Can I run a 2HP Pump?

[Kilber]

Hi guys,

Pool newbie here. We recently had our pool pump go out, and I have been in search of a new one. The pump we had was a 1.5 HP pump, however, sometimes I felt like it wasn't moving water like it should. Anyway, I'm desperate for a pump, since the water is getting worse, so I found a used pump on craigslist. The one I found appears to be decent for the $100 price tag, especially if it will get this water cleared up. My question is this - Can my system handle the extra .5 hp?

The return fills the hot tub, which in turn waterfalls into the pool. Does this add to my feet of head? Below are pictures of the setup and the pertinent numbers that I worked out.

Pool Dimensions (Kidney Bean)
Length - 37 ft
Short - 10.8ft Long - 17.3ft Total = 28.1ft
Depth Avg - 5.9
Head - Skim 1 - 13ft - Main - 17ft - Avg - 15ft
Capacity - 20,733 gallons

Filter (DE)
?60sq ft? (not positive)


Spa Dimensions (Round)
Diameter - 8.6ft Depth - 3.5
Capacity - 1,537 gallons
Waterfall - 3.9 ft of fall

This is where it gets tricky for me. I read that for a medium flow on the waterfall, I would want to 1500 GPH per foot of waterfall. 3.9 X 1500 = 5850 GPH or 97.5 GPM, for a total of 143.875 GPM! It said I could use 1000 GPH, per inch of fall, for a lighter flow. This leads to an additional #though slightly more reasonable) 3.9 X 1000 = 3900 GPH or 65 GPM for a total of 111.375. Could this be right? On my notes I wrote down and circled what I thought would be my required GPM, = 46.375 for pool - 45 for the falls - total = 91.375 GPM. Am I missing anything? Can my system handle a 2 HP?

Cant read all of this, think it used to say 60 sq ft...

 

[pooldv]

Welcome to TFP!

I am not sure about the pump, but I think it is alright. You can add bleach to your pool daily and brush it to mix it in to avoid the swamp.

 

[Kilber]

Thanks for the reply! Going for bleach now!

 

[thepoolman]

What type of pump have you found on craigslist? You could be looking at replumbing your system to make it fit, or possibly getting a pump incompatible with your system. I always get a chuckle when someone brings in an above ground pump they bought off craigslist wondering why it won't work for them on their in ground pool.

 

[Kilber]

What type of pump have you found on craigslist?

The one that I was looking at never came to fruition. Certain circumstances have me searching for a cheap solution, to an expensive problem. What Im looking for is some sort of quick temporary solution to get the water cleared up and larvae free; kinda like quikclot on the battlefield. Nature seems to take over fast when a pump breaks and you're clueless about pools.

Current status is still no pump, however, ive been skimming/stirring manually, adjusting the ph, and have been adding liquid cl. Water looks 100X better now than the pics with that alone. May need interim long term solution to no pump.