Variable Speed Pump & another 1.5 stealth booster pump?

[msujohn]

My pool is going to be 33 ft by 19 ft. I will have a spa, grotto waterfall, and some weeping rock falls. My question is this. Do I need a separate booster pump for the spa/grotto and weeping rocks? If I don't get one and have a VS pump what would the drawbacks be? I'm assuming that when I am in pool mode all the spa spillover, grotto and weeping rocks would be flowing? (how much pressure would i have)? When I am in spa mode does that mean, I wouldn't have any water flowing for the grotto or weeping rocks?

If you do recommend another pump is the 1.5 HP the right one or should I get a different HP?

 

[JasonLion]

Much of this depends on the details of your spa and waterfall. Different jets require different flow rates, so depending on how many and which kinds of jets you have a standard variable speed pump could be anywhere from more than enough to way too little. Likewise, waterfalls come in many different sizes and appear different with different flow rates, so the same applies to the waterfall.

Keeping in mind that everything is highly variable, a typical pool can run either the spa or the other water features with a single pump. One design question is if you really need to be able to run everything at once. Another important issue is that using a single pump normally means running all of the spa/waterfall water through the filter. Doing so is slightly less efficient and requires a larger filter. With a separate pump and separate suction ports you can run things other than the pool filtering more efficiently (no filter), except of course you need to spend more up front to get that extra equipment.

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

If you want to run the w/f and w/w at the same time as the spa, the 2nd pump will be needed.

Scott

 

[msujohn]

That is really the main debate for me. Is it worth spending the extra upfront money. In my city, i'm required to have a SVRS as well - that increases the cost by $700 to $800 plus the pump cost. In the end, it will probably give me more flexibility to get the additional pump. Is bigger better for the other pump or should I get a smaller one?

 

[JasonLion]

For the main pool circulation pump you want a pump that can run at a low speed. Smaller pumps and two/variable speed pumps that can run at lower speeds are more efficient than larger/higher speed pumps for filtering and pool circulation. For the spa/waterfall, getting a single speed pump that is correctly matched to the flow rate you need can be very efficient. Just what size that pump needs to be depends on the details of your setup.

If you have to get SVRS anyway, there are some price advantages to getting something like the IntelliFlo VS+SVRS Variable Speed Pump, rather than a pump and a separate SVRS system, though the pump with SVRS built-in is just slightly less well reviewed than a separate SVRS system.