Critique my plan

[rootusrootus]

I'm thinking of getting this:
- Pentair SuperFlo Pool Pump, 115/230V, 1.5 HP
- Pentair Tagelus Sand Filter, 20 in Tank

Kind of an expensive setup for a little 21 foot AGP. And it's only a single speed pump. I just want reliable, and I'm okay with overkill. Is it really worth blowing silly money (about $350 more) on the VS pump? If I got the single speed I would not run it 24/7, but if I got the VS pump I might. Would the VS pump still save enough to make up for the price hike? The newer SuperFlo single speed pumps reportedly use the higher efficiency motors now. They have graphs showing two speeds but it's not a two speed pump, which I find confusing.

With the filter I'm going with zeosand. Already ordered a couple hundred pounds of it because In The Swim is doing a nice sale right now.

 

[Mdragger88]

Can u get your $ back on the zeo/ cancel the order?
With an overly strong pump (single speed 1.5 hp) you may have issues w/ zeo as it is much lighter than sand. Zeo likes it low & slow to filter properly. When the pump is too strong it blows it around.
I just dumped all mine in the yard at the beginning of the season & bought sand. What was once white & beautiful zeo looked like used orange & black kitty litter. It would poof out of the return every time my pump kicked on from day 1. (Yes, i rinsed/ backwashed it well when new) Then soon came the orange dust on the pool floor that had me chasing my tail there has only ever been 1 day that my pool didn’t look like my profile pic & was a little cloudy. I always thoroughly backwash & rinse.
That zeo never saw a swamp or anything like that. I have also never vacuumed to filter.
I didn’t choose zeo- the dealer put it in “included” even though I told them they could take it back & I would buy my own sand. Its all they sell.
Save your zeo money for a 2 speed/vsp pump & just buy good ole trusty sand.

 

[rootusrootus]

It may be soon enough that I could cancel it, sure. I could probably sell it locally in a pinch for what I paid for it, or close.

Now that calls into question my whole plan . I wanted something that filtered better than sand but was less work than cartridge filters . If I go with sand anyway, I will at least give some thought again to the filter choice. LOL. I am overthinking this.

 

[wireform]

I think it's way too much pump for that size pool.

 

[Tcadwall0]

If you are going to do a pump that big... for the extra $350 - it will likely pay for itself with lower speed efficiency. I don't know a lot about pumps, but if you don't have sufficient plumbing, you may stress the pump. If you did a VS pump, you can control it and also save on electric. I have seen some comparisons written up, so it is searchable... but running a VS on low speed is more efficient than running a smaller pump full out from what I can remember reading.

 

[rootusrootus]

If you are going to do a pump that big... for the extra $350 - it will likely pay for itself with lower speed efficiency. I don't know a lot about pumps, but if you don't have sufficient plumbing, you may stress the pump. If you did a VS pump, you can control it and also save on electric. I have seen some comparisons written up, so it is searchable... but running a VS on low speed is more efficient than running a smaller pump full out from what I can remember reading.

I was planning on 2 inch plumbing. My thought was to oversize everything a bit, especially when the marginal cost to do so is low. Maybe something like what you did, since my planned pool is just a little smaller than yours, and it looks like you went with a nice pump and a slightly oversized filter.