Using a single pump instead of two

[bsjeep]

I have a similar question, have been on the fence between 2 pump and 1 pump solution for spa jets and pool/spa heating/circulation.

I initially had 1 pump, but wanted a few more jets, then went to 2 pumps, one being dedicated to the spa jets. Now I talked to a plumber who suggested the intellifloXF and using a diverter valve to put say 80% of the water to the spa jets and 20% through the filter/heater to maintain spa temp.

The next plumber I talked to thought that idea was ridiculous and I would not be happy with it and should go back to a dedicated 2 pump solution.

Is the single pump with diverter value going to annoy me if it's on a JVA? (automated) or will I regret not doing a 2 pump?

 

[mas985]

Re: Replacing two pumps with one?

It depends. What are the flow requirements for the jets and how many do you have? The downside of a single pump for spa is that you will be sending a very high volume of water through your filter and heater so they need to be able to handle that plus that will create extra head loss that a dual pump system doesn't experience so the single pump needs to be larger than a jet only pump.

 

[bsjeep]

Re: Replacing two pumps with one?

I should clarify a bit.

The GPM requirement for the jets might be around 110GPM. (based on 9-10 waterway jets)

The single pump design was to NOT put all the water through the filter, but bypass the filter/heater altogether. Ordinarily this would be water going in to pump and straight back to jets. This doesn't heat the spa so I didn't like this design. That's when it was suggested to PARTIALLY bypass the filter so that 100GPM was going to spa jets and the remaining GPM was going through the filter/heater/spa return.

The maximum flow rate for heater and filter is about 120GPM, so theoretically I can run my ~100GPM spa jets. But I think the total head loss of the equipment, valves, lines, returns, and jets will drag down my max GPM below 100 for a single VSP 3HP pentair intelliflo XP pump.

That's the delima I'm stuck on.

I'm thinking that if I have dedicated double spa loops (4 jets and 6 jets) that I can role the dice on a single pump, and if the GPM isn't cutting it, then upgrade to a booster pump on the 2nd loop of jets.