Could use some help with new pump selection for solar panels.

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Dragoth

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Jun 24, 2016
13
Utah
I have 2 4x20 solar heaters I picked up locally and am looking to plumb in. I'm planning to mount them to the roof of my garage right next to my pool. I've been mulling over everything I can find online to try and plumb this the correct way but I'm finding so much information and a lot of it is contradicting. I'm fairly certain my current pump doesn't have the lift needed to prime the panels on the garage since it's a stock Intex pump that came with the pool. I can't find specs on it anywhere, but from what I've read, it's fairly weak.

I've considered two scenarios. 1 - replace my Intex pump with a new one altogether and then plumb in my panels with it. 2 - Purchase a second pump solely for the panels and leave my current setup alone. My concern with option 2 is that I only have 1 suction port on my pool (freed up from installing a skimmer) and I doubt that will be enough to feed the second pump. I also have no returns available so I would have to cut a hole and install a second return for my panels as well. Seems like it would be a lot simpler to use the existing ports by just replacing the pump.

My concern is buying the correctly sized pump for what I need to do. My equipment pad is about 16 feet from the base of the garage. Then it's another 8 feet straight up to the inlet on my panels and another 4-foot rise over 20 feet to the top of my panels and then back to my pool. If I replace my current pump, what size pump would I need? Can I just grab a 1.5hp pump and be good or should I be looking at other specs as well?

I also had a quick question on a vacuum breaker. I'm fairly certain I understand it's purpose and where to install it, but, I have no idea where to source the part from? I've seen parts anywhere from $8 to $150 for a vacuum breaker. Can I just visit my local Home Depot and get one there or do I need a specially designed part from a pool supplier?

Thanks for any advice!
 
Thanks for that info, it's very helpful.

The more I look into this pump issue though, the more confused I get. Now I'm worried that a new pump with enough head to do what I need will exceed the flow rating for my filter. I'm using 1.5 inch piping so that means I should stick to a flow rate of approx, 40-50 gpm, yet my filter is only rated for 30 gpm. Any pump I find is rated for much higher than this. Is it going to be a large issue to exceed that rating or should I try to get a new combo and/or filter that can handle higher flow? Thanks for the advice!

I'm also confused about head, If I calculate the resistance to flow in my current setup, I total about 70 feet of head already. This seems wrong as I doubt my current pump would be effective if I had that much in such a small setup (Skimmer and 1 suction -> T -> pump -> filter -> 2 90 elbows and 1 ball valve -> SWG -> return. (all sitting right next to my pool.) I'm guessing I'm calculating it wrong.
 
There is no way you have 70' of head loss. You can connect an 8' piece of pipe on the output side of your filter, point it straight up and see if your pump can push water up that high. If it can then give it a try as is. Because you will gain all of the head lost going up when it comes back down the other side of the solar. The cost going up is offset by the gain coming back down. Your primary concern is getting enough pressure going up to close the VRV. If you can do that then you'll probably be OK. Put the VRV at the lowest point on the panels to help close the valve.
 
Thanks for the advice pooldv. I knew I was totally off base with the head loss calculations. I also appreciate the tip on testing head lift. I remember reading something about that a year or so ago and your reminder helped a ton to realize my pump should be able to handle the lift. I attached a 12-foot section of 1-1/2" pipe to the filter and ran it straight up and had a geyser in seconds. I'm now in the process of figuring out how to properly plumb it in, which that install manual is helping with. So thanks again! Hopefully will have the solar up and running by this weekend!
 
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