Is my pump too small?

[mtgraces]

Builder just finished our pool 10 days ago. I'm disappointed in the amount of flow we are getting from our spa into the pool. We have 4 returns in the pool and one in the spa. We have a Hayward C-1750 cartridge filter and a Hayward heat pump. The pump is a Hayward Max Flo VS 1.5 hp. At the max 3,000 rpm I get enough flow to circulate the water in the pool, but the spillover of the spa is very minimal. It is basically a trickle. My filter is clean and I am not running any of the other water features. Any advice? Do I need a bigger pump? I am contemplating replacing the Max Flo to the Ecostar 3400 VSP. I want to be able to run my 24" waterfall, sundeck fountain and have flow over the spa all at the same time. Is this possible?

Thanks.

 

[mas985]

A MaxFlo is a low head pump and is very efficient but it is not well suited for spa jets. Have you tried the jets yet? How many jets do you have?

The EcoStar is a better choice for a dual application pool/spa setup.

 

[mtgraces]

Thanks for the information.

We have 4 jets in the spa. In spa mode, there seems to be a decent amount of flow, but the pool builder did not put eyeballs in the jets yet. Basically I have about 1 1/4" openings on the spa jets since there are no eyeballs installed yet. What do you recommend for the orifice size for the spa eyeball jets (3/8, 1/2, 3/4")? The spa has 4 jets, its circular and is about 6' in diameter. The spa return has an eyeball installed and it is 3/4".

 

[mas985]

So is it the single eyeball that is feeding the spillover mode? If so, you might try changing that to 1" and see if that helps the spillover. What size pipe did the builder use for that?

BTW, what is the filter pressure in spillover mode & spa mode?

As for jet nozzle size (not eyeballs), there are a couple of considerations. What pipe size did the builder use and what is the distance from the pump to the spa?

 

[Billrector]

Have you tried adjusting your valves? Run more flow into the spa and less into the pool. This will increase the flow from your spa into your pool.

 

[mtgraces]

The PB is replacing the pump with the larger Ecostar (for a premium). He says the Max Flo is not large enough for our pool setup. Thanks for the responses.