Guardian Filtration 732-166-04 Pool Filter Cartridge (Hayward SwimClear C5030, 4-pack)
Skip — costs more than the genuine Hayward part and holds no certification — The same 131 sq ft element as the certified alternatives, at $140.00 apiece — 22% above Hayward's own cartridge and 2.5x the certified import. Its differentiator is a made-in-USA claim we could not verify.
Specs
| Element | 732-166-04 / CX1280RE / C-7494 / PA131 / FC-1227 |
| Area | 131 sq ft each |
| Qty required | 4 |
| Cost per element | $140.00 |
| Fits | SwimClear C5000 / C5020 / C5025 / C5030 |
| Sold by | Endless-PTO (third-party), not Guardian |
| Warranty | Not published |
Pros
- Unpooled rating base of 236 — the reviews are about this cartridge
- Claims US manufacture in Greenville, Pennsylvania; the company is real and has been there since 2003
Cons
- $140.00 per element against $114.75 for the genuine Hayward part — 22% more, and 25% and 30% more on the C3030 and C4030
- No NSF/ANSI 50 certification at NSF International or IAPMO R&T, in any fitment we checked
- 11% critical review share on all three of its elements we measured (236, 518 and 223 ratings) — never below its cheaper certified rival's
- The made-in-USA claim cannot be verified: no certification record, no country-of-origin field on the listing, and the company's own website has been an offline store since 2024
Dimensional, not media: elements too tall to let the housing seal, and one element in a four-pack taller than its siblings. Owner measurements conflict, so we do not claim the product is systematically oversized — only that fit is what its owners write about.
11% of 236 ratings are critical; 5 of the 10 critical cards are dimensional · critical reviews read August 2026
FAQ
Who is the Guardian Filtration 732-166-04 Pool Filter Cartridge (Hayward SwimClear C5030, 4-pack) for?
Nobody, at this price. If you want a guaranteed fit, the genuine Hayward element is cheaper.
What do owners say about the Guardian Filtration 732-166-04 Pool Filter Cartridge (Hayward SwimClear C5030, 4-pack)?
4.5★ across 236 owner ratings (Amazon, read August 2026). What owners complain about: Dimensional, not media: elements too tall to let the housing seal, and one element in a four-pack taller than its siblings. Owner measurements conflict, so we do not claim the product is systematically oversized — only that fit is what its owners write about.
What is the warranty on the Guardian Filtration 732-166-04 Pool Filter Cartridge (Hayward SwimClear C5030, 4-pack)?
Guardian Filtration Products publishes no warranty term for the Guardian Filtration 732-166-04 Pool Filter Cartridge (Hayward SwimClear C5030, 4-pack) — we looked for one from the maker and record the absence rather than guess. Buy it somewhere with a return window you trust.
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Data last verified: August 2026. Ratings are real, dated reads — never scraped or invented. Full methodology and monetization disclosure: how we test.