Could you help me with Pump Selection / PVC plumbing questions?

[Swordfish]

My current pump is on its way out.

It is a Hayward Super Pump model C48K2N143B1.

115/230V (I need to get out the voltmeter to see what it is running at currently)
1HP
1.5" unions

What I want to replace it with is a Hayward VS Omni model. There are 4 options :

Tristar VS 950
TriStar VS 900
Super Pump VS 700 (Not thrilled with this one - would prefer a round basket)
MaxFlow VS 500

Can anyone tell me which (if any) would work for me?

So on to my questions:
1) If the pumps have 2" unions and my current is 1.5" - is this a no go?
2) See photo of my plumbing. It looks like the connections between the valves and pump are all "connectors". Will this make it difficult to replace the pump? There is no room behind the pump, the filter is there.



I really want to do this myself.

Thanks for any feedback. You all have been most helpful through-out my pool owning career!

 

[BobN54]

I don't see any unions in your picture. The fittings at your pump are pipe thread on the pump side and slip-on on the pipe side. It looks like you have plenty of room to cut the outlet pipe (the vertical one), and install a proper union in it. The inlet is more of a problem because the plumbing was glued up without replacement in mind. You could cut the threaded fitting right at the pump. Then carefully remove the remains of the fitting from the stub of pipe between it and the T fitting. You can find Youtube videos that explain how to do that. Then, you can thread a new fitting into your new pump, and glue it to the pipe stub; presuming the new pump is physically the same height. To my eye, your pump inlet is too close to the T fitting, but obviously it works. If there is room on your pad, I'd consider rotating the pump 90 degrees counter clockwise and locating it on the other side of that 1: PVC pipe. To plumb the inlet, I'd us a 90 degree elbow, and then have at least 10" of straight pipe into the pump inlet. That gives you room to install a union fitting.

 

[Swordfish]

Thank you. This is exactly the type of information I was looking for. I will do some more research and video watching and see what I can come up with.

Much appreciated!