracked right down the side of the dome and leaked water everywhere. We were a little worried about getting the correct sand filter, so we called our local pool store and were quoted a price of $900 for the S244S and that was without any of the attachments! Needless to say, we ordered this one and it has been great! A very noticeable difference in the clarity of the pool, the water was sparkling after only 12hrs of setting up the new filter. It fit well and the only thing we had to do was elevate the sand filter about 2 inches higher than the old one to fit properly. We used square pavers to elevate it, which worked well. Very glad we bought this filter, I was able to buy new toys for the pool with the money we saved!

The product worked as described and is an improvement over the original Hayward filter. The valve does not line up with previous Hayward models so most of the time was spent aligning pvc piping but that could be expected. The only two negatives are that the filter instructions are on the filter itself which was unexpected but the biggest issue was that the relief valve was missing from the shipment and I had to go to a store to get one as I needed to install to avoid further circulation issues.

I've got a 28,000 gallon pool from the 70's that had an old paper/cartridge filter. Every spring I'd spend a week cleaning the pool and pressure washing algae off of the filter and cycling it...doing it again....and again..... After some research I got this one and I've been amazed at how efficient it is. It showed up in a pretty giant cardboard box (not too heavy though) with simple instructions. Install took me about an hour (mainly due to having to re-route some PVC since it's quite a bit larger than my cartridge filter. One thing to note: Make sure you adjust the internal "fins" so they're level as they may be a little shifted due to shipping. (Takes 10 seconds....just loosen the ring on the outside and give it a twist.) I believe this will hold 400# of sand OR 200# of ZeoSand which I highly recommend. Fill it up, backwash it for a couple minutes and you're off to the races. I shocked the crap out of the pool and this filter had the water crystal clear in 48 hours. I've been running it 24/7 all summer and I'll backwash it for about 45-60 seconds every couple weeks and my pool has never been more clear. Highly recommended!

We had a very old Baker Hydro filter that was leaking sand into the pool. While it could have been repaired, we figured it was a good time to get a new filter and decided to purchase the Hayward. It's a basic sand filter and seems to work okay, but the quality control was not good. After a day of plumbing to install this thing including a new chlorinator and replacing the waste lines, it was disgusting to turn everything on and have lots of leaks. Not in all of my plumbing, but in the brand new filter. The top cover, drain plug, and the sight glass all leaked. The sight glass took some effort to get the gasket to seat. That gasket is too thin and doesn't stay in place very well. Why save money on something so basic? It's cheap plastic and you have to be concerned that you might break it. They used to be glass! The top seal had to be pulled down very tight to keep from leaking. It's plastic so I hope it holds up. The drain plug had glue that had oozed out of edges of the gasket and made it so it would not seal. I had to carefully cut the excess glue off and now it will seal.There were other issues that would have been easily resolved. The package included the instructions for the wrong valve assembly (top mount). The filter installation manual says "Replace diffuser on internal diffuser elbow pipe,positioning automatic air relief tube through the hole provided in the diffuser." In reality, the diffuser is two pieces and there are no instructions on what order they go on. Even the exploded view of the filter has only one piece. The filter comes with an air relief valve that is not mentioned anywhere in the manual or the diagrams. The filter actually has two pressure gauges, one for the top and one for the side of the valve. Why does it need two?

I was looking at changing my DE filter to sand. After pricing these in stores, I decided to look at amazon. WOW!!!! Not only did I save a ton of money, but it only took about 30 minutes to hook up. I absolutely love it and highly recommend it. Just get the sand at Home Depot. It's the cheapest place for the same thing.

Ordered this item, arrived via UPS today in a shaby bent box. Opened the box and discovered half the parrts are missing, (no variable flow valve included) the parts in the box were damaged (base was broken into pieces), no attempt to protect this item whatsoever. It appears as if the original owner ordered this item, decided he didn't want it, threw half the original parts back into the already weakened box, and found a sucker to replace his cost. This was my first large purchase from Amazon and needless to say I am very disappointed. Will be returning this item today after spending 30 minutes trying to repair the box enough so it will hold the remnants.