SEAFLO Raw Sea Water Filter/Intake Strainer

I’ve had a variety of raw water strainers. The environment is brackish river water in the ICW. The application is an A/C intake.The best feature of this type of strainer is that the design is easy to clean and clear out the growth.My biggest issue with these strainers is shipping. One vender on Amazon is very careless with packaging. The record to day is three straight units with crushed lids from shipping damage.This vendor takes measures to ensure the product arrives damage free.This particular model works best because there are tabs on top that make tightening and removal far easier than the one piece clear top.When the time for replacement comes, if it comes, I’ll rebuy this one.Highly recommended 👍🏽 Helpful? 👇🏽

I have a couple of earlier SeaFlo sea-strainers and they worked well but had some idiosyncrasies that they've resolved with this new model. I installed the 1/2"-3/4" model on my boat's a/c raw water pump and it's really a much nicer strainer. Installation is simple, it's very compact and very easy to service. I've already serviced it by shutting down the system, closing the thru-hull and isolating the pump, removing the lid and strainer, rinsing the strainer, dropping one bromine cap into the clean strainer, replacing the strainer and spinning the cap back on and put it back in service. It took 5 or 6 minutes. Recommended product.

I just got it. I didn't install, nor it has worked for years on my boat but I can tell right away, this is a quality product for the fraction of the cost of brass strainer and it is lighter and seams to be easy to maintain. I am glad I got it!

This SEAFLO sea water intake strainer is constructed of hefty plastic. I didn't hit it with a sledgehammer for testing or anything like that but it feels strong and well constructed. Form and finish are flawless. Note, all such strainers are best mounted above the waterline in case of any failure. The assembly ring threads onto the strainer body smoothly and is large enough to afford a good grip. It also has a couple of lugs which facilitate a positive grip and could be used with a screwdriver of some such object to loosen the ring if it gets stiff during use. All plumbing fittings seem to turn into knuckle busters after they've been in use for an extended period, particularly on saltwater boats. A thick gasket (pictured) seals between the inspection port and top flange of the strainer body. The thick plastic filter basket (pictured) is easy to remove and clean. Mounting can be accomplished with the integral mount or using a separate provided fitting which accommodates tool free mounting and dismounting of the strainer body. See picture relative to pen for comparative size.SEAFLO, which was formed in 2008, provides a four year warranty.I'll be replacing the existing sea water strainer serving the head on my sailboat, which is too small and a nuisance to clean, with this strainer. All indications are the new strainer should serve very well. I'll update this review after installation and employment if appropriate.

For three months cruising in the Bahamas I could not get this strainer to seal! Bought the SWF003 as our 50hp Yanmar diesel raw water strainer. At anything above idle RPM, as the engine water pump started to draw a suction, this strainer allowed air to leak into the bowl, ultimately filling the bowl with air, blocking the water flow and overheating the engine. I followed the directions carefully to lubricate the seal and threads of the cover, but no luck. For three months we had to open up the engine and check the strainer every 20 minutes, and it rarely could go more than 40 minutes without opening the cover and refilling the bowl. Of course I had checked all hose clamps and hoses, no problem there.When we got back to Florida Seaflo sent us a replacement strainer- which did exactly the same thing in the first 20 minutes.We bit the bullet and ordered the Vetus FTR330, which has worked flawlessly since the moment it was installed. The bowl stays full, the engine stays cool, and I no longer have to open the engine and refill a strainer every 20 minutes !!Looking over both the Seaflo and Vetus units carefully, I think there are two reasons for the Seaflo failure. The Vetus unit uses a large, thick, compressible, o-ring to seal the lid. The Seaflo unit uses a flat rubber washer to seal the lid, and the washer is quite firm, with no compliance to assist on sealing. Additionally, as the Vetus O-ring is compressed, it seals against four surfaces, two perpendicular surfaces on the underside of the lid and two perpendicular surfaces on the top of the bowl. The non-compliant Seaflo washer, in contrast, attempts to seal on single, very narrow, surfaces of both the lid and bowl.Don't buy this Seaflo strainer- spend the extra money for the Vetus FTR330 and it will work from Day 1...

This filter can easily handle 500 gph operation.

I am remote on a cruising boat and am replacing a 45 year old Vetus strainer. I would have preferred to replace just the cracked lid and gasket on the existing Vetus strainer, but Vetus no longer makes the strainer or parts. I ordered a Vetus replacement and Shurflo Strainer and planned on sending whichever was inferior back. The Vetus 470 was far more Inferior with a warning on the lid not to tighten or loosen it more than 4 turns. This Shurflo unit was larger and more robustly built and a much better engineered lid and system. I highly recommend it. I thought maybe they should change the gasket to a O-ring, but I think they actually got it right. By design the lid retaining ring screws down over the lid and gasket so the gasket will not wear. The lid has no center retaining bolt which eliminates the center cracking issue of my current Vetus and the one I purchased and will return. Inspection thru the clear lid is much better with no center screw as well. The 2 tabs on the lid retainer provide easy removal and if necessary you could use a tool or piece of wood to loosen it.If I were to change it at all I would make the hose nipples slightly longer to accommodate 2 hose clamps easier.