Planning new setup for spring, thoughts and advice before purchasing

[Juggernaut1103]

So I'm planning, and getting ready to buy a new pump, filter, and heat pump for the pool this year.

A little background, Im not not 100% sure on size, but the pool is kidney shaped and around 12,500 gallons. The pump and filter will sit next to a shed that is below the pool deck. The pump and filter are about 25 feet away from the skimmer and about 8 feet below the top of the pool. i believe all the piping is 1.5In and its all black poly, i know, not ideal.

I just ran 100amp service to the shed that's next to the pad im about to pour. the equipment use to be in the shed and i'm moving it out of the shed.

So im thinking of purchasing the Pentair SuperFlo 342001, not planning to do any crazy automation. im hoping with the feet of head and the fact that the pump is so low and far away from the pool that this will work. the old pump was a single speed .75 HP and seemed to work fine. I'm going to install a stenner for liquid chlorine (8.25% bleach). In terms of a filter, there doesn't seem to be a winner with DE vs sand vs cartridge. I was set on a cartridge so i didn't have to backwash, but went back to sand because i'm surrounded by trees and lots of pollan. I was thinking of going with the pentair triton in a 24 or 30 inch. was leaning toward 30 but i'm not sure if that's really needed since I have 1.5In piping all around. I believe 60GPM is the max if i'm not mistaken, but im thinking the 30 inch means ill only have to backwash once a month if that. In regards to the heat pump, i have a buddy whos fiends is selling me a never used Aquaheat LS MBP-125 for $200.

Does anyone see any flaws in my planned setup? Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[needsajet]

Sounds practical to me. You don't have to think about elevation difference from the waterline in terms of flow and energy because it's just circulating, not lifting. Technically there's the 8 feet of pipe which adds a tiny bit of friction loss, but that's about it. You'll need to valve your suction near the pump so you can clean it's basket and whatever else needs done down there. I have a 25" filter and I'd love to have 30", but yeh go with what fits the pad well. There's no plumbing downside of an over-sized filter, only upside.

Black poly pipe huh. I suppose it would be a bit less prone to cracking if there's earth movement, but what a pain fitting wise. That's a steal of a deal of a heat pump.

 

[Juggernaut1103]

Thanks Needsajet, yeah the heater is a steal, really happy about that. I'm still so up and down on sand vs cartridge though. Im not a fan of backwashing, but i think i was backwashing to much the last 2 years. i was doing it once a week and i don't think that was really needed.

 

[needsajet]

For me, it's anywhere from three to eight weeks between backwashes (25" filter, 12K pool). It gets down to around 3 or 4 weeks when it's especially stormy or when there's a lot of fire prevention burning. Free-floating algae (not visible, but can be detected with the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test test) shortens the interval a lot. Ideally, let your pressure rise 20% or 25% before backwashing, because the filter is doing it's best work when it's a bit dirty.

I try to hold off on backwashing if rain is forecast. On the other hand, if we've had rain, some of those backwashes are done early to get rid of excess water and backwash when it's free. About half my backwashes are free (we average 48" of rain here, so similar to Stamford not including snow).

Using TFPC for water chemistry makes the filter decision easier because you'll probably be happy with any of the three types of filter in terms of cleaning frequency. It really depends on how much dust and pollen you get. We get a lot of red dust and black diesel particles, along with the back-burning fallout, but not so much pollen compared to some places mentioned here. I like the convenience of backwashing, but it's entirely a personal decision.