Pool filters: We are replacing a VERY old pool filter.?

Question:Anyone familiar with pool filter products? We are considering purchasing a larger entire filter for our big pool. Are any brands above more worthy of our purchase than others? Any help would be much appreciated. So far we have only found a Hayward brand of pool filters locally. Anyone have good or bad experience with Hayward pool filters? It is a Diatomaceous Earth filter if that helps...

Answers:
Hayward makes some of the best filters out there, or I should say the most well known filters out there. All filters are pretty much the same, except the differences are how much water they will turn over and this is based a lot on the pump itself.

Diatomaceous earth filters are great, but they require more maintenance than a sand filter. The diatomaceous earth (DE in the industry) is the skeletons of plankton and the gaps it leaves for water to pass through will filter particles down to microns in size. This means the filter will clog more frequently as it filters much more out of the water. This requires backwashing which removes the DE from the filter grid. You then have to pour DE into the intake on the pool to suck it into the filter and saturate the grid inside. It's relatively inexpensive, but this can add up depending on how much debris your pool accumulates.

Sand filters are basically the same thing except the filter medium is silica sand. Water is forced down through the sand bed and this filters it out as it does so. Backwashing doesn't dispose of any sand, thus you can operate a sand filter for years without having to change any or add any sand. Just periodic backwashing when the pressure rises 10-12psi over normal operating pressure and that's it.

Hope it helps.