How Much Pump Do I Really Need?

[erictomlin]

Good Morning all. I have a 24' round above ground swimming pool. I have a dished out floor, so it holds slightly more water than the average 24' pool. I need to replace the pump, but I want to be sure I am replacing it with the right pump. The old pump was a 1.5HP Hayward. I have been doing some reading and it seems to me that this pump is much more than I need for this pool. Based on what I have read, it seems like I should be using a .5 hp pump. I don't want to waste energy and strain my filtration system by running an oversized pump. But 1.5 down to .5 seems like a big drop and I'm looking for some assurance that .5 hp will be sufficient for my pool. I am using a Hayward ReGenx RG700 DE filter.

Thanks for your opinions.

Eric

[Pool Clown]

1/2 or maybe 3/4 would be fine (without rambling on about pipe size and flow rates like alot ppl round here like to do).

[imnay]

1/2 or maybe 3/4 would be fine (without rambling on about pipe size and flow rates like alot ppl round here like to do).

Just our experience but I think it's better to have a bit more pump than you might need than not quite enough pump.

Our contractor explained his theory that it was good to have a pump and system that could cycle the entire volume of pool water every four hours - don't know if that is valid or not.

We have a 27ft round and we also have extended depth liner with a sloping pool floor than has a center depth of a bit over 6 1/2 feet. Our PVC filter system is 1 1/2 inch rigid PVC.

I think there are variables that affect how much pump is appropriate. For example, our contractor added a second water return from the filter so we have two returns. He also added a center "main drain" to work in addition to the skimmer.

We use a Hayward 1.5hp 220V "Super Pump" and I wouldn't want anything less. With the extra return and drain the Super Pump is able to cycle a lot of water through the system. We aim the outlets at an angle to the pool walls and when the pump is running it creates a really strong circular current that we really enjoy and we can swim slowly against and swim in place which we like.

Maybe that is too much pump - specially if you only have one return and one drain 9(skimmer) but, again, I'd rather have a bit more pump than I need than one that might not be quite enough IF you have the system capacity to run it safely.

Hope our personal experience is helpful.

[Pool Clown]

If you have more pump than what you "need", You chance maxing out the pipe (flow rate) and at that point, all you're doing is wasting electricity and stressing the pump. Save your self the headache, and a bit of money. If all you're doing is strait filtration, You don't need a big pump.