Puretec PL Series Pleated Sediment Cartridge

The Puretec PL series is a pleated sediment cartridge, the first stage in most whole house filtration systems. Pleating packs far more surface area into the same housing than a wound or spun cartridge, so it holds more dirt before flow starts to drop off, and most of the range is washable so you can rinse it and get a second life out of it.

Which micron? The number is the size of particle it stops. On a typical roof or tank water house we run 20 micron as the first stage, which takes out grit, leaf matter, insects and the obvious material, then a finer cartridge or carbon after it. 5 micron is the usual choice where the water is already reasonably clean and you want one cartridge doing the sediment work; it removes silt, rust and fine sand. 1 micron and 0.35 micron are polishing stages, and they are what you put in front of a UV steriliser, because UV needs clear water to work. 30, 50 and 100 micron are coarse pre-filters for genuinely dirty supplies, dam and creek water, or ahead of irrigation.

Smaller is not better. A 1 micron cartridge in the first stage will block in weeks on tank water, your pressure drops away and you are buying cartridges constantly. Stage it instead: coarse first, fine second. Each cartridge then does the job it is good at and both last longer.

Which size? Slimline is the standard 2.5 inch diameter cartridge. Jumbo, which Puretec calls MaxiPlus, is 4.5 inch and takes far more flow and far more dirt before it blocks, which is why whole house systems use it. The 10 inch and 20 inch measurement is the length. Your housing decides this, not your preference, so measure the old cartridge or read the housing label before you order.

Genuine Puretec cartridges. These are consumables with a service life rather than a warranty period, but if one arrives faulty or not as described, come to us first and we will do the legwork with Puretec on your behalf.

Pump Stuff is the online side of TW Farm & Electrical, a real trade business with real stores in Waihi and Thames. This is the workhorse first stage on most tank and roof water installs we do. Not sure which one you need? Email or call. A real person picks up.