Man, oh man. This was a lifesaver. I own an 18' easyset intex pool. The filter and pump that came with it are complete GARBAGE. There is about 5500 gallons of water in my pool. My pool was totally green. Threw in some chemicals, hooked up the Hayward EC40A and within 24 hours the water was sparkling clear. Easy set up. Had to buy extra pipe fittings to hook it to the Hayward 1.5hp pump. Cleaning the filter is super easy. Just open the valve to empty, unscrew the bolts take the filter finger head off. Spray it down with a hose to get the gunk off and then screw it back together. We use about 8 cups of DE POWDER. I use an extension hose hooked up through the pool valves, slowly pour DE powder into the pool and suck it up into the filter. This filter will last many years.

This filter is amazing. I bought it to replace an 18 year old sand filter. When I added a light to the pool and first turned it on at night, I could see a ton of floaties that the sand filter was leaving behind. I plumbed this filter in, added five pounds of DE, and let it run about 24 hours. There was a noticeable difference in water clarity, and over the next few days, of just running overnight, my water has become absolutely pristine.

Initial pressure was about 6 PSI. I guess my water was pretty clean to start with, as it hasn't even moved up past 7 yet - so I haven't had to "bump" it at all.

Had a Hayward DE Filter years ago, and it did a ridiculous job keeping our 18' pool clean.

Now years later, have a pool again (ironically 18' round again) which came with a cartridge filter. After using it for 2 days, I went right to Amazon and purchased the new version (EC40AC) of the one I had years ago. Picked up a 20lb box of DE at my local pool store for $19, the Hayward arrived 2 days early (thanks UPS & Amazon!), hooked it up to my existing Hayward 1hp pump, and it fit right into the base the cartridge filter sat in. Aligned up perfectly with the pump and union fitting.

The filter has been running for 2 hours, and you can tell the difference. The water is sparkling!! It looks better than it did when I filled the new pool for the first time the other day. After having that stupid cartridge filter, and a sand filter years ago, you cannot go wrong with the low maintenance of DE Filters, and Hayward quality speaks for itself. You cannot go wrong with this filter!!

Bought this last summer when we lost domestic water and resorted to irrigation water from the local water district. Coming directly from a nearby lake I was adding algae every pool topping. 26 years of sand filtration on our 28,000 gallon above ground pool finally failed, couldn't keep up with the algae bloom. Some internet research led me to the DE filter above. The reviews were positive, I took the plunge and bought the next size up. Installation is somewhat different as there is no discharge, but using 1&12" PVC unions, hose barbs, and good flex hose I am able to divert the pump to discharge if needed. The morning after the first overnight filtration we woke up to a totally different pool, the water was clean and crystal clear. I haven't looked back, this filter is the bomb. I noticed right away there is less friction to slow the pump, the return jet is much stronger than the sand filter, plus there is way less cleaning and fooling with the filter like my old sand filter.
My only complaint is it's messy when cleaned, I still haven't figured out how to contain the mess yet, but the longevity of the media means that cleaning should only have to be done a couple times in a season.
If you are plagued with algae or a dirty pool, I would highly recommend this unit with no reservations. I never write reviews, but read them frequently in making a purchase decision, in this case I would like to pass on the favor of positive comments as our experience with this pool filter is 100% positive.

Overall, this is a great filter when paired with the properly sized pump. Be sure to use the flow limiter if the pump flow exceeds 40gpm.

I removed one star because the 1st filter still had dirty water inside and was leaking. It was a warehouse deal, but Amazon took it back and I bought a new unit. That one leaked around the flange, and spewed DE into the pool for about 1 minute when the pump started. Amazon sent a replacement. This one, the 3rd, works great so far.

The water wasn't horrible after Winter, but regardless this filter cleared the water better than any filter to date (I tried sand, cartridge) in 24 hours. Crystal clear! There is a very brief puff of DE when the pump starts, but that was within the first 1-2 hours after installation and charging. I haven't checked it lately, but the pressure is perfect - started at 10psi, 8psi after adding DE, and settled at 10psi after 2 days.

Can't go wrong with this filter for pools with up to 25k gallons (my opinion only). Mine is less than 10k gallons, but it's obvious this filter can double that filtration capacity - with the correct pump and run time.

At the end of the day, it was worth the purchase, and this year I hope to relax more, and mess with the pool and filter much less...