ciderjack

Yes

The circulation pump HAS to filter water. It sucks water through the filter, therefore it is filtering water, not just moving it around. The bigger the circ. pump, the more water that is going to be filtered and agitated. The downside is, as you go up in the amount of gallons filtered, you also go up in cost to operate the pump.

Yes, there are other manufacturers that do 100 percent filtration with the circulation pump.

You are wrong. Not all circulation pumps are small. With a large circ. pump, you can definitely tell the water is moving.

The Sundance circ pump moves a lot of water, so it is not just the water in the vacinity of the pump that is being filtered.

Does Hotspring use filter cycles with their small circ. pump? I didn't think they did, only the cleanup cycle that is only on when the button is pushed. If I am wrong, please correct me. Sundance still uses the low speed pump to filter on the tubs that still use the small circ. pump, and that is factory default at 2 hours. The point of the larger circ. pump is that you do not need the larger pumps to make up anything. There are many ways to filter a tub. What is more important to you? Filtering capacity? Cost? Programability(is that even a word?)? Or, is it not important to you at all?

I am not expecting to fill the bus with converts. I just want to make sure the right information is given out as there only seems to be two schools of thought on the subject, small circ. pump or low speed pump. Some companies utilize both a circ. pump and low speed filter cycles. Other companies, and I don't believe Sundance is the only one to do this, use a larger, 48 frame circulation pump. Here are some approximate costs to run certain items: Ratings on the pumps: Low speed on a 2.5hp 2sp. pump = about 3.3 amps = around 792 watts 35 gpm circ pump = around 140 watts 5-9gpm circ pump = 65 to 85 watts Wattage cost: Running a low speed pump for 4 hours = 3160 watts Running the 35 gpm circ pump for 24 hours = 3360 watts 5-9gpm circ pump = 1560-2040 watts Cost per month @ 30 days: low speed pump @ 4 hours = 94.8kw 35gpm circ pump = 100.08kw 5-9gpm circ pump = 46.8kw - 61.2kw Gallons filtered: low speed pump: Around 26400 35gpm pump: 50400 5-9gpm pump: 7200-12960 Of course the figures could be off a little, but for the most part, those are the numbers off the pumps themselves. This should not be the first thing a customer should look at, as there are other factors that are more important. But, for the sake of this thread, I hope those numbers help. If any of the figures are off, I hope someone will point that out to me.

What if you could get 24hour ozone and a higher turnover rate for the same cost as a low speed pump running for 4 hours?

What if you could get a higher turnover AND 24hr ozone out of a circulation pump?

Sorry for taking this off topic, but if the heater goes bad in one week of owning the spa, that means any other heaters that need to be replaced are not covered?

This thread is about circulation pumps. Any arguments or concerns brought up are relevant. That is the point of a message board.

I personally like when the GFCI is near the spa so that when the spa needs to be worked on, the technician does not have to go into the house. It also makes troubleshooting a lot easier. This way, you just put a normal breaker in the main panel. You should not have 2 GFCI protected breakers on the same line to the tub.

Having to deal with 5 filters. The pumps are only as strong as the filters are clean. Very little water movement if the main pumps are not run.

Not always. Price, options, ease of use are all reasons why people buy tubs. For example, Hotspring filters all the water before it gets to the components. There are benefits and drawbacks to this design. Do the benefits outweigh the drawbacks? Sundance uses a disposable filter. There are benefits and drawbacks. Do the benefits outweigh the drawbacks? Many people do not care about therapy. Some just want a tub to entertain. Some just want a cheap tub to put at a second home.

Ok, here is the math. 9gpm circ pump + 2hour low speed filtration @165gpm = 32,760 <--unless it is a Hotspring, there can be water bypassing the filter 165 gpm pump @ 4 hours low speed filtration = 39,600 <---unless it is a Hotspring, there can be water bypassing the filter 35gpm circ pump @ 24 hours filtration = 50,400 <---All of this water is being filtered with no bypass if done like Sundance I agree, the small circ pumps are not that great. But, a 48 frame, 35gpm circ pump does a great job at filtering wihtout ever having to turn the main pumps on. btw, I am not sure if you can get 165gpm out of 2 speed pump on low speed. Maybe someone can get a more accurate number.

I would disagree. There are different types of circulation pumps. Using a 24 hr. circ pump with a 35 gpm capacity will filter more water in a day than a 5-9gpm circ pump @ 24hrs and a 165 gpm pump running @ 2 hours per day.

Seems to sum it all up right there.

Before it enters the heater? Yes. Before it enters the pump? no. Has it ever been an issue with the pumps? No Has it ever been an issue with the internal plumbing? No How big are the holes that the pumps suck through? 1/8" How many gallons are pumped through the filter per day? 50 thousand How many gallons/minute are being pumped through the filter? 35 How many filters are required to achieve this? 1

Fun with Terms picture

It is just semantics(?sp) If your spa does not use the main pumps for filtering, and they are not connected to the filtration system, wouldn't that still be called no bypass filtration? The spa will filter the same amount of water through the filter no matter what. It will never pull water from somewhere else while it is filtering. Therefore, you are never bypassing the filtration system. When you separate the main pump system totally from the filtration system, you allow your pumps to work at full potential all the time because there are no filters to restrict them. I guess you could also call Hotspring 100% restricted jetting