Running two pumps together??

[austinsmom01]

I had an odd thought. I have an Intex 1500 gph filter/pump combo. Since my filter isn't doing a good enough job I've ordered a new sand filter. In the meantime, can I hook up my 800 gph filter/pump to the 1500 gph filter/pump so the water will go through two filters before entering back in the pool? I'm thinking of running the outflow from the pool into the 800 and running the return line from the 800 into the 1500 and then the return line from the 1500 back into the pool. I'm thinking of only running the 1500 pump and not turning the power on the 800. Or should I run both? Any thoughts? Crazy idea???

The reason I'm wondering if it will help with filtering is because I stuck a filter on the pipe I rigged on the return in the pool so the return water would flow through the filter. I checked it tonight and that filter is DIRTY!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

what do I know. The more filtering the better, I say!!!!

 

[crabboy]

I wouldn't bother. you're just giving your 1500 pump more work to do. The 800 filter will be your bottleneck as far as flow and dirt capacity.

 

[wsettle]

I would think that running them in series would NOT be a good idea but running them in parallel may be beneficial. I've been concerned with my 1000 GPH pump going out and it may take me several days to get a replacement. In this time, I've read posts here in horror about how quick an algae bloom can happen.

So, I've been thinking of buying a second 1000 GPH pump/filter and running them in parallel which should effectively give me 2000 GPH flow rate. When I need to vacuum or need the extra filtering I turn on the second pump, otherwise, I just run one pump 24/7.

I've got a kill-o-watt meter and at my current electrical rate, it cost me about $.25/day or ~7/month to run one pump 24/7. Plus, I would have redundancy for the most critical part of the system.

I would think you could do the same thing and get effective GPM rates over 2000 when both are running.

Just my thought process. Maybe someone here can enlighten us if this will really work.

 

[chatcher]

...I've got a kill-o-watt meter and at my current electrical rate, it cost me about $.25/day or ~7/month to run one pump 24/7.

That sounds low. What kind of pump is it?

At 100% efficiency, one horsepower is equal to 0.7456 kilowatts, or 537 kilowatt-hours per month running 24/7. At 10 cents per kw-hr, one horsepower costs $54/month. $7/month wouldn't get you more than about 1/8th horsepower BEFORE accounting for motor efficiency. Your rate is probably not 10 cents, but many people do pay a lot more than that.

Using a real-world example, the 3/4 HP full-rated motor used on a Northstar pump, running at maximum rated power, 24/7, would consume about 900 kw-hr per month ($90 at 10 cents). I have not checked what the pump actually consumes under normal operating conditions, which would undoubtedly be considerably less than the motor is capable of. I would be surprised if it was much lower than half.

 

[wsettle]

Its in my sig. The pump is an Intex 637R. I can't confirm this but I read that it's a only a 1/16HP which sounds close to what you came up with considering motor efficiency. Very small.

 

[chatcher]

...it's a only a 1/16HP...

That fits with your numbers. The good news is that it doesn't cost much to run 24/7. The bad news is that you probably have to!

 

[wsettle]

As long as I keep the water balanced, it does a good job. I've got a TF-100 test kit on order so that will help. Thanks.

 

[wsettle]

austinsmom01,

I think you can run your pumps in parallel just fine. However, you may need to put a one way value in line with each of them to keep them from fighting one another and avoid pack pressure. Maybe you won't need the values but running them in parallel should work just fine. I would not run them in series as the most pressure you will get will be from the highest GPH pump.

 

[austinsmom01]

austinsmom01,

I think you can run your pumps in parallel just fine. However, you may need to put a one way value in line with each of them to keep them from fighting one another and avoid pack pressure. Maybe you won't need the values but running them in parallel should work just fine. I would not run them in series as the most pressure you will get will be from the highest GPM pump.

Would there be trouble with pressure even if the 1500 was first in line pulling from the pool and the 800 was behind it to take from the 1500? I'll post a photo. I hooked them up and they seem fine (they are plugged in to their own outlets) but what if I left the power off to the 800 and just used it as a second filter back into the pool? I would think the 800 would take some of the pressure off of the 1500 but hey, I'm just guessing here.

 

[austinsmom01]

 

[wsettle]

I'm betting that if you put a flow meter on the output of setup, you won't have more than 1500GPH (with a new filter). I don't think you are doing anything to improve the flow and you may even do damage to the pump since a pump is designed to have a low pressure side and a high pressure side. Your setup puts high pressure to the input of the second pump so it basically renders it ineffective.

 

[austinsmom01]

I'm betting that if you put a flow meter on the output of setup, you won't have more than 1500GPH (with a new filter). I don't think you are doing anything to improve the flow and you may even do damage to the pump since a pump is designed to have a low pressure side and a high pressure side. Your setup puts high pressure to the input of the second pump so it basically renders it ineffective.

I finally get it. I don't want to damage it so I'll just use the 1500. Thanks all!

 

[wsettle]

austinsmom01 wrote:

Let me know how the parallel pumping works out!

Here is a link to my parallel setup. It's working out well...