So I'm finally getting back to buying a VS pump and I'm wondering about what you guys think I should get for my system.
My pool is about 17k gallons which includes a small shared spa (hard to tell - kidney shaped with a deep end around 8 ft and shallow around 3). I have 1 skimmer and a Poolvergnuegen suction side cleaner. The spa has 4 jets and we've got a Hayward electric pool heater. My current pump is a single-speed 1.5 HP. We run it about 5 hours / day with the pool cleaner running the entire time. We have lots of leaves, twigs, and other debris drop in our pool year round. All the piping is 1.5" to the best of my knowledge (pool is 40 years old). We use liquid chlorine and a few pucks (I don't have any CYA problems)
What makes this challenging for me is that a) with all the debris that drops in the pool, I need to run the pool cleaner several hours a day. Just filtering the water isn't enough (we have one of the large suction-side bags for collecting debris and it gets full 1-2 times / week), and b) I want something that is strong enough to provide strong flow out of the 4 spa jets when needed. Our current pump provides enough suction for the cleaner to climb up to the water line if I have about 95% of the suction coming from the cleaner (the skimmer or spa drain open just a tad to keep it from going above the line and sucking air), and provides adequate, though I wouldn't say amazing, power at the jets. Honestly, I'd prefer more if I could get it.
I was thinking of going with the Hayward Tristar vs900 1.85 hp, but according to this calculator from Hayward, it won't provide as much flow as my current system, even on the max 3000 RPMs. That means the spa jets will be weaker and the cleaner may not climb the walls, which is disconcerting. Is the Tristar vs950 is the way to go? Please note that I'm not stuck on Hayward, but I was leaning that way since it's the same brand as my heater (may be easier for automation in the future?) and mostly because my readings seem to indicate they're a little more energy efficient than Pentair.
My pool is about 17k gallons which includes a small shared spa (hard to tell - kidney shaped with a deep end around 8 ft and shallow around 3). I have 1 skimmer and a Poolvergnuegen suction side cleaner. The spa has 4 jets and we've got a Hayward electric pool heater. My current pump is a single-speed 1.5 HP. We run it about 5 hours / day with the pool cleaner running the entire time. We have lots of leaves, twigs, and other debris drop in our pool year round. All the piping is 1.5" to the best of my knowledge (pool is 40 years old). We use liquid chlorine and a few pucks (I don't have any CYA problems)
What makes this challenging for me is that a) with all the debris that drops in the pool, I need to run the pool cleaner several hours a day. Just filtering the water isn't enough (we have one of the large suction-side bags for collecting debris and it gets full 1-2 times / week), and b) I want something that is strong enough to provide strong flow out of the 4 spa jets when needed. Our current pump provides enough suction for the cleaner to climb up to the water line if I have about 95% of the suction coming from the cleaner (the skimmer or spa drain open just a tad to keep it from going above the line and sucking air), and provides adequate, though I wouldn't say amazing, power at the jets. Honestly, I'd prefer more if I could get it.
I was thinking of going with the Hayward Tristar vs900 1.85 hp, but according to this calculator from Hayward, it won't provide as much flow as my current system, even on the max 3000 RPMs. That means the spa jets will be weaker and the cleaner may not climb the walls, which is disconcerting. Is the Tristar vs950 is the way to go? Please note that I'm not stuck on Hayward, but I was leaning that way since it's the same brand as my heater (may be easier for automation in the future?) and mostly because my readings seem to indicate they're a little more energy efficient than Pentair.
