Pleatco PCC105-PAK4 Replacement Cartridge for Pentair Clean and Clear Plus 420, Pack of 4 Cartridges

Great value, works as described.

Had to replace a cheaper set of filters because the system back pressure was too high and the pool cleaning was poor. Cheap filters did not look blinded but pump could not get sufficient water through them.

These replacement cartridges actually (and surprisingly) seem superior to the OEM cartridges in my Pentair Clean & Clear 420 sq.ft. filter. The label on the product states: "Pleatco Free Flow Cores maximize the entire cartridge by delivering better water flow rates to a greater surface area of the filtration fabric, reducing energy consumption and increasing the filter life. Pleatco Cores are engineered and not just PVC pipe with holes drilled in them." I'm skeptical of marketing claims, but this one is actually true. The plastic central core of the Pleatco filter cartridge that supports the filtering fabric appears to indeed be an injection molding design that is much more open, that allows more water to flow through all of the fabric with less resistance. Until reading this label, I hadn't looked closely at the original Pentair OEM cartridge core. It actually is a piece of 3" diameter plastic pipe with a lot of holes drilled, presumably on a CNC machine. I didn't take measurements of either filter cartridge, but I'm guessing that the Pleatco replacement cartridge "engineered" molded core is 80% open and the Pentair OEM cartridge has drilled holes equal to roughly 20% of the surface. That has to make a difference. The label makes additional claims re the superiority of their the filtration "media" (ie.the fabric), the "end caps", and the "Super-Bond bands" that hold the fabric pleats in place vs. the OEM cartridge or other competition. I don't know if these additional comparisons & claims are true or not. I can say that these Pleatco cartridges are a perfect fit in my Pentair 420 filter and the pump is now running at a lower speed with more flow (less electricity) and the filter at a lower pressure than before I made the change.

I am hard on filters. My pool gets very dirty during heavy Washington DC thunder storms and local flooding. The brick and mortar pool store sells the OEM Pentair filter cartridges and they work great. So why switch to Pleatco? The retail stores charge much more for OEM than for Pleatco replacement cartridges. I have been using these for 7 years. Mine typically last up two years but at this price, it isn't painful to replace them every year. My in-ground pool has 30k gallons and the pump runs 24/7 during the summer. I have had flooding with mud and trees dropping debris into the pool so once the filters get clogged, it is challenging to get them clean again. They can be washed with a high pressure hose. I read complaints about the bands that wrap around the filter pleats falling off. It is true, they do fall off after about two years but don't affect the function. I simply replace my cartridges every season or every other season so it is not a big deal. The pressure gauge on my filter housing consistently reads 2-4 PSI lower than the OEM Pentair cartridge but the filter efficiency for fine particulates is comparable. Fit and installation is a snap and the product quality is excellent - better than the OEM filter cartridges. These are a good value for the money and I recommend the Pleatco replacements as a suitable alternative to high priced OEM Pentair cartridges.

The old Pleatco's had bands about every 6 inches around the filter elements, these only have one band on each end about 6 inches in. I am unsure if it will have any affect on the livetime.

Price and quality are the best. Thank You.

I know it's only been 11 days since I received & installed them, but had to do my review! I'm so excited to show how clean my pool is! Thanks for all the reviews that I read for these filters, I actually read all of them, even the bad reviews! I can't see these not working on someone's system! The fit was great & easy! We've had some harsh rains & winds in the Vegas valley over the passed few weeks & the filters have held their own!I can't believe they filters that come with the system, it angers me to know that the company hasn't removed the filters that come with this system since they really haven't done me any good since day one! I've spent thousands upon thousands of $$ on chemicals for this damn pool, hated every min of even having a pool! Yet nobody at Leslie's pool supply has a clue what they are doing to pool owner!! Just shoving chemicals down our throats ..... I didn't think it could be so hard to keep up.... I've had this pool for 3yrs! I've changed the water twice, completely removed it! Once cause our pump system failed while we were out of town & second was because we couldn't keep the algae away! We had the filter system on almost 24 hrs a day, even though this system is very energy efficient, still very annoying! More is yet to come, since it's only been 11days! Keep your fingers crossed!

I read a lot of reviews on various filters before deciding to go with these. Lots of the reviews on these filters said they performed better than the originals and I can now absolutely say that they do. I just wrapped up my second pool season with these and they are awesome. I live in the northeast, so the pool season is obviously relatively short, but I usually open my pool in April and close it in November. I have a VFD pump and run it 24x7 on the lowest possible setting. These filters are great, only about 1.5psi on the gauge. I never have to clean the filters during the season. I install them in the spring and remove and clean them in the fall. Done.Oh! and they do an excellent job cleaning the water. I never use things like clarifiers and so on. I just add bleach as needed. They clean just as good as my old D.E. filter...at least as far as my eye can tell. The water is crystal clear.