Can a pump return water up hill?
- Thread starter TomAtlanta
- Start date
There are many variables to the equation. What size pipe? How long is the run? What is the elevation gain?
In general it should be no problem. Many people run solar panels on roofs with 20 foot vertical gains with 1 HP pumps. All situations will vary. Can you give more specifics about your situation? I'm sure somebody more knowledgable than myself will be along to help.
In general it should be no problem. Many people run solar panels on roofs with 20 foot vertical gains with 1 HP pumps. All situations will vary. Can you give more specifics about your situation? I'm sure somebody more knowledgable than myself will be along to help.
Depends on many things. Best to understand fully what is involved here. Short answer to you question is yes. However, it really isn't a matter of a bigger pump or one simple answer. I would be looking at particular issues such as what the pressure of the filter is running at as well as the pump sizing etc. I would assume then that the filter and the pump is below water level then? What about the heater (pressure rating of the heater, flow switches etc), infloor cleaning system. Yours doesn't seem like an extreme situation though and if its only a matter of a couple of meters - no problems.
Actually, the answer is pretty much an unqualified "Yes".
In a closed loop circulation that exists in a pool, return height is not much of an issue. The water weight coming back down the suction side negates MOST of the effort required to push it back up.
Pumps love to "push" but they don't like to "pull". If your pump was uphill from the pool, you would have much more limitation.
In a closed loop circulation that exists in a pool, return height is not much of an issue. The water weight coming back down the suction side negates MOST of the effort required to push it back up.
Pumps love to "push" but they don't like to "pull". If your pump was uphill from the pool, you would have much more limitation.
2 inch pvc pipe. About 50 feet from pump to pool. Edge of pool is about 3-4 feet higher than bottom of pump. Pipe coming out of the top of the big round sand filter is about level with top edge of pool.
Most people here have said I am crazy, but we just got this foreclosed house with pool and don't have a lot of money. I have determined that my pool leak is in two different returns. Rather than dig up the yard or concrete around pool or cut through side of pool, for at least the first year while we decide if we even want the pool, I plan to plug the old returns and run PVC across the yard and over the side of the pool. This will involve going up hill. Right now the higher return is about 3 feet below the edge of the pool and the lower return 5 feet below.
Yes, it should be fine. Why a 3hp pump? That monster is going to waste a lot of electricity. I doubt your filter is rated for that much flow.
Each pump has a head curve that indicates how high it can pump water uphill (See example below).
For example, pump E can pump up to a little over 70 feet uphill. The curve shows the water flow at the various head pressures. However, the flow of water also creates resistance to water flow and is expressed in terms of head pressure. Therefore, the combined resistance of the water flowing through the pipe and the height that the pump has to pump up to determines the water flow based on the pump curve.
Since the water coming and going ends up at the same height, the height is left out and the total resistance is due to the water flow through the pipe.
For example, pump E can pump up to a little over 70 feet uphill. The curve shows the water flow at the various head pressures. However, the flow of water also creates resistance to water flow and is expressed in terms of head pressure. Therefore, the combined resistance of the water flowing through the pipe and the height that the pump has to pump up to determines the water flow based on the pump curve.
Since the water coming and going ends up at the same height, the height is left out and the total resistance is due to the water flow through the pipe.
OK, that seems obvious now that you say it, but for some reason it didn't occur to me. Now I see why everyone asked me the size of the pipe.
TomAtlanta said:
Hehe been there done that. When I got my solar install finished I ran out of steam and daylight so I just ran a 10 foot pipe from the solar return straight into the pool so I could get it going.
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