Pump, pool size and filter

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Nmcbs84

Member
Jul 24, 2020
11
Porto, Portugal
Hi everyone,

First post here. Been following this forum for some time. Thanks to some nice comments/sugestions here about taylor 2006 kit, i´ve been using it with great results. Since then never had more problems with pool water chemistry and desinfection.
Im sorry if im asking something already answered, but im a bit lost about it. By the way im from Europe so i will try to convert measurements whenever i can.

So i have a pool about 100000 liters of water (26500 gallons more or less). It is a rather old pool with plaster and tiles.
My pool sand filter is a bit old but still strong (specifications attatched in the photo)
My pump is a ESPA Silen 100 (specifications attatched in the photo)

5 years ago a guy that took care of the pool changed the pump and sand of the filter, since then the filter permanently marked a work pressure of 1.3-1.4 Kg/m2, meaning it is always on the limit of the yellow/red mark working pressure. Before he changed that the reading always stayed in the green (around 1kg/m2 or less) unless the filter started to gain dirt (going to the yellow) but then i would clean it with backwash and rinse and it would come back to green again. The guy says it is no problam to constantly work on that pressure load (1.4kg/m2) but im suspicious that it is not correct (eventually overloading for the filter) or necessary. Could it be that the guy did not chose the right pump hp for the job, i mean to powerful for the sand filter workload/pressure? or could it be that he chose the wrong sand for the filter overloading the working pressure (if it is possible for that to happen)?
Anyway the guy no longer works here, it was a bit sketchy and expensive and he just came to throw some dichlor and do some brushing, so im taking care of the pool now with great results. I must say again this Taylor K-2006 kit is stupendous.

Being a bit diligent (maintaning correct chemistry values with the Taylor Kit, brushing once a week, and vacuum cleaning as needed) im now running the pump 5 hours a day with a cristal clear water (no more than 0.2 combined chlorine, 7ppm free chlorine, 7.6 ph, 90ppm TA, 350ppm CH and 46ppm cya). I use sodium Hypochlorite.

Now what are your comments. Should i bring here a technician to check for the pump/filter issue? Maybe change the pump for an adequate sized one? check the filter sand? Can i save more energy consumption with a more effecient pump?

Thank you

Miguel
 

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Welcome to TFP, great to have you and GREAT job getting a Taylor K2006 :)

I had to look up the PSI rating as you know it is different here.. Here is a chart so everyone knows..

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So at 1.3 to 1.4 your PSI is about 16 to 18 and that is normal for a sand filter... no issues at all with those low values... I have a 1.65 HP VS and my cartridge filter runs about 15 PSI on high but my plumbing is 2 inch and very few 90's and my pool is really close to my pad... Your pump and filter is probably just a little further than mine... The working pressure for your filter is 2 kg/cm2 / 28 psi so no problem running your filter at 18 psi... You should backwash your filter at 25% rise or when it gets to about 1.7 kg/cm2 / 22.5 psi...

Can you get a better pump, yes.. A VS pump is a great and wonderful thing.. My pressure at 1500 rpm is about 3 PSI now.. this will help your filter do a better job at cleaning because the water will be moving slower... I have no idea how expensive they are over there.. there really are 2 versions of VS pump/motor.. A 1.5 to 1.7 HP and a 2.7 to 3.2 HP both will work great, the bigger one will move more water running slower and save more electricity doing it... :)
 
Thank you. So there is no problem in the pool filter pressure gauge getting on the red mark? I mean it is constant. For instance i dont really know when the filter is dirty because i dont have the pressure qeue changing. I just schedule a weekly cleaning or something like that. Even if i clean the filter (backwash and rinse) the pressure needle almost dont moves.
In the past it did not used to be like that with the old pump. It would go to the yellow limit when the filter started to get dirty and after cleaning the filter it would go back to 1Kg/cm or below. But probably it was a weaker pump. Just one curiosity, could the type of sand used alter the pressure behaviour of the filter?
The pump is actually more or less at the same depth of the pool bottom drain, a bit higher maybe at a distance from bottom drain of about 8 meters. The bottom drain pipe is 2.3 inches.
The others pipes from the skimmers, return and vacuum is around 1.9 inches.
In any case maybe i should take the oppurtunity to change the pump, it as been making some irregular noises :)

VS pumpes here should go aroung from 600 Euros to 1200 Euros. A one speed pump around 400 € a fairly good one.
 

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I just watched the video.. No issues at all.. most guages have movable yellow and red blocks... how are they supposed to know what plumbing would add how much pressure would be...

