Hack ProSeries Pool?

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M

mommabeans

0
Apr 24, 2013
29
Buffalo, NY
I'm going to try this again. Thinking too many questions about different things in one posting. So, I'll ask only questions about one specific topic.

I have recently purchased a 14'x42" Summer Escapes Pro Series Pool to size upgrade from the 10'x30" Intex Metal Frame pool I bought last year. My boys have grown a lot in a year.

I have read a lot of complaints about the pump attached to the skimmer on the Pro Series Pool being sorely inadequate(WHY? do they all do that? To entice us to spend the money on a bigger pump?). The box the pool came in says it's 1000gph for a 3000 plus gallon pool. I also read that the pump is just poor quality and will probably burn out in a just a few weeks. So I would like to know if adding the 1000gph Intex pump In Addition to the existing pump on the ProSeries Skimmer will help reduce the load on the Proseries Skimmer pump.

Even if it won't help extend the life of the ProSeries Skimmer pump, I am still going to add the Intex Pump just because I'm sure that the skimmer isn't going to clean water from the bottom of the pool.

I could just attach it over the side with bat weights, but if I could cut a hole in the liner and attach it directly to the pool, that would eliminate the daily removing of the hose while we swim, then re-priming it and putting it back in every day, sometimes more than once or twice a day. I'm sure it could be done, but was hoping someone could advise me on any particular parts I should get to accomplish this as there is no way that the outlet and return attachments that came with the 1000gph Intex pump will work.

I was thinking of ordering a Summer Escapes Suction wall fitting (from amazon or ebay) like this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Suction-Wal...apes-Systems-Use-1-5-Inch-Hoses-/310852429949


And cutting the hole in liner to accommodate it. I assume this would work just fine since it would just be doing the same thing as the return that's already in it. I should say that I plan on using the return side of the Intex pump with it's original return fittings to create a fountain.

Will the hoses for the Intex pump fit onto the return? The Intex hoses are 1 1/4" right? Is the Summer Escapes hoses the same size or are they 1 1/2"? If the Summer Escapes return connection is 1 1/2", what adapter should I get to reduce to the 1 1/4" Intex hose size? OR does Summer Escapes have a 1 1/4" suction wall fitting I should use instead? Does anyone know where I could find an entire one and not just piece-meal?

Thanks.
 
Heaps of people upgrade their intex pools which is basically the same as Pro Series... :) There are a few threads in above ground pools that help with cutting the liner... :) I'm going to do it to my pool, and someone will be along soon that's already made the cut... :) The Intext 2650 sand filter seems to be a very popular choice...
 
I cannot help with the details of installing two pumps in your pool.

That said, what you are considering is going to be problematic. I would consider returning the new pump (if you can) and purchasing a pump that would be tough enough to do the job. I know it's easy for me to spend someone else's money but that would be a solution that would probably be the easiest workload and would do what you want it to.

Intex (and some others) supply those inadequate pumps because they sell price....not quality.
 
I'm not looking for help cutting the pool. I'm wondering what specific parts I should get to accomplish it.

Duraleigh, you say it would be problematic(and yes, you are spending money I don't have, but attaching a stronger pump to the skimmer still isn't going to clean the bottom of the pool, is it?), but you don't say why it would be problematic. Could you elucidate?
 
BTW, I'm thinking the problem with the pumps that come with the ProSeries pools and are attached to the bottom of skimmer come from people trying to run it on an almost constant basis and/or expecting it to clean the whole pool, not cleaning/changing the filters often enough because not Everyone has this problem. I've read reviews that said they've had this pool on only that filter pump for two years and it's still fine. I have no intention of running it full time. If I remember correctly, in a "real" pool, the skimmer is supposed to be off while people are swimming. So maybe they are running it while splashing around, creating waves, causing air to get into the pump, thus burning it out.

I'll probably run the skimmer before we get in to clean off all the bugs we get on top of our pool and we do get a lot of bugs, even with the cover on. Not really anything else, but BUGS! And on my Intex, I never ran the pump over night. Get up in the morning, turn it on. Turn it off to swim. Run it again after we get out. Once in a while run it will we were swimming because swimming was stirring up the pool and allowing the water from the bottom to get pulled into the filter. Never ran it more than a total of 8 hours a day, if that. Pool stayed beautifully sparkling. Adding the second 1000gph over the side pulling water from the bottom was the key.

I AM considering investing in an Intex 1500 gph, since it's within my budget and it would cycle about half the pool an hour.
 
You cannot clean a pool bottom with an external pump.....if I understand what you are saying. You need to get a vacuum attached to a hose and vacuum the bottom.

If you mean you are simply trying to pull water from the loer depths of your pool, that is not necessary. Many larger pools have bottom or "main" drains but they still must vacuum the pool bottom.
 
You do not understand what I am saying. I'm NOT talking about cleaning or vacuuming. I am talking about cycling the water at the bottom of the pool through the filter. The skimmer is not going to be pulling water UP from the bottom of the pool to cycle it through the filter. It is only going to be pulling water from the surface. I'm not really sure why this is hard understand. I am NOT talking about vacuuming in any way shape or form.
 
You could get one of these 2500 gph pumps, this one comes with the hoses and fittings you will need. You can put them anywhere on your pool you want to.

One of the pluses of this, is you can install it on a larger pool when your boys outgrow the 14'.

- - - Updated - - -

I bought mine three years ago, and it's still going strong.
 

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Ahhh, if only my yard could out grow the 14 foot. I actually got a 1500 gph new for 33 dollars. Got a line on a Hayward sand filter and pump for 60. After MUCH digging through the forums I found the answer I was looking for. Having two 1000gph filters running on my 10'x30" and seeing the difference it made in the water quality and reduction in the need to vacuum, its obvious to me that the bottom of the pool needs circulating too, even if its not obvious to anyone else.
 
Wouldn't a second return solve this problem? Aimed to send the return flow of water to the bottom of the pool to make sure it gets stirred up. Once it's stirred up into the rest of the water even the skimmer can suck it in...or if you have a second inlet that you run when you aren't running the skimmer like some pools have.

I have the over the wall intex skimmer that I leave unattached sometimes which means the pump pulls straight from the intake in the side of the pool about halfway down.

I think what you might need to focus on is stirring up the bottom of the pool with return water, not trying to suck it in with suction. That outflow of water would be a lot more powerful than what would be created from sucking down low.

So like charlie said, returns aimed downward and maybe even another return installed lower on the pool so that the downward direction is even closer to the bottom of the pool.

A second pump wouldn't technically be necessary for that. Just getting my intex fittings changed out and removing some of the choke points that the plungers created has given me a much better flow from my existing return. Now that I have a wonderful whirlpool going in there the filter is picking up a lot more than it ever did when I had my original setup. A second return towards the bottom would be the final awesomeness for me to stir up the bottom towards the middle.
 
+1 to Beens and Charlie. Get the strongest pump that you can, a good skimmer, and aim the return down. Get the stuff that would land on the bottom to circulate and a skimmer that will actually catch it. I really like my Hayward pump and skimmer.
 
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