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Cartridge filter vs sand filter pool UK

Updated: October 2026

You searched for a Wiltec pool pump and landed on cartridge sets and two circulation pumps. Cartridge filter vs sand filter pool UK is the type decision underneath that mismatch. A paper cartridge and a sand tank are different jobs, and none of the seven amazon.co.uk ASINs in this comparison is the Wiltec sand set the search name suggests. The rows themselves are on the [Wiltec pool pump](/hub/swimming-pools/wiltec-pool-pump) comparison. This page says which job you are buying. It does not rank those seven products, and it does not tell you how to connect a hose. The maker’s sand-set figures are not a UK shelf price and not a lab test. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You searched for a Wiltec pool pump and landed on cartridge sets and two circulation pumps. Cartridge filter vs sand filter pool UK is the type decision underneath that mismatch.

Our top picks

Vidapool Vidapool 1.5 hp 115 V

Best overall

Vidapool Vidapool 1.5 hp 115 V
10.0/10about £263.01
View offer
Bestway Bestway 58389GB 1,500 gal

Rank 2

Bestway Bestway 58389GB 1,500 gal
7.6/10about £133.92
View offer
Bestway Bestway 58381 330 gal

Preis-Tipp

Bestway Bestway 58381 330 gal
7.6/10about £37.49
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The search and the captures
  2. 2.What the cartridge sets do
  3. 3.What a sand set adds
  4. 4.What is actually in the table

The search and the captures

On the maker’s own page, a Wiltec pool pump of the 63347 type is a sand-filter system: 220–240 V at 50 Hz, 750 W, a 71 litre tank, and a stated flow up to 20,000 L/h, with an IPX5 mark. That page is priced in euros. It is not a GBP capture on amazon.co.uk, and it is not an ASIN in this folder, so do not treat the euro price as a UK shelf price and do not convert it. It is a self-priming pump on a media tank, not a 16 W cartridge head. What this folder kept is five cartridge titles and two self-priming circulation pumps. Vidapool and Aquastrong print 115 V. They are the wrong type and the wrong supply. If the box in the photograph is a small white cartridge housing, you are not looking at 63347. The buying guide is where you then match litres and hose size to the cartridge listings that do state 220–240 V.

What the cartridge sets do

A cartridge set pushes pool water through a paper element you remove and rinse. Bestway UK’s comparison gives cartridge elements a band of about 10–20 microns and sand a band of about 20–40 microns, and it says a cartridge is cleaned on roughly a two-week line while sand can last a season. Those bands are Bestway’s published claim, not a measurement of the ASINs here. SPATA’s domestic filtration note treats sand as the common medium and describes cartridges as something you clean rather than backwash. The 58381 names Type I cartridge 58093. The 58389GB names Type III cartridge 58012. Both name the code and do not say the cartridge is in the box. The GJXJY and the generic 300 gal/h sets list one cartridge and two 1.9 m tubes, and they give no code. Their bullets also say not more than eight hours a day, for a stated 378–1,324 litres, and the pages do not state a voltage. UK reviews filed with the 58381 say a cartridge can clog quickly. That complaint belongs to a paper element. It is not evidence about a sand tank, and the identical review texts on the 58389GB file are not a second test of the larger pump.
Vidapool Vidapool 1.5 hp 115 V

Testsieger

Vidapool Vidapool 1.5 hp 115 V
10.0/10about £263.01
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What a sand set adds

A sand set adds a tank of media and a multi-port valve. You select a valve position and backwash, which these cartridge pumps do not have a valve for. Do not follow a backwash procedure on a Bestway 58381 or a 300 gal/h set. There is no multi-port to turn. The Wiltec 63347 figures show the scale of that other job: 750 W against 16 W or 86 W on the Bestway cartridge pumps, a 71 litre tank, and a stated flow up to 20,000 L/h. Those numbers are the maker’s, on a euro page, and they are not a promise that sand is always cleaner. Bestway’s published bands put sand coarser than the cartridge claim. SPATA still treats sand as the usual domestic medium because you backwash a tank. PWTAG allows high-rate filtration for domestic pools and says it is less efficient. That is not a micron rating for any ASIN here. The 58381 states 1,100–8,300 litres at 1,249 L/h. The 58389GB states up to 31,700 litres at 5,678 L/h and is still a cartridge pump, not a 71 litre sand tank. If the season sits beyond a paper element you rinse every fortnight, you are shopping for a sand system of the Wiltec type, and you will not find it among these seven listings. Confirm 220–240 V and a UK plug on whatever sand set you do buy.

