Hayward W3S180T92S ProSeries 18 In., 1 HP Sand Filter System for Above-Ground Pools

All of the positive reviews on here are WELL-DESERVED. We bought a 26' round Intex above ground pool in May. The pool was excellent. It was well-made, easy to put up, rugged, etc. No complaints about it at all. Silly me assumed that such a well-made pool would come with an appropriate pump. It turns out that Intex includes the same sad little 1/4-horse pump and paper filter with most or all of their above ground pools, and it just wasn't big enough for a pool this size. We struggled and struggled with algae, to the point that the busybody neighbors called the police and said that we were breeding mosquitoes. Of course, it wasn't. This is Houston and we have mosquitoes here. The pump was running and the water wasn't stagnant, so it wasn't a mosquito nest, but no amount of chemical treatments and around-the-clock filtering could knock back the algae and keep it gone. We could kill the algae, but then the pool was cloudy with dead algae and the included pump/filter couldn't get it out, even with a coagulant clarifier in it. We could floc it to the bottom and make it crystal clear for a while, but then there was no way to clean the bottom of the pool! To make things worse, the paper filter was clogging up every few hours, corona/covid had made replacement filters completely unavailable, and cleaning the couple of filters we had with a toothbrush EVERY DAY got old very fast. By July, we'd had enough and ordered the Hayward 16" sand filter and 1HP pump. As soon as I installed this AMAZING Hayward system, it was in need of a backwash within 3 hours because it had removed so much crud from the water that the old system wasn't getting. For the first day, I had to backwash every 3 to 4 hours because the old filter had missed so much crud in the water. Then I had to backwash every 8-12 hours. Then it finally went down to a few times a week and the water looked great. The Hayward filter/valve also made it very easy to connect a vacuum and either pump it out the backwash hose or run it through the filter (depending on if the particles I was vacuuming would be caught by the filter). There were no such options with the included Intex pump. When ordering, BE SURE to order a nice, long, flattening backwash hose! Just backwashing with a short hose will make a swamp near the pool. This WILL breed mosquitoes and it made the ground so soft that one side of my pool sank into the ground! I'll have to drain and re-level it next spring, but the Hayward pump/valve makes draining a snap! I also ran into a power problem, but this will vary by yard, depending on how your pool is set up. We had the Intex pump running on 16/3 extension cords that ran around the perimeter of the yard to the pump and it worked fine. When I connected the new Haward pump to this, it only ran for a few minutes before overheating and shutting down. A quick consult of my Ugly book confirmed that the power demand of a 1HP type-H motor was NOT going to be able to run on 90' of 16/3 wire. I tried cutting it back to 40' of 16/3 and ran it directly across the yard, but Ugly said that wouldn't work either, and the pump confirmed it for me by shutting down. I buried 40' of 12/3 armored wire between the patio and the pump, plugged it in with a GFCI plug on one end, and installed a weatherproof electrical box on a post by the pump. I also added a 500uF start cap by the motor to reduce inrush current. Never another problem with power! To simplify life and backwashing, I used a TP-Link KP400 between the electrical box and the pump, allowing me to set a schedule for the pump run times and turn it on/off manually by yelling to Alexa or pushing the button on the KP400. Even better, the KP400 has two individually controllable outputs, so we used the other one to power pool lights that we can tell Alexa to turn those on and off as we please. Besides the power problems that I had to struggled through (which are not really Hayward's fault), this system has been a dream come true and we should have NEVER tried to rely on the tiny Intex pump/filter. I'll sell those to someone who has a 10'-15' pool, where they will probably work fine.

Product arrived in two days as promised. Price was much less than some of the pool catalogs I looked at. We do not have a pool supply in our town so the only option was the internet or drive 300 miles to the nearest pool store. Installation was straight forward; instructions provided however if you connect via PVC pipe which I did you need very basic plumbing skills and tools to cut and glue the PVC pipe or you can use the clamps and hoses provided in the box. You do need a 120 volt electrical outlet within a few feet of pump. The hardest part was lifting the sand bags to fill up the filter. You can buy the sand at most lumber yards for a few bucks a bag. You need four 50 pound bags of pool filter sand. I removed the old system and installed this system in about 3 hours by myself. Hit the switch and it worked like a charm. Good power and very quiet. I installed it on a 28 foot round above ground pool, around 15000 gallons and it is all the pump and filter I need. Works great. I

We had an Intex sand filter and the motor locked up on it after 1 year. Hayward came highly recommended by several friends. So glad we got it! It is so much better then the Intex. Has great suction and output. We did have to buy an adapter kit for our Intex pool and we also ordered a piece for the backwash outlet and a flat hose for the backwash. Once we got everything it has worked great! Very easy to operate. Would buy another and would highly recommend to friends.

Filter/pump combo is working great. I have an 18x33 oval above-ground and decided to get a second skimmer cut in because I was unsatisfied with my single setup. I am coming from a single Hayward 1 1/2 horse pump and DE filter combo. This filter is so much nicer/easier to operate than my previous. They say that DE filters the best, followed by cartridge, then sand. Time will tell if that's an issue but a discussion not for "here". Why 4 stars instead of 5? Really only two reasons and I would give 4.5 if that were an option. First, I've been using Hayward pumps for 15 years. Apparently, recently they shortened the power cord to like 3 feet. I never needed an extension cord to get to my power outlet, but now I do. I don't like more connections. Second, it doesn't come with enough hose adapters to cover skimmer->pump, filter->return, and waste/backwash. You are one short. So, to get going "out of the box", you need to sacrifice the waste/backwash one, and then go buy an extra if you want to have a semi-permanent hose attached. Otherwise, it just sprays water (and a little bit of sand) all over the place. Overall, I'm satisfied with my purchase.

Excellent pump! Upgraded from filter and pump that were included with my pool. The pump was only about two months old, and was GARBAGE. constantly had to mess with chemicals, or change filters, and it was a pain in the ass. On top of that, the pump did not move the water quickly enough to keep it cool. So I decided to go with Hayward. When reviews say it is a Hayward enough said, you know it's got to be good. The pump is a beast, and the filter really does a hell of a job. really leaves my water crystal clear day in and day out! of course, I have to keep up with chemicals, but I've already noticed that the filter is making that less of a burden already. On top of that, my pool is so much cooler feeling now! Definitely recommend this pump and filter combo!

Excellent filter. Perfect for our 24 foot pool. Can vacuum the pool in 20 minutes. Strong suction. Incredible strength from return jet. Pool is sparkling clean. Highly recommend.