Hi Everyone, I'm new to TFP and to pool ownership. We purchased a home with an 30k gallon IG gunite pool 2 years ago (this is our third summer). Here is a quick run down of the first issue I want to tackle with this pool:
Year 1
Year 1
- We swapped out the old pump for a VS-SVRS pump and had no issues.
- Tile had to be repaired after the winter (live in CT). Job was messy, I spent most of the summer vacuuming up cement and chipped tile from the pool (was careful and used the vacuum attachment to catch the large pieces to prevent them from going into the filter.
- Began having a flow issue with the VS-SVRS pump, resulting in the Filter being turned off constantly because of the SVRS feature. Wasn't very educated on the SVRS function other than being told if you have kids it's safer. Our drain is on the deep end of the pool so the safety feature of this is a mute point for our particular pool. I battled with the Pump ALL SUMMER and because it would not run consistently, the pool was terrible to maintain ALL SUMMER. I spent more time working on the pool than swimming in it, complete nightmare.
- Changed to a Variable Speed Flow pump and got rid of the SVRS pump.
- Converted to a salt pool by adding the Pentair EasyTouch system with the IntelliChlor IC40 Salt Cell, added the ScreenLogic 2 to control the system by phone
- Changed to a Pentair DE60 filter (replaced an old cartridge filter)
- Added a Raypak Electric Heat Pump
- We had the above equipment installed by a local pool professional who wasn't familiar with automation or ScreenLogic, however after 2 weeks that's under control as of today - pool is still very Green but today was also the first day the IntelliChlor read a proper salt level and activated. The past two days our pool guy put shock tabs in our skimmer basket. I'll figure out chemistry eventually but the main problem I need help with is the following:
- The new IntelliChlor was initially displaying a low flow error and the pump appeared to have difficulty with priming. That eventually went away, however when running the pump we're now receiving a "Max Pressure Limit" warning and the pump seems to be using a lot more Power Usage (Watts) and RPM to achieve the flow we are setting it at (currently 40 GPM). For example, right now the pump is set to 40GPM and reads 996 Watts, 2935 RPM, and 21 GPM....so it's working really hard to not even achieve the 40GPM it's set to.
- Given the flow issues we had last year and the tile repair job, I was wondering if there could be a blockage in our skimmer lines, however our pool guy brought over his air compressor and blew out the lines with no blockage detected. Interestingly, he ran the system on recirculate (multi-port valve), bypassing the brand new DE60 Filter and the pump ran MUCH quieter, achieved the desired GPM, and RPM and Watt usage significantly decreased. He then opened the Filter, completely cleaned hosed off the inside, added DE again. It worked for a short time and then the same issues happened (decreased flow on salt cell so I ramp up the GPM on the pump, flow is achieved by the RPMS and power usage is through the roof with a "Max Pressure" error). I understand some resistance will occur when water passes through the filter compared to recirculating and bypassing but the difference seems significant.
- As a comparison for readings:
- During Backwash Earlier:Set to 51 GPM, Reading Flow: 51 GPM, Power Usage 464, RPM 1872
- I only ramped up the GPM to 51 during backwash just to see what readings I'd get.
- After Backwash Before DE: Set to 40 GPM, Reading Flow 39 GPM, Power Usage 966, RPM 2651
- Current: Set to 40 GPM, Reading Flow: 21 GPM, Power Usage 996, RPM 2935, Max Pressure Warning
- During Backwash Earlier:Set to 51 GPM, Reading Flow: 51 GPM, Power Usage 464, RPM 1872
- I have no idea if the issue from last summer relates to this summer but without good flow, it's going to take forever to circulate the water and it's going to cost a lot of energy and strain on the pump to achieve a poor flow rate. There appears to be no blockage in the skimmer lines since the recirculate valve achieves great flow at an efficient rate. When the water runs through the NEW DE filter, that's where the issues seem to occur. A main goal is efficiency (which is why we have a variable speed/flow pump). I also want to make sure we're not at risk of burning out the pump running it right now at almost 3,000 RPMs.
- IF ANYONE HAS ANY IDEAS OF WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP THIS FLOW/POWER ISSUE IT WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED! We are at a total loss and we already lost the month of May to use the pool. We bought all new equipment hoping we could have a problem free experience this summer and we're already off to a terrible start. Resolving the flow issue would be a miracle at this point.
- And I've been on top of emptying the skimmer baskets, the basket on the pump, backwashing, etc.
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