Need help sizing my pump/filter

[danc]

Hi all,
Put my pool in in 2004, first year spent over $1500 in chemicals!
Found Ben's site and became a BBB believer, crystal clear and around$5-600 per season. The only time I run into problems is when I start winging it too much, or think that I still remember how to diagnose certain anomalies
Usually I come to my senses pretty quick, lurk around the forums a bit and find the answer to my problem!
The question I have is way too specific to find on my own, I need your help!

I am looking for some help from the pump wizz people with sizing my pump/filter combo correctly, I think they are probably undersized for my pool. I probably undersized the pvc at 1.5" but skimmers and returns each have their own line.I have to run the pump 24/7 to keep things clear. In order for the slide water to run I have to partially close some of the returns. Same with the step jets. When I open them I lose a lot flow from the returns. I get bogged down doing the calcs because of the multiple lines with different lenghts. I cannot get an accurate assessment from my local pool stores. They don't know how to do it either. Can you help?


Here is my set up:

Super pump 2610X15 1.5hp
S244T filter, 62 gal design max flow
Compupool r j60
All lines are 1.5" flexible PVC, each home runs has its own shut off valve.
1 main drain. 65' separate home run
3 aqua genie skimmers, separate runs ; 50',75',100'
Main drain and skimmers into a common 1.5" manifold in a straight line in front of the inlet of the pump, so I guess that would count as one 90deg elbow each?
3 returns, separate runs ; 50',75',100'
4 step jets, 2 jets per set of steps, each step a separate home run; 60', 125'
1 slide return 125'
Returns have a common manifold, level with the filter outlet with 2-45 deg elbow offsets and an 2-90 deg elbows up through the swg cell,which has bottom hook ups, I would guess that would be 6-90 deg elbows per line?

Intake of the pump 19" below the water level.
Intake of the filter 7" below the water level
Filter intake is 12" above pump intake

If this is hard to visualize I can try to post some pictures.

Thanks!

Dan

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

Since all your pipes are separate, the 1.5" pipe is not too big of a deal ... since you are never limited to a single 1.5" pipe.

You are right your filter is much too small since that is a very large pool. Our minimum recommendations would be:
600 sqft cartridge filter
7.6 sqft sand filter (37" diameter) ... yours is only 3.1 sqft
114 sqft DE

All of these are going to be hard to find in the residential arena. You can probably get close with a cartridge filter, or just get the largest sand filter you can find (like the Hayward S360SX at 6.5 sqft).

For the pump sizing .. you are way over thinking and I did not try to follow all the details.

Do you only have 1 pump? Are you trying to run all of that at the same time (returns, step jets, slide)?

You might be a good candidate for a VS pump, since you seem to have a LOT of different water paths that may need different amounts of flow. Although even a 1.5HP should provide a good amount of flow. You could also go with a 2-speed and run on low most of the time to reduce electrical costs.

You should not be having to run 24/7. If your water is continually cloudy, that could be a sign of algae starting and not maintaining adequate FC for your CYA level.

 

[danc]

Since all your pipes are separate, the 1.5" pipe is not too big of a deal ... since you are never limited to a single 1.5" pipe.

Well... The pipe from the manifolds to and from the pump and filter are 1.5", about 15' total, no problem?

You are right your filter is much too small since that is a very large pool. Our minimum recommendations would be:
600 sqft cartridge filter
7.6 sqft sand filter (37" diameter) ... yours is only 3.1 sqft

Wow, I am surprised that the thing worked at all!

All of these are going to be hard to find in the residential arena. You can probably get close with a cartridge filter, or just get the largest sand filter you can find (like the Hayward S360SX at 6.5 sqft).

OK, what about 2 filters in parallel, or is that impractical?

For the pump sizing .. you are way over thinking and I did not try to follow all the details.

Do you only have 1 pump? Are you trying to run all of that at the same time (returns, step jets, slide)?

You might be a good candidate for a VS pump, since you seem to have a LOT of different water paths that may need different amounts of flow. Although even a 1.5HP should provide a good amount of flow. You could also go with a 2-speed and run on low most of the time to reduce electrical costs.

You should not be having to run 24/7. If your water is continually cloudy, that could be a sign of algae starting and not maintaining adequate FC for your CYA level.

Really? I thought all this info was needed in order to size a pump the right way?
I have only one pump, returns are always on, I would like to run the step jets at a low flow and when needed the slide, without compromising the return flow too much.
How would a VS pump work, and how would I size it? Any recommendations?

The water is not continually cloudy, but it seems to miss that final bit off sparkle.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[jblizzle]

So your pump and filter are 15' from all the valves with only a single suction and return pipe between the equipment and valves? That single 1.5' is kind of limiting ... just will result in higher head loss and lower flow rate.

The small filter will just need to be cleaned more often.

I think a parallel filter setup can work with identical filters and pipe lengths to keep the flow balanced ... although then you have 2 pieces of equipment to worry about. You should add valving so that you can isolate one or the other if there is a problem with one or when backwashing to do a better job on one at a time.

There really is not "sizing" on VS pumps. There are small ones (might be too small for you) and there are the big ones (Pentair Intellifo, Hayward Ecostar, etc). You can just adjust the RPMs to give the flow you need for a given application ... generally they require 2+" pipe on higher speeds, so you may be a little limited on how high you should run it.

 

[danc]

I see you recommended the s360sv, how about the s360t2, it is a lot cheaper mainly because it comes with the valve?

I think there is something wrong with my little filter this year anyway.
FC stays at 14 ppm overnight with a 20ppm CYA and I cannot clear the milky haze, cannot see the bottom of the shallow end.

Your thoughts?

 

[duraleigh]

My pool is identical in size to yours. My maintenance history indicates I got a bit lucky and have an ideal sized pump and filter.

I have a full-rated 1.5 hp pump, 2" lines, and a monster 36" sand filter. That big filter makes my pool water management a lot easier.

 

[danc]

This is the plumbing setup, the total length including the manifolds is about 15', to and from the manifolds is about 8', 1' to the pump, 3' from pump to filter, and 4' from filter to return manifold.
I ordered the s360t2 today. Do you think I need to upsize the common lines, if so to what size?

Can you recommend a VS pump for this setup?

Thanks!