Good pump options?

[StumpedTechy]

I currently have a Pentair WhisperFlo WF-26 in place. It is a 1 1/2 HP and I have a ton of issues with my pool since we bought the house 1 year ago. I have a water heater that keeps turning off because there is not enough flow, I have algae that keeps coming back every 2-3 months even with me running this for a good 12+ hours a day and ensuring all my chemicals are in the proper amount. I have very little suction on my skimmer and thus when I vacuum there is little suction there as well. I also have a small bit of water that come out from the pump only when it is on. As well I also keep having a top layer of gunk on the water even after the motor has ran all day long (almost like its not being grabbed up by the skimmer). All of this has lead me to believe I need to replace the pump.

I need suggestions on a replacement that will resolve ALL of the above issues.

Will replacing it with the exact same make/model be the best? Should I be looking for another higher powered one such as a 2 hp? Which is better single speed or dual speed? How about things like the intelliflo? Is there any model that would be better and actually be more energy efficient for the amount of water it moves? I am not worried about cost of the overall unit I put in I just want something 1) reliable 2) not any more expensive to run than the current unit 3) quiet as possible 4) has a better flow rate that will fix the heater issue and the skimmer issues.

Anyone with thoughts or suggestions or is it really just as simple as speccing something with the same HP and then randomly picking a model?

 

[mas985]

I think all of your issues are due chemistry and not equipment. So before thinking about new equipment, you need to get rid of your algae. Live algae clogs a filter and reduces flow rate. This is probably what is causing all your issues. Have you SLAMed the pool or done an OCLT. If you don't know what those are, start reading through POOL SCHOOL.

But to help more, we need more information about your equipment. What size is your DE filter and what is the make/model of your pump?

Also, have you cleaned the grids of the filter recently?

What is the current filter pressure?

What is the clean filter pressure?

 

[StumpedTechy]

Please explain to me how this can be a chemistry issue when the pump is leaking and the heater is turning off? I'll go over everything that has been done in detail but I just am not sure how chemistry can have anything to do with this with some of the symptoms.

Bought house 1 year ago. Every 3 months I am backwashing when the PSI raises around 10 points. (I have done this about 4 times now)
I noticed the first algae about 8 months ago. I was not adept with pools and I am pretty sure this first one was a chemistry issue. Also had a super high CyA number so I drained my pool, scrubbed it down and got rid of the algae, and then refilled the pool.
Turned on heater for the first time around 7 months ago.
Heater worked fine until about 5 months ago.
Twice had heater technician come out and both times indicated it was not a problem with the heater unit at all since he was only a heater tech and not a general pool tech he told me I needed to talk with someone else to get the problem determined. He did validate my model heater has a flow rate turn off where if its not getting enough water flow the unit will shut off automatically.
About 4 months ago we took the whole DE filter apart and cleaned all the fins and readded the DE. (This was also the time I noticed the "leak" by the pump which is just a steady water stream from under the pump which is significant enough to have created a nice moldy mess under it since then and now. This only happens when the pump is on and is coming out the pump itself near the motor not from the piping.)
The PSI when I did the full filter clean was 10 psi
The PSI right now is 18 psi (I'll rebackwash it in a couple weeks)
Even adding the one scoop of DE to the skimmer takes it about 15-20 minutes to pull all the DE into the filter.
It also was around 5-6 months ago when we started to have a larger number of items on the top of our pools surface (that were not there when we first bought the house with the pool).

All of this above along with playing with the diverter between the main drain and the skimmer and playing with the blade vrs the pop ups. None of these settings change the symptoms. Right now even with main drain off and all skimmer it still has minor suction to the point where I can have a tiny pebble at the bottom of the pool and unless I put the vacuum right on top of it its not pulling in the pebble.

I am testing my pool weekly and adding what's needed to keep the pool in the proper chemistry for their indicators on the testing equipment. I am around these configurations -

FCI 2-3
Alk 130-140
pH 7.4-7.6
CyA 35-40

I am usually noticing I am having to add a lot of Dry Acid to my pool just to keep it at these numbers.

At this point I am willing to try anything but I am failing to see how with good chemistry numbers and with the issues being seen at the pump itself (leak and heater flow rate turn off). I have SLAMed the pool a few times trying to get rid of the algae but I have never done an OCLT.

 

[Smykowski]

Please explain to me how this can be a chemistry issue when the pump is leaking and the heater is turning off?

Sure....

If the chemistry is wrong, the pool is dirty.

If the pool is dirty, the filter will clog very, very quickly.

This drives filter PSI up and drastically slows the flow down.

This shuts down the heater due to lack of flow.

If you backwash the filter, the flow should be nice and strong again, but the loop will repeat itself.

Since you admit you've never done an OCLT, you don't know if you've ever finished the SLAM process. If your CYA is 40, FC should never go below 3. If you're holding it at 2-3, then that's chronically too low. We recommend backwashing a filter when it rises 20-25% above the clean pressure. Most members report needing to backwash every couple of months max.

A small leak at the pump (depending on where it's coming from) is an actual problem, but it's likely just a shaft seal or an o-ring that needs to be replaced. Not a whole pump.

 

[jblizzle]

We recommend you backwash the filter when the pressure rises 20-25% of the clean pressure. If it is clean at 10psi, then you should be backwashing before it gets up to 13psi or your flow is going to be drastically reduced ... this could by why the heater will not turn on, there is not enough flow.

Why do you mention adding 1 scoop of DE? I do not understand that. Was that after a backwash?

Did you have decent flow after you cleaned out the filter?

Again, since you pressure in the filter has raised 80% from when it was clean, it would not be surprising that you are seeing very little suction and the heater will not turn on.

If you keep seeing algae reappear, that is a chemistry issue. And with algae in the water, the filter is going to clog a LOT faster than if the pool was clean and chlorine was adequate. Your filter could clog in a couple hours if there is algae in the water.

Who is doing the testing? What are "their indicators"? How can you follow the ShockLevelAndMAINTAIN Process if you are only getting the water tested once a week and possibly not even doing it yourself?