I just moved into a house with a fairly large pool. It has a Hayward Maxflo VS2303 pump. According to my FloVis, the pump moves about 30 GPM at 1800 rpm and 60 GPM at 3200 RPM. That seems a little on the low side to me, but not bad. The filter pressure is between 4 & 8 PSI, depending on pump speed. The problem is that the skimmers (I have two) don't seem to pick up as much debris as I would like them to. There are a lot of trees near the pool, and it's pretty early spring in Chicago, so they're going crazy right now. Maybe I'm expecting too much, but I'm having to skim a lot with my net every day. The skimmers are collecting some debris, but not enough. I know I have to replace the ball valve for the bottom drain - it isn't sealing well enough to turn off to bottom drain. As a temporary measure, I have a towel covering the bottom drain and that helps the skimmer to some extent. I'm planning on replacing the valve as soon as I can make time, but I'm on a May 31 deadline for my energy provider's rebate program, so if I'm going to replace the pump, I need to do it soon. The pump only runs the filter and heater for the pool and spa. There are two additional pumps for spa jets. I'm thinking of installing an Ecostar to move more water. Any opinions? Thanks!
Is my VS Pump too small?
- Thread starter Jnet
- Start date
How's the circulation in the pool? Maybe the debris isn't always making it to the skimmers? Are the skimmers downwind to the prevailing winds? I would think 3200RPM would give good skimmer action.
Is there also a main drain? If yes, try closing that off a bit (or even completely) to see if it helps.
A good way to check water circulation is to throw a couple of ping pong balls into the middle of the pool and watch the paths they take. In my pool it doesn't take long for them to end up in the skimmer.
Is there also a main drain? If yes, try closing that off a bit (or even completely) to see if it helps.
A good way to check water circulation is to throw a couple of ping pong balls into the middle of the pool and watch the paths they take. In my pool it doesn't take long for them to end up in the skimmer.
CJadamec
TFP Expert
You may need to re-aim your return jets to direct the surface circulation to your skimmers better. You could also try closing one skimmer off to see if that would improve the situation.
All good points. Most often I return the water into the spa and let it flow across the pool to the skimmer on the far side. I'll try adjusting the return to 50/50 pool and spa and work with the returns. There are no weir doors on the skimmers. From the pool side, there's tile inside the entrance to the skimmer. I didn't think there was a way to have a door. Upon closer inspection from inside the skimmer, though, I'm seeing what might be a hinge. (Or the remains of a hinge...) when I get more time and daylight I'll try to look in there with a mirror, or maybe stick my phone in there to try to get a picture. Thanks, everyone.