water feature added

[tpm]

hello
We had a built in pool put in at the end of last year. We just finished the patio and added a shear decent water feature. The guy, a friend was supposed to hook up the piping to the 3/4 HP pump for our swimout which has 3 jets. Instead he hooked it right to main pump. The pressure was not that good as the water feature is about 75ft from the pump and filter. My first instinct was to re hook it the way I wanted and buy a larger pump if need be BUT of the 4 returns I have I capped 1 and it made a big difference. I would like to cap 1 more off but want to check first that there will not be too much standing or residual pressure in the returns not being used.
Does this sound like a good idea??
Ps. the 2nd pump for the swimout is actually for a above ground pool we got rid of, the pump was only a few months old

The 2 remaining returns are on the stairs. The 2 I want to cap , 1 is under the water feature and the other one is between the stairs and the water feature



Thanks

 

[JasonLion]

You should be fine closing off another return. Check the filter pressure before and after. If it goes up by more than 250% you might want to rethink blocking the return. I expect that it won't go up very much.

 

[tpm]

Thanks Jason

My only other concern is if I do decide to re pipe it will the 1hp above ground Hayward pump be strong enough. If I leave it the way it is with the 2 returns closed I am not sure if it will effect the heat pump with putting most of the water back in the pool through the sheer decent. I know the water only takes a second from the sheer decent till it hits the water but it could have an effect on the heating. Yes?

Thanks again and I'll leave it for now

Ps almost no change in filter pressure

 

[JasonLion]

The sheer decent will cool the water through evaporation any time it is on. It will do this a little more quickly if it is getting heated water, but will do it in any case even with straight pool water. The cleaner the flow the less evaporation there will be, but there will always be more when it is on than when it is off.

 

[tpm]

Thanks Jason
Sounds like I'll be paying even more to heat the pool. Another reason to put the sheer decent on its own pump I guess. Just switch it on when you want to use it. Would it be OK to run the sheer decent through a pump without going through a filter? Figure the skimmer basket is there and the pump basket if something should get by right?

Thanks again, this is a very useful forum. I'm use to computer repair forums so if I ask or post something about a hard drive or modem you'll know why

 

[JasonLion]

Yes, it is fine to run a water feature without a filter.

 

[tpm]

Thanks again. I'll hopefully work on re-piping to the other pump this coming weekend. I'll let you know how I made out