Pump strength/power

[Jackie G]

Hello all

At the moment we have an Intex AG pool which is 18" x 9".

The pump we have is a sand filter pump, with a capacity flow of 1050 gallons per hour.

I was wondering if it would be help to keep the pool cleaner if we were to get a more powerful pump. I'm sure I recall reading somewhere that this may not be necessary, or may have an adverse effect but can't remember the specifics so thought I would ask again.

If we were to use a vacuum reliant on the pump I'm sure this would help tons, although at moment we are considering a robot as hubbie fed up of brushing

Any thoughts?

 

[jblizzle]

Usually the suggestion to upgrade the Intex equipment is to based on the fact that the little cartridge filters do not work well, so going to a sand filter is a great upgrade. That usually results in a pump upgrade as well.

"heavy" dirt is still going to sink to the bottom and require you to have a cleaner or to vacuum it out.

Adding a skimmer can help to capture debris before it sinks.

 

[Jackie G]

Thank you Jason. I didn't say - we already have a sand filter.

We do have a skimmer, but it always works for a short time and then seems to stop, or be very ineffective and we are not sure why this happens. I thought maybe that was because our pump wasn't powerful enough.

 

[jblizzle]

Could be the pump is too weak or that your filter is getting dirty and restricting the flow.
How does the water look?
How are you testing your water and maintaining your chlorine?

 

[Jackie G]

Yes I was thinking maybe the pump was too weak hence my question

At the moment we are SLAMing because it went a little green

Testing daily (apart from when SLAM) using the Taylor Test kit. It's usually pretty clear, so I reckon it must be the power of the pump

 

[jblizzle]

If your water went green, then your filter is clogging up