What is actually in the table

Five of the seven ASINs are cartridge pumps: Bestway 58381, Bestway 58389GB, Pavel, GJXJY, and the generic set. Only the two Bestway lines print 220–240 V. The Pavel table prints no voltage, and UK reviews call it about 120 V. Vidapool SPR150-LV and Aquastrong PSP100T-LV are self-priming circulation pumps at 115 V, 1.5 hp and 1 hp, with inch adapters rather than a cartridge code. A timer on the Aquastrong does not turn it into a filter. The table can help you buy a small cartridge pump, or it can tell you to leave. It cannot hand you Wiltec 63347. If you need the sand tank, shop that type on its own, at 220–240 V, and do not use a 115 V horsepower title as a substitute.

Common questions

Is a Wiltec pool pump in this comparison?
No. None of the seven amazon.co.uk ASINs is a Wiltec sand-filter system. The folder holds cartridge pumps and two 115 V circulation pumps. The Wiltec name on the search is the type people expect, not a row in the table.
What is Wiltec 63347 if it is not an ASIN here?
It is the maker’s sand-filter system: 220–240 V at 50 Hz, 750 W, a 71 litre tank, and a stated flow up to 20,000 L/h. The maker’s page prices it in euros. That price is not a GBP amazon.co.uk capture, and this comparison does not convert it. Use it only as a picture of the sand-set class that is missing from the seven ASINs.
How often do these cartridge listings say to change the cartridge?
Bestway’s type comparison and the GJXJY bullets use about two weeks. That is a listing line, not a test of your water. UK reviews of the small Bestway 58381 describe cartridges that clog sooner than that. The 58381 code is 58093, Type I. The 58389GB code is 58012, Type III. Neither listing says the cartridge is included.
Does a sand filter get hosed out like a cartridge?
No. You backwash a sand tank through a multi-port valve. A cartridge is taken out and rinsed, or replaced. The cartridge pumps in this set do not have that multi-port, so a backwash guide for a sand system does not transfer to them.
Are the 1 hp and 1.5 hp pumps sand filters?
No. The Aquastrong is a 115 V, 1 hp circulation pump with a timer. The Vidapool is a 115 V, 1.5 hp circulation pump. Neither listing describes a sand tank or a cartridge code. They are the wrong type, and 115 V is the wrong supply for UK mains.
Which kept ASIN names a cartridge code?
The Bestway 58381 names Type I, 58093. The Bestway 58389GB names Type III, 58012. The GJXJY and generic sets say one cartridge and give no code. The Pavel bullets claim a cartridge and give no code. Vidapool and Aquastrong do not name a cartridge at all.

Related pages

Best Wiltec pool pumps

How to set up a Wiltec pool pump

Wiltec pool pump

115 V pool pump on UK mains: why the adaptor fails

Pool filter pump size UK: voltage, litres, hose size

Sources

Public UK sources for outdoor RCDs, electrical equipment on the Great Britain market, pool zones, and cartridge versus sand. Listings are the amazon.co.uk captures for these seven ASINs, not a live reload on 17 October 2026. Prices on amazon.co.uk move. Wiltec’s sand set is cited from the manufacturer page and is not an ASIN in this set.

  1. Electrical Safety First, garden advice (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  2. GOV.UK, Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  3. IET, Section 702 swimming pools and other basins (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  4. BSI, BS EN IEC 60335-2-41 (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  5. SPATA, swimming pool filtration (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  6. Bestway UK, cartridge filters versus sand filters (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  7. Wiltec sand filter system 63347 (retrieved 17 October 2026)
  8. Intex UK, 220–240 V sand filter pump manual (retrieved 17 October 2026)