Fitting sizes for rigid plumbing project and VS Power-Defender 140 Installation Requirements

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dmcglynn

dmcglynn

0
Jul 16, 2018
4
SE Michigan
Pool Size
11000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
First off, thanks for your help, I've read this forum for the past two years, and found so many things helpful.

I am trying to plan re-plumbing the equipment with PVC so I can re-locate it away from the side of the pool. I've attached a couple pictures of the bottom of my skimmer and the return fitting. I have had the pool 3 years and have always used the black plastic hoses between all the equipment, but the new pump seems to be more picky about it's environment than the old one.. The (very) old pump & filter are a used power-pak 1 and silica 1. The filter will be getting replaced next.

The first thing I was trying to figure out is how to transition from these male hose fittings to slip-fit PVC, and after reading a few posts on here, I went out and verified that yes, the existing fittings are threaded-on, so I just need to purchase some 1-1/2", or 2" threaded adapters to get to PVC. I just don't know what sizes these are, and I thought you all probably know this in your sleep, so I thought I'd ask here. (And my pool is full of water and I can't take them to the store to compare!) I had planned on going with 2" pipe, unless it is way overkill with only an 11k gallon pool? ..

Also, the new pump I bought is a variable speed Power-Defender 140, and in the installation-instructions make it sound like this pump needs quite a bit more shielding from the environment than my old pump. Since I'm relocating it, I plan on following the instructions and making sure it isn't exposed to sunlight, rain, etc. but I was surprised, since this pump seems to be suggested quite often as a drop-in replacement when people are moving to a variable-speed pump. Is this normal for VS pump-motors since they have a lot more going on under the hood compared to a standard single-speed motor? I attached the page regarding installation instructions. . .maybe all pump installation-instructions say this, and a lot of people don't read it? :)

Thanks for your time,
David
 

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those should all be 1.5 inch threaded adapters.. I used all high temp unions 9 years ago and they are still leak free.. The 1.5" to 2" slip are hard to find.. here are some> Union 1.5

The 1.5 to 1.5 are cheaper and easier to find.. Amazon.com: RWParts 2 Pack - 1.5" MPTX1.5 S HI-Temp Union W/ORING - 2 Pack: Garden & Outdoor

VS pumps have electronics over the top of the pump and can have water and heat kill them, I have mine covered with a simple motor cover... been working 9 years and 1 year over my VS motor :) https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CR6SIWW

Hope this helps :)
 
I have the same pump Waterway Power Defender pump, bought it last season after I got tired of dorking around with the single speed 1.5 Hayward Superpump that came with the pool when we bought the house. I haven't done anything special to shield if from the elements other than wrap it up in a tarp with a bungy cord over the winter. My pool and pad get full sun until about 2 hours before sunset; the pump body is starting to get a tiny little bit of a oxidation haze but I'm not really concerned about it. I do plan on building a little sun shield for it out of weighted PVC tubing and a piece of Sunbrella.

I'm extremely happy with this pump. If I remember correctly I paid about $630 for it and our power company had a $400 rebate. My estimated power savings "break even" date for the capital outlay is this July. If you only have 1.5" piping the first thing you'll want to do it reprogram the "prime" speed down to about 2900, this thing really moves a lot of water and at 3450rpm my pool looked like a volcano bubbling. My current schedule has it running at 2300rpm (390 watts) for two hours in the morning and at about 1950rpm (245 watts) until 8pm. I drop it down to 1650 (150 watts) and let it run until midnight to give the SWG time to bring up the FC levels. I could probably run it all day at 1650 as it still moves a ton of water.. this is the setting my kids like for the three fountains when the heater is on.
 
IUsedToSail said:
I have the same pump Waterway Power Defender pump, bought it last season after I got tired of dorking around with the single speed 1.5 Hayward Superpump that came with the pool when we bought the house. I haven't done anything special to shield if from the elements other than wrap it up in a tarp with a bungy cord over the winter. My pool and pad get full sun until about 2 hours before sunset; the pump body is starting to get a tiny little bit of a oxidation haze but I'm not really concerned about it. I do plan on building a little sun shield for it out of weighted PVC tubing and a piece of Sunbrella.

I'm extremely happy with this pump. If I remember correctly I paid about $630 for it and our power company had a $400 rebate. My estimated power savings "break even" date for the capital outlay is this July. If you only have 1.5" piping the first thing you'll want to do it reprogram the "prime" speed down to about 2900, this thing really moves a lot of water and at 3450rpm my pool looked like a volcano bubbling. My current schedule has it running at 2300rpm (390 watts) for two hours in the morning and at about 1950rpm (245 watts) until 8pm. I drop it down to 1650 (150 watts) and let it run until midnight to give the SWG time to bring up the FC levels. I could probably run it all day at 1650 as it still moves a ton of water.. this is the setting my kids like for the three fountains when the heater is on.
Click to expand...
That's funny - I too have my $400 rebate in-process, and paid about that much after shipping. I couldn't say no, after I learned about how much water this thing moves at low RPMs. My energy company has a spreadsheet with all the various makes & models and their specifications, which made it easy to find a pump which fit our situation, and which qualifies for the rebate. One important thing I hadn't learned about before purchasing was the feet-of-head listed in the specifications. They have it listed as 25gpm at 75 watts with a very generous 5 feet-of-head. :)

I honestly don't know what my old doughboy Power-Pak 1 (with 1hp motor) is putting out as far as GPM. I have searched around online, and have yet to find any specs. I currently run it for 8-10 hours a day, and it's always kept things clean. The silica-1 filter is 1.25sqft, so I think that means I'm limited to the high 20's GPM? .. If I read correctly somewhere, I can push higher GPMs through it, it just won't clean efficiently at the higher flow-rates? If I have to keep this pump running very slow, so be it. I was thinking the higher RPMs would be nice for vaccuming, that's about all. Though now that you mention fountains, I think that would be a nice addition, given the 88 degrees the pool was over the weekend.

While typing this up, I did find the following chart on the Waterway page.

Does the pump display wattage, or are you monitoring with something else?

I searched for weighted PVC, and all I found was links to DIY cross-fit equipment, what are you planning on doing for a cover?
 
dmcglynn said:
Does the pump display wattage, or are you monitoring with something else?

I searched for weighted PVC, and all I found was links to DIY cross-fit equipment, what are you planning on doing for a cover?
Click to expand...

Some pics below. The display cycles through rpm, wattage, and schedule... I believe it is a Century motor.

The guy who cuts my lawn as a side business works in the fire suppression business, he commented that he is around pumps all day and cant couldn't believe how quiet this one is.
 

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