Tap a pool filter part to read its name, or press Quiz me to find each one.
Parts of a Pool Filter
Name Date
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1 of 6
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Multiport valve (6-way valve)
Valve handle
Pressure gauge
Tank (filter tank)
Sand bed (filter sand)
Standpipe (center pipe)
Laterals (fingers)
Drain cap (drain plug)
Pool pump (circulation pump)
Skimmer
Return jet (return inlet)
Cartridge (filter element)
Lid (filter head)
Lock ring (locking ring)
Air relief valve (air bleeder)
Pump port
Return port
Waste port (backwash port)
Sight glass
Clamp (flange clamp)
Valve O-ring
Lid O-ring (filter head O-ring)
Drawn for this site on 2026-09-26: a top-mount sand filter with the tank front removed and its multiport valve whole, a cartridge filter cut open, and a strip of the loop from skimmer to return jet. Licence: own work.
Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.
Pressure gaugeA rising reading means the sand is filling with dirt.
Tank (filter tank)Holds the sand and the water under pump pressure.
Sand bed (filter sand)Water is pushed down through it and leaves its dirt behind.
Standpipe (center pipe)Carries clean water from the laterals up to the valve.
Laterals (fingers)Slots let clean water in and keep the sand out.
Sand filter cut open 8
Valve handleTurned to point at one of the valve's settings.
Drain cap (drain plug)Unscrewed to empty the tank for winter.
Pump portMarked PUMP. Water from the pump enters here.
Return portMarked RETURN. Filtered water leaves here for the pool.
Waste port (backwash port)Marked WASTE. Backwash water leaves here.
Sight glassBackwash until the water seen through it runs clear.
Clamp (flange clamp)Holds the valve's flange to the tank's flange.
Valve O-ringSeals the joint between the valve and the tank.
Cartridge filter cut open 5
Cartridge (filter element)Pleated fabric, lifted out and rinsed with a hose.
Lid (filter head)Lifts off once the lock ring is unscrewed.
Lock ring (locking ring)Threads onto the tank body and holds the lid down.
Air relief valve (air bleeder)Opened at start-up until water, not air, comes out.
Lid O-ring (filter head O-ring)Seals the joint between the lid and the tank body.
The filter system loop 3
Pool pump (circulation pump)Pushes pool water into the filter under pressure.
SkimmerSurface water flows over its weir into a basket.
Return jet (return inlet)Sends filtered water back into the pool below the surface.
How this list was compiled: Part names and every detail line were checked, for facts only and with nothing copied, against pages and documents read on 2026-09-20. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_pool_sanitation (a pressure-fed sand filter is placed in line right after the water pump; a rising reading on the pressure side tells the owner to backwash; cartridge filters are cleaned by taking the cartridge out and hosing it off; water is drawn from the pool over the floating weir of a skimmer into a basket and returned through return jets below the surface; a heater may be an option in the recirculation system) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_filter (read for the general method only). Two makers' documents for a top-mount sand filter that do not share a text, each found from the maker's own site. Guide A, product page https://www.hayward.com/proseries-24-sand-filter-top-mount-1-1-2-variflo-valve-included-s244t.html, document https://commerce.hayward-pool-assets.com/magento/akeneo/S244T/manuals/IS210TSRevA_547c.pdf (filter control valve with a handle, sight glass and pressure gauge; flange clamp; valve/tank O-ring; filter tank; filter sand and the sand bed; an internal or center pipe, sold as a lateral assembly with standpipe; a bottom underdrain hub and folding underdrain laterals; a drain cap at the base of the tank; valve openings marked PUMP, RETURN and WASTE; the settings Filter, Backwash, Rinse, Waste, Recirculate and Closed; water enters at the top, passes down through the sand and returns from the bottom through the valve; backwash until the water in the sight glass is clear; filter sand of 0.45 to 0.55 mm). Guide B, product page https://www.pentair.com/en-us/pool-spa/products/filters/sand-dollar-top-mount-filters.html, document https://www.pentair.com/content/dam/extranet/nam/pentair-pool/pool-manuals/filters/Sand_Filter_Installation_and_Users_Guide_English_Spanish_French.pdf and parts sheet https://www.pentair.com/content/dam/extranet/nam/pentair-pool/residential/parts-sheets/filters/Sand_Dollar_Filter_Systems_2009_and_Beyond.pdf (6-way or multiport valve with a handle, valve body and diffuser, air bleeder, pressure gauge, sight glass, valve body O-ring, clamp over the flanges of valve and tank; a piping assembly, also called the stand pipe and the center pipe; laterals, or fingers, on