I'm having an impossible time trying to find out the flow rates of my pump. I have a Swimpro Voyager 2 hp, 2-speed pump. High speed= 2hp@ 3450 rpm. Low speed= .25 hp@1725 rpm. I also have a Hayward H-series 150kbtu heater (not sure if that restricts the flow rate). I've searched everywhere I could think of online, with no luck. I realize that my plumbing comes into play, but I can't even find a chart with various head calculations. Nothing. Bottom line is, I'm trying to figure out if I can just run my pump on low for 12 to 14 hours per day. High speed just seems crazy powerful, and wasteful. Any help would be much appreciated
Trying to find the gpm rate of my pump
- Thread starter Mr Nicaragua
- Start date
Yes, running your pump on low to filter is a great idea. 6-8 hours is probably enough, but 12 is fine also. It will save you over 75% on your electricity usage
Model number off the motor housing is SP1520Z24ESC. it's an AO Smith Century motor. I tried searching that model number, with no luck. I tried Hayward's website, and AO Smith's website. Even did a general google search. Nothing. I tried it using " Swimpro Voyager", with and without that number, and also just the number. I need to know my gpm on both high and low, so that I know what kind of turnover rate I'm looking at. Again, any help would be much appreciated!
Turnover rate is not an important calculation for residential pools. It is only needed for commercial pools.
I guess I'd just like to make sure low speed is sufficient for normal daily filtration/circulation. I still use high speed when vacuuming and adding chemicals. Besides, having all of the information about my equipment is important to me. The more I know, the fewer surprises.
If it's keeping the leaves skimmed from the surface, then it's enough. Really that's all there is to it.
Low speed on a 2hp pump is more than sufficient. Lots of folks run on low speed with 1hp pumps and even 3/4 hp pumps.
If you really want to know the GPM's the best way is with a flow meter, like these TFTestkits.net anything else is going to be a guess. However as the others have said, trail and error rather than some empirical number is the better solution as there is no magic number of turns per day or GPM that makes for a properly filtered pool, those are just tools to use to estimate pump size that might be required. The amount of filtration needed will vary from pool to pool, and season to season.
Ike
Ike
I actually have a flow meter on the pipe just after the heater. On high speed, with a clean filter it registers just a click above 40gpm. That seems low for a 2hp pump. So I am not sure that the flow meter is accurate. Might be defective, although it is only 3 years old. I even took apart the plumbing to check for obstructions. Looks fine. Does 40 gpm sound right for such a large pump? My flow meter is a Blue White brand, horizontal flow, for 1-1/2" pvc. Don't have the model number offhand.
- May 3, 2007
- 16,820
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
So how do you do that with flow rate? Answer: you don't. It just doesn't matter for circulation. Even the lowest flow rate on a VS pump at 10 GPM is enough for that.
However, skimmers and cleaners are a different issue. They have a minimum flow rate to operate properly.
But from the motor number you gave, I think you have a PowerFlo LX 1580 and on typical AG plumbing, that pump will produce about 50 GPM on high speed and 25 GPM on low speed. If you are getting 40 GPM on high, you will get about 20 GPM on low. Either way, low speed should work fine with the skimmer, if you have one.
Ok. Thanks to all for your insight. Some of my concerns were not as critical as I thought. I guess sometimes overthinking creates more worries than actually exist. I will keep on keepin' on