newbie with equipment selection help

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umahunter

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May 9, 2012
13
yuma AZ
hi a friend recommended this site for great help so here i am. i am trying to get my parents pool back going its a 15000 gal 8ft deep kidney shape money is tight and trying to get best bang for the buck. for years they had a 24 inch sand filter and 1hp pump then switched to a paper style that was way to small and now want to go back to sand. what im trying to decide is i can get 24 inch top valve and 1hp system for around 600 on ebay but im wondering if it would be better to move up to a 27-30 inch filter and 1.5 hp pump for around 1000-1200 wont go back to paper and have no idea what size to look for in DE. sand was fine for years and inexpensive to maintain was also suggested to use zeosand instead of silica for better performance any and all opinions welcome thanks for your time :goodjob:
 
While we usually recommend as large a filter as you can afford, that 24" filter and 1 hp pump is plenty big for a 15,000 gal pool. I'd stick with regular filter sand. Zeo has a reputation of working well or not working at all. You don't know until you try it and it's an expensive experiment if it doesn't work. Sand always works.

So, I recommend you go with the 24" filter and 1 hp pump. The only thing that would be very nice is if you could get a 2-speed pump.

P.S. Welcome to TFP!
 
Sand is certainly a good traditional relatively low cost option and if you don't mind lack of support you can get some good prices on ebay, particularly in the off season, but I would not wait much longer to make a purchase. The only real negative with a sand filter is the amount of water lost backwashing, this can be a real issue if you live where water is expensive or there are useage restrictions, this is one big reason people in those areas have moved to cartridge filters. DE fitlers can be good, but do require an added level of care and attention, if you can't devote the time to chek them daily and care for them when needed I would not suggest going the DE route.

Ike
 
and what would be the advantage of a 2 speed pump they have a pentair superflow 2peed 1.5hp for 520 on ebay and a and a triton 2 tr60 for 519 would this be a good combo for this pool or would a tagleus be fine is the difference just top or side mount ???
 
A 2-speed saves you a good deal of money in electric costs over a single speed. Because you can run it most of the time and only use high for vacuuming and backwashing. Either of those filters will be fine. Just go with the less expensive one.
 
We generaly tell people not to use those around here, use of dry chlorine products in particular tri-chlor or di-chlor based pellets, sticks, or pucks tend to result in excessive levels of CYA in a short amount of time, causing all sorts of problems. Instead we suggest either using bleach/liquid Chlorine or a salt water generator system to chlorinate pools. You may want to go read pool school (link in the upper right of every page here) for a better understanding of the issues.

Ike
 
The SuperFlo is a slightly bigger pump than the SuperPump for the same hp size.

With the SuperFlo at 40' of head you're going to get about 65 GPM. With the SuperPump at 40' of head your going to get about 54 GPM. I'd personally go with the SuperFlo, but either are good pumps.
 

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Pool Pump/Filter Selection Criteria

Good morning!

I did a search on "pool pumps" within the forums and found this thread. Was wondering if there are any general thoughts/opinions on criteria for selecting a pump. Currently I have a sand pump for an estimated 13,500 gal round above ground pool. I'm also going to start my Baquacil-to-Chlorine conversion process tomorrow, using the excellent information provided here. I'm wondering if there is any GOOD REASON for me to switch from my SAND filter to another kind of filter.

One of the reason's I'm considering the switch is that each season, I have to lug my 100lb sand filter from the pool, into my basement. For the last 12 years, this has been a pleasure :shock: and contributed to my fitness goals, at least on a bi-annual basis :lol: . Now that I have matured and my ... eh ... physical well being ... has seasoned to some degree, I'm wondering if I should start planning LONG term and consider convenience factors. While I have sons that can assist in my Strong Man activities, I'm look to gain some independence in this aspect of the process.

Any general considerations and/or recommendations I can bring with me to the Pool Store while I hope to make a decision this evening? Any info/advice appreciated ... thank you!

FYI: I did find this link, but would like to get input from TFP of course! :wink:
(I think this just addresses the "pump" but what about the filter system?)

PS. In the last two years, my pump has been making a SHRIEKING noise. it's so loud, its hard to speak to someone on a cell phone when you near the pump ... or I guess the filter?

http://www.poolplaza.com/pool-pump-sizing-2.shtml
 
All I can say is I have loved the results since switching to my Hayward Perflex style DE filter a few years ago, it is light when not full of water, and I have had no problems with it, but have also paid close attention to it to avoid letting pressure rise too much, and use a scale when recoating to make sure it get the right amount of DE. There are lots of reports of people having problems with this series online, which I attribute mostly to user abuse as they are a lot more delicate than a sand filter. It is certainly possible to kill one though, as the roofers redoing my roof proved last week when they took it on themselves to "clean" the filter out after it became clogged with stuff they dropped in the pool (they were supposed to cover the pool before starting work)

Ike
 
Thanks IKE. Is the DE the high end (cost wise) of the filter spectrum? I believe the sand is the lowest cost.

Is there a mid range option?

I think I'm ready to give TLC to my pool, so I think I can adapt to the DE requirements ....
 
Yes, that makes great sense and for I think for like $200-$300 more than getting a brand new sand system (the price I would have spent on some Baquacil chemicals :rant: ), I can make the move towards cartridge.

I did a pre-visit call to the store I will be going to tonight. The salesman suggested that during the winter, there was no need to bring the sand filter indoors, but to definitely bring the pump inside. I was always concerned that exposing even the sand filter to freezing conditions could cause damage / cracking / etc. If what he is saying has merit, and under his recommendation, I might just get a new pump.
I'm hoping to reach a conclusion before end of day today, cuz I want to get my pool up and running by Memorial Day :party: ... sparkly clear for the first time in 12 years .... :-D .

Any suggestions on how to remove the tubing from the filter and pump? Even though I have loosened the hose clamps in the past, they appeared to be like "glued" on. Also, last year one of them got a hairline leak, so I had to do a quick repair using a piece of rubber and hose clamp (like you do with old copper pipes) ... I'm thinking I'll get a new pump AND new hoses. But I'm worried my inexperience in this will result in lack of patience and I might ... I don't know ... damage the tubes, threading, or whatever is inside the thing-a-ma-jig.

Or just get a brand new unit with modern pump and new sandfilter already pre-connected.

Sorry, I'm kind of thinking out loud here ... just going through some briefly indecisive moments while I can.

But I will be conclusively committing to a decision tonight ... any other suggestions greatly appreciated ... :goodjob:
 
Bama Rambler said:
I'd buy a cartridge filter and a new pump and hard pipe everything with lots of unions. That way you can take it all apart when you winterize.
Click to expand...
Well, I can roll with that, except I'm not sure what "hard pipe everything with lots of unions" means. Can I do this tonight? Any pics / info I can review? :shock:

I'm game if I can get some specs, pics ... perhaps my friendly neighborhood salesman tonight can help me firm up the requirements for this?

I will definitely inquire with him on that ... .thanks. Any other info that might be helpful to bring in with me would be appreciated, I'll keep checking the boards here.

Thanks again .... :cheers:
 
Use unions before the pump, between the pump and filter and after the filter. If you have any other equipment (i.e. Heater, swcg, etc.) you want to use unions between them as well. That just makes it easy to take t apart to move it when winterizing.
 
Is this what you mean by "union", ie., some removable connector pieces?

And when you say "hard" pipe, you mean as opposed to flexible tubing?

ed63bf68.jpg
 

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