Pool pump plumbing

[sansuncal]

My PB has installed a new filter pump and when I looked at Pentair manual it seemed to be done wrong!! Spa drain is under diverter valve.
I am worried about that big loop right before pump suction inlet.
Can you experts chime in and suggest few alternatives so pump is not working hard and fail early?

Thank you

 

[Jimrahbe]

S,

The whole point of having a VS pump, is so that you can run it as slow as you can and still get the job done.

Unless you plan to run the pump at full speed, for long periods of time, the 'loop' before the pump will not make any difference..

I know the manual suggests a long straight pipe before the pump, but in the big picture, it makes no real difference. I suspect that at least half of the installed pumps in the world, do not have the suggested input pipe length...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[sansuncal]

GM Jim,

Thank you for your help and reassuring advise! I got this beast pump and planning to run at 50% -70% range .. to reduce noise and still have enough flow.

 

[Jimrahbe]

S,

Is that the WhisperFlo XF VS???

It is hard to see in the pics, but I am not sure how else the installer could do it, with everything coming up through a concrete equipment pad.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[sansuncal]

Yes its WhisperFlo XF VS . Now only challenge is to add this to Easytouch as VS as now I have 3 VS pumps ie this one as filter pump and 2 intelliflo VS pumps for water features. Thinking about adding a com board for the third pump https://www.pentair.com/content/dam...xpansion_Board_Installation_Guide_English.pdf

 

[Jimrahbe]

s,

The EasyTouch only has one com port.. Adding a com board is not going to do anything to help that problem. You can only control two VS pumps using the RS-485 com port.

I suggest that you just program one of the water feature pumps to run run 24/7, using the pump's control panel, and then use an Aux relay to turn the AC power on or off as needed.

Or upgrade to the new IntelliCenter..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[sansuncal]

Yeah thats the route I might take. However this manual says you can add this card and add more pumps etc via 485 cable.
Also, I noticed that my PB has hooked up 5 HP pump that draws 20-21 A to a 20 A breaker. Is it going to trip the breaker often? I haven't run this pump yet as pool is getting cleaned and will be filled up in 2 weeks.

 

[Jimrahbe]

s,

The card gives you more places to connect 'stuff' but you still only have one com port bus. The programming inside the EasyTouch will only allow two IntelliFlo pumps on the com port bus..

I 'doubt' that your pump will pop the breaker.. Even through it is a 5 HP pump, you should almost never be running it at full speed.

But... The size of the breaker is determined by the size of the wires and not the load. To be on the safe side, I'd want the pool builder to connect the pump with wires rated for 30 amps and a 30 amp breaker..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[JamesW]

That is a big pump.

How much flow do you need?

The breaker should be a 30 amp breaker.

Below is an estimate of the flow at different speeds.

What is the filter pressure at different speeds?

https://www.pentair.com/content/dam/extranet/nam/pentair-pool/commercial/pumps/whisperfloxf-vs/whisperfloxf-vs-pump-brochure.pdf

https://www.pentair.com/content/dam/extranet/nam/pentair-pool/commercial/pumps/whisperfloxf-vs/manuals/whisperfloxf-maxeprofxf-vs-pumps-manual-english.pdf

WhisperFloXF® VS 5HP Variable Speed Pump

The WhisperFloXF VS 5HP Commercial Pump is the first five-horsepower variable-speed pool pump that runs on single-phase or three-phase power.

www.pentair.com

 

[JamesW]

 

[sansuncal]

View attachment 537852

Thank you so much! I have 2 water features, 1 spa spill over and 21k gallons pool and old 3 HP intelliflo with 130 gpm was not enough for all to flow properly and it was too noisy at top rpm. So I hope it will be more efficient and less noisy pump.