New home/pool owner, have questions about equipment replacement

[ChiMax]

Hello everyone. We're new home/pool owners in the Chicago area. The pool and liner appear to be in good condition, water had been drained to just below the skimmers, and the pool was covered by the previous owner. The pumps, filters, and some plumbing are not in good shape. Water was left in them over the winter. The filters split open, and one of the pumps is cracked. One side of the pool has roughly 30' total of PVC between the equipment and the pool, and that's mostly destroyed. The other side of the pool has flexible hose going to the equipment, which appears to be ok. We're not sure about the heater and we're having someone come out for an inspection.

The pool is a Doughboy 21x41 ~25,000 gal, and has a pump/filter combo at each end. I'm assuming a single pump/filter wasn't installed for a reason? Ideally we'd have a single setup for the whole pool at the far end under the deck, but we're also fine with just replacing the equipment and leaving it all in it's current location.

The current pumps are Doughboy Power Pak I. The current filters are Doughboy Sequel I Plus.

We'd like to add a SWG if it's feasible.

What pump/filter combos do you all recommend? Just looking for a general idea. I'd like to do most of the replacement myself, I'm a tradesman so I can get around with my hands. I've attached some pics to give an idea of what I'm working with here. Thanks for any advice!

 

[kimkats]

Lets get this party started!!! LOVE your set up! It will be easy to get it how you want it. Here goes:

-filter-I LOVE my sand filter. It is so easy to clean. Here is a link about the different filters: Pool School - Pool Filter Comparison The main thing I want you to think about is getting as big a filter as your wallet can handle. The bigger the filter the less you have to clean it!

-pump-get a 2 speed pump. It will save you on your power bill. You will run it on low most of the time.

-SWG- get at least 2x the size of your pool in gals. This will also save you $$ on your power bill-bigger cell=less run time needed to produce the FC needed.

You can put the equipment where ever you want it. I would hard plump it with unions and good valves to make it easier to drain and move so this does not happen again.

I am also going to give you a link to help you really start learning how to care for your pool: TFPC for Beginners

The BEST thing you can buy for your pool is your own test kit! MUCH better than the pool $tore that wants to make your wallet lighter

Kim

 

[ChiMax]

Thanks for the reply! Great info. I'm just debating which pump to get. Currently have the two 20 year old 1hp pumps. Wondering if I can knock it down to one 1.5hp 2 speed/variable speed pump, with a big filter, or if I'm better off using two 1hp pumps again. I may just have a local pool guy come and do the work, I just want to get the equipment myself.

 

[kimkats]

I would knock it down to one pump for sure. Now even sure how or why he would have 2 pumps. That is a very simple set up and does not call for two pumps at all.

No matter who does the work please make sure there are unions on everything so you can open things when you need to. You will also want valves so you can shut them when you want to work on or clean the equipment. My pool's directions said to lower the water below the return to work on the equipment Nope! Put in valves and all I have to do is shut them.

Kim

 

[CJadamec]

One pump is plenty for your pool but you will want to use both return fittings to encourage the water to circulate around your pool to improve skimming. 21x41 is a big pool and its a lot of water for one return jet to get moving around the pool. Does the pool have two skimmers as well?

A 1hp 2-speed pump should be all you need.

If you want a VS pump so you can tune the pump speed for a SWG and or a heater, then the Superflo VS or similarly sized VS pump would be a good choice.

 

[ChiMax]

I would knock it down to one pump for sure. Now even sure how or why he would have 2 pumps. That is a very simple set up and does not call for two pumps at all.

No matter who does the work please make sure there are unions on everything so you can open things when you need to. You will also want valves so you can shut them when you want to work on or clean the equipment. My pool's directions said to lower the water below the return to work on the equipment Nope! Put in valves and all I have to do is shut them.

Kim

Definitely having it done properly. The current setup has zero valves lol. Definitely looking forward to making pool life easier, when we moved in and I started learning about pools, I was definitely way off the deep end [emoji16]

One pump is plenty for your pool but you will want to use both return fittings to encourage the water to circulate around your pool to improve skimming. 21x41 is a big pool and its a lot of water for one return jet to get moving around the pool. Does the pool have two skimmers as well?

A 1hp 2-speed pump should be all you need.

If you want a VS pump so you can tune the pump speed for a SWG and or a heater, then the Superflo VS or similarly sized VS pump would be a good choice.

Yes the pool has two skimmers and two return jets. You think a 1hp is enough? I've run calculators on a bunch of pool sites and most numbers end up around 1.5hp if I want the pool to turn over in 8 hours.

 

[CJadamec]

Turn over is a meaningless number made up by marketing to sell you bigger pumps.

A 1hp 2-speed pump will be plenty. Don't buy a filter/ pump combo kit get them separately and you will get a nicer more energy efficient pump.

 

[geko29]

I'm also in the Chicago area, and also have a Doughboy oval, though mine is a little less than half your size at 16x28'. When we bought the house, it had a Sequel II filter, which kept needing expensive repairs, mostly due to its age. Eventually we got tired of fixing it, and went with a cartridge filter system that we've been very happy with. If I had it to do over, I would have waited the couple extra days for the two-speed pump to come in (it was out of stock), but I was really anxious to get the pool swimmable again.