Cj1 Posted April 19 Report Share Posted April 19 I’m looking for help on a new above ground pool pump. We had a 1.5hp 2 speed Hayward pump that was working well. A few years ago we installed 25 -12ftx2ft solar panels on our 2 storey garage. However our yard is tiered and the garage is on lower level. Pool is on higher level. Pump is on far side of pool so has to run through tubing all around 21 ft x 54” pool then up about 10ft to garage roof. The pump we had was working well for a couple years but last year started sounding louder so we took it in and they said it had a bad bearing. Quoted us same price of a new one to fix. So here we are looking for a replacement. My question is do we need something else? Did we wreck it since we added the solar panels? It would run on low and heat that pool in a few days. If ran on high it wouldn’t heat as it ran through the panels to fast. But i don’t want to buy something underpowered either? All this talk of head pressure etc is over my head. 🙈 I have tried to understand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted April 20 Report Share Posted April 20 Pump bearings and seals wear out and are normal replacement parts. Pumps are either full rated or uprated. Up rating is a marketing ploy using a sneakly little number called the service factor to make it seem your pump is more powerful than it is. (HP rating x service factor = brake HP) Since you didn't give us the model number of your Hayward pump I don't know which yours is. However an uprated 1.5 HP pump will have the same brake HP as a 1 HP full rated model (Full rated pumps use a service factor of 1..and a full rated 1.5 HP pump is the same as a 2 HP uprated model. As to whether you need more HP for your solar heating, is it working properly now or have you had an appreciable pressure drop when you installed it? You might want to look into a variable speed pump and increase your brake HP a bit so you have some reserve in case you need it when the solar is on and run at a lower speed if you are bypassing it. This will save you quite a bit on electrical power in the long run and you will also get better filtration running at a lower speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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