the lower under drain; a drain cap; pump port, return port and waste port labeled on the valve; the same six settings plus a winterizing one; water is spread down across the sand bed, through the laterals and up the stand pipe; No. 20 silica sand of 0.45 to 0.55 mm, in the amount on the name plate). Two makers' documents for a single-cartridge filter. Guide C, product page https://www.hayward.com/swimclear-single-element-cartridge-filter-150-sq-ft-c150s.html, document https://commerce.hayward-pool-assets.com/magento/akeneo/C150S/manuals/ISCS100_RevG_206b.pdf (filter head, lock ring with a safety latch, filter head O-ring, pleated cartridge element, filter body, collector hub, drain plug, manual air relief valve, pressure gauge, union connections). Guide D, https://www.pentair.com/content/dam/extranet/nam/pentair-pool/pool-manuals/filters/Clean_and_Clear_Owners_Manual_English.pdf (tank lid, lock ring with safety latches turned onto the threads of the tank body, O-ring in the lower tank half, cartridge element on a center support tube, manual air relief valve, pressure gauge, drain cap, bulkhead connections; the cartridge is washed with a garden hose). Guides A and C are one maker and guides B and D are another, so each name on the page has at most two makers' voices. A public health code, found from https://www.cdc.gov/model-aquatic-health-code/php/our-work/index.html: the 2024 Model Aquatic Health Code, 5th edition, https://www.cdc.gov/model-aquatic-health-code/media/pdfs/2024/11/5th-Ed-MAHC-Code-508.pdf (section 4.7.2.2.1.2 lists influent and effluent pressure gauges, a backwash sight glass and a manual air relief system as the accessories of a granular media filter, and names laterals or nozzles as what holds the media in; the definitions of skimmer, with its weir, and of inlet, the wall or floor fitting where treated water returns to the pool). Dead or closed on 2026-09-20: phta.org/glossary, phta.org/resources/glossary and phta.org/sitemap.xml (404), so no trade glossary could be read; hayward.com answers a plain fetch with 406 and was read another way; the manual pages of jandy.com and waterway.com are drawn by script and show no documents, and carvinpool.com, intexcorp.com and waterco.us offered no readable manual, so there is no third maker. No maker is named on the page. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-26: a top-mount sand filter with the tank front removed and its multiport valve whole, a cartridge filter cut open, and a strip of the loop from skimmer to return jet. Our own geometry; nothing traced or copied; the text sources are listed in this dataset's source. Licence: own work
How it works
The parts of a pool filter sit in and on one tank. In a sand filter, water enters through the multiport valve, sinks through the sand bed and climbs back up the standpipe. The drawing cuts open a sand filter and a cartridge filter.
Read the full guide
What are the parts of a pool sand filter?
Six names answer most questions about the parts of a sand filter: multiport valve, pressure gauge, tank, sand bed, standpipe and laterals. Start here: 6 main parts asks those. The valve carries three ports, marked PUMP, RETURN and WASTE, and a sight glass on its front.
What are the parts of a pool filter system?
Water leaves the pool through the skimmer, the pool pump pushes it into the filter, and a return jet sends it back. The strip under the cartridge filter shows that loop. A cartridge filter has no multiport valve and no sand: a lid, a lock ring and one pleated cartridge do the work.
The three ports are named on the valve itself. Read the molded words PUMP, RETURN and WASTE before you trace a pipe.
Standpipe, center pipe and piping assembly are three names for one tube. Parts lists often sell it joined to the laterals.
Questions and answers
What are the settings on a pool filter valve?
Both makers' guides read for this page list six: Filter, Backwash, Rinse, Waste, Recirculate and Closed. One adds a winter setting. Backwash sends water down the standpipe and up through the sand, then out of the waste port.
What are the laterals in a sand filter?
They are the slotted arms, part 7, that fan out across the floor of the tank. Clean water passes through the slots and up the standpipe, and the sand stays behind. One maker's guide also calls them fingers.
What kind of sand goes in a pool filter?
Both makers' guides read for this page call for filter sand graded 0.45 to 0.55 mm, and one names it No. 20 silica sand. The amount depends on the tank, and each guide lists it by model.
What is the difference between a sand filter and a cartridge filter?
A sand filter pushes water down through a bed of sand and is cleaned by backwashing. A cartridge filter passes water through one pleated cartridge, which is lifted out and rinsed with a hose. It has no multiport valve.