Do not worry about the colors at all... normal operating for your filter is up to 2 kg/cm2.. I also think it is just fine going down to the .1 or .2 no need to get another one.. If you do get another one get one without the colors :)
 
Just one question. My pump is 1HP and my pool is around 26.500 gallons water. 5 hours is enough for a full turnover? It as been working for me. I believe from the table here at TFP is should be the minimum, maybe 6 hours?
Im just trying to save some energy.
Do you use any winter strategy to save pump energy consumption? Use anykind of pool screen to avoid debry, any chemical product to maintain pool as much clean as possible? Is it feasible to completely stop the pool pump during winter maintaining the pool as clean as possible? I know there are some products like this here CTX 550 that you can add to the pool before winter and supposedly maintain the pool clean for at least 4 months with minimal or no pump work at all.
 

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pool turnover is an old myth.. no need to turnover a certain amount of water.. Her is a great thread we are doing just now all about this :)

During the winter i close my pool when the pool water hits 50 degrees/10 Celsius and open when the water reaches 50 degrees/10 Celsius... I also take my water to SLAM level before closing.. during the winter on a nice sunny 10 to 12 Celsius day I bring my water back up to slam level by pouring in liquid chlorine and brushing the pool for 10 to 15 minutes to mix it up...

this is what my water looks like after 4 months with no cover.. these pictures are from a couple different years and the last 2 pics are 2 to 3 days after opening :)

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so you basically do periodical SLAM´s during the winter? Lets say (i´ll give my example) the pool is closed from October to May, we live in a rather Atlantic temperate climate (Porto, Portugal). The coldest months are generally December, January and February. When i say cold, normally dont go below 5 degrees Celsius.
So you do a SLAM before closing with brushing, then what, a monthly or biweekly SLAM, brushing again just to maintain during winter? Do you only turn on the pump in winter when SLAM or weekle,etc...?
 
I just add the amount of FC to take the water to SLAM level (not an actual full SLAM) just before closing and once during the winter.. usually some time in Jan... I use the brush because my pump is winterized and not in operation... So for my pool at 80 CYA that is 31 FC, I usually take it close to that..

And I guess it would have helped to give you the link I was talking about :)

Is this a dumb idea with Variable Speed pump?

Hey everyone! Been stalking this forum for about a year for some really great pool tips. Decided to finally join and ask my first question because I haven’t seen it answered this way yet. I have a Pentair SuperFlo VS pump. When it’s running at full speed the PSI on my sand filter reads 15 and...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
great thread. So putting aside the "turnover theory" how someone knows if the chlorine is well spread or fairly homogenized in the pool to be most effective? Or it does not make sense?
I used to turn my 1HP pump for about 8 hours daily a few weeks ago during this summer. Now i only turn it 5 hours and the results so far seem good, no change in CC or higher FC overnight chlorine loss. But one thing i notice that alters this balance is if i let pH go above 7.6! So my strategy is always maintain pH at 7.6 or even 7.5, it seems to make chlorine more effective and "durable" or microorganims less viable. Does it make sense? I believe i read something about it here.
The thing is i have a plaster/tile pool and i think these kind of pools like a more higher pH? im i correct or im making confusion with the CSI? I try to maintain my CSI between -0.8 and 0. If i was to lower the pH to about 7.4-7.3 to increase chlorine efficacy i would have to increase at least CH (my current is 350ppm).
Do you think i would benefit or save some on the electric bill going for a 0.75HP pump? Could i run the same 5 hours a day?
 
I keep my CSI about -0.30, I do not think you want to go below -0.30 as it can start leaching CH out of the plaster.. it would be better to raise your CH and keep you PH at 7.6 or so to keep your CSI in the 0 to -0.30 range..

as for saving money a VS or 2 speed pump works great but your not gaining much by going to another 1 speed pump at .75 hp...
 
sorry i meant -0,08 to 0 :) I think i never have gone below -0.25 before starting the pool. Anyway i think i did not introduce my pool. Photo Attatched. It has an irregular shape and continuous slope on the bottom.
 

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is this a good option: https://www.daveywater.com/us/product/silensorpro-us
It is not cheap :) i can find it from 900 Euros to 1200 Euros depending on the supplier. Not cheap at all.

Also i might have to do some repairs since 2 of my 3 weir door flaps are broken. I sense the skimmers suction is not the best right now and also with the flaps broken it lets more dirt return to the pool and float around.
Also i might have a problem in the aspiration/vacuum pipe and/or aspiration hose. Everytime and before i vacuum the pool i have to do an isolated waste/drain of the aspiration pipe (i close the skimmers, drain and return valves, and select waste on the main selector and only let the aspiration valve open. Then i let the water run by gravity). This is because the aspiration pipe brings some orange dirt (you can see it on the pump pre filter) when you open the aspiration valve the first time. Then i let it waste/drain a bit and the water turns clean again. Then i aspirate. I suspect it might be a leak and/or rust on some place of the pipe. Fortunately the aspiration pipe is only used for the purpose of vacum de pool, the other pipes seem good. In any case im not the original owner of the pool and i have no idea of the pipes plan. It could be a real pain to find the problem :) The pipes run underground so imagine...
 
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