Two Speed Pump Questions

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pmsmith2032

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Jan 11, 2011
171
Kansas City, MO
I originally posed these questions on the "Above Ground Pool" section but thought it might be better suited to this section. We currently have a new above ground pool picked out (24' 54" Influence) from a local pool store (The Great Escape) but are having problems deciding on the pump/filter. Before I pose my question, I'll list some of the specifics of the package we have chosen and future add ons we may make:

Hayward Aquabug Cleaner
Widemouth Skimmer from Hayward
Solar Panels (probably an add-on either this year or next. Will be installed next to pool...no significant elevation)
Chlorinator (this is not a definite and probably would be the Liquidator)

TGE only offers Hayward pumps and filters so that is somewhat limiting. Currently we have a 150 sqft Hayward Voyager cartridge filter chosen with a 1 HP single speed Hayward Swimpro pump (they don't offer anything smaller than 1 HP). Other options and questions I have concerning them are as follows:

1. 200 sqft Hayward Voyager Filter - $150 upgrade charge.......Is the larger filter that beneficial/necessary in this size pool?

2. 2HP Two Speed Hayward Matrix pump - $120 upgrade charge.....Is the 2 HP at the lower speed going to be a lot more energy efficient than the 1HP? Is the 2 HP on high speed too forceful for the 150 sqft filter? For the 200 sqft? Is it worth the extra money?

I have read most of the information in the "Hydraulics 101" section, but am having a hard time comparing. Unfortunately, I can't seem to locate much info online on these filters and pumps (I believe these models are exclusive to TGE). If they are worthwhile, great, but I don't want to spend extra money if it isn't necessary.

One final question......most of the pumps say they have a 1 1/2" pipe size. Does that mean that I have to use 1 1/2" pipe throughout the system. I've read that larger pipe (2") is better, but I would think the pump hose diameter would dictate the size.

Sorry if some of these questions have been answered elsewhere but I've spent quite a bit of time searching in this forum. Thanks in advance for any suggestions/information!
 
1.5" pipe is more than fine for a 24ft round. Depending on how much they are willing to take off the package price, you may be better off just making your own filter pump combo. The 1hp combo you mentioned is just fine, but not most efficient. Now if that 1hp was a two speed, the low speed is about 1/8hp, hence the energy savings.

I comprimised and bought a single speed 0.5hp pump meant for IG pools as well as a typical IG sand filter. Plumbed it with 1.5 pvc and stuck a $149 intex swg before the return and could not be happier. The pump is nice and quiet and it runs 6 hours a day and the filter rarely needs cleaning. IMO...keep it simple :goodjob:
 
One of the problems with the AG packages is that they always seem to pair a large pump with a small filter. One thing to consider is to see if you can purchase them separately. That way you can get the smaller pump with the larger filter. A larger filter would allow you to go longer between cleanings which I think is a must with a cartridge filter so the bigger the better.

Also, if can always transition from 1 1/2" to 2" from the pump/filter to the rest of the plumbing but if the run lengths are short, then it probably won't matter that much.
 
Thanks for the info! I checked with the store, and they will only credit me $190 to take the filter and pump off(I'm guessing most of the profit is in this area), so this isn't an option. How much more efficient will the Hayward 2HP pump be at low speed compared to the 1HP? Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places, but it seems next to impossible to get technical info on the Hayward pumps (not to mention I'm really not sure what the SwimPro pump actually is as it seems it is branded for TGE).
 
As a rule of thumb, a two speed pump will use approximately 1/4 the power on low speed as high speed. However, a 2 HP pump will generally use about 2x the power as a 1 HP pump so you might expect a 2 HP pump on low speed to use about 1/2 the power of the 1 HP single speed pump but it depends on the service factor of each motor.

Is the combo pack one of these.
 
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