Our pump went out (not sure what it was but probably a Hayward Super Pump with a GE 1.5HP engine) and with the help of the information in this section, I decided to by a Hayward MaxFlo VS to replace it. Everything looks pretty straight forward, except there isn't much room for cutting and putting new fittings on the 1.5" pvc pipes (see attached pictures) and there are some fittings that I'm not sure about. I suspect that the two cuffs before and after the pump are cheap flow control valves. I'm not sure whether I need them - getting rid of them would free up some space. My pump strainer is pretty precisely at regular water level. I know that, because it overflows when I open it only when the water level in the pool is very high - almost at the top of the pool strainers. So it doesn't seem that I need the valve at the intake. The one between the pump and the filter, on the other hand, may be a good idea to prevent DE from getting into the pump, when I turn the pump off. I've read conflicting opinions on that in this forum. And I'm not even sure whether these grey cuffs are valves - they don't unscrew - I tried to open them. And there may not be enough space for a more decent valve between the pump and the filter. I'd appreciate your input. Thanks!