above ground pool filter

[tito]

I inherited an 18 foot above ground pool when purchasing my home (4 feet high) on Long Island NY. It is now 5 years old. Unfortunately I did not drain the water from the pool filter before the winter freeze and it is has now cracked. The motor has not cracked but its unclear if it can salvaged at this point. Does anyone know what I should pay to replace the sand filter? What if I also need to replace the motor? Not looking for high end unit. Just something that offers reasonable performance for the system I have.

[Richard J Kinch]

Either of these items will set you back many $100s.

EBay will give you reasonable prices if you're just researching.

[C & E]

Check with

or been using these mail-order companies for years with no complaints.

[Dan Espen]

Ouch.

Get the water down below the inlets and outlets in the pool as soon as you can.

The motor should be OK, but the canister, flow control valve and the part with the impeller might be shot. Also hoses and skimmer are suspect.

In the winter, the water is supposed to be drained down below the inlet.

I'd be inclined to buy a whole new unit and use the old stuff for replacement parts. You will need replacement parts soon enough.

[tito]

thanks. waterwarehouse offers an above ground filter system (21 inch) for $450, which includes the motor. Would that suffice an 18 ft round (4ft high)?

[Mike Hartigan]

Homes around Chicago tend more toward 10-15 feet high ;-)

I've been using these mail-order companies for years with no complaints.

I'll second the suggestion of looking at some of the mail order stores. I live near an In The Swim and I buy virtually everything there. They're primarily mail order, so their store (customer area) is rather sparse. Their inventory is another story, however (giant warehouse in the back). They're much cheaper than virtually every other showroom pool store around here. Plan on $400-$500 for a new filter and pump combination. They sell the filters and pumps separately, so you could buy just the tank/valve and try your existing pump, then buy a new pump only if you need it. According to their latest flyer, the total price of these components separately is about the same as the price of a 'complete' system. They offer 'free' shipping, although there's an $8.99 'handling fee'. I often take them up on the free shipping on the heavy stuff (50 lbs chlorine, DE, or soda ash, e.g.) even though they're local simply because it's so much easier. Assuming your pool is of good quality, it's not too old to consider buying new, particularly if you see a pool as a 'permanent' toy, rather than a "might as well use it as long as it's there" kind of thing. Otherwise, you could probably save quite a few bucks on a lightly used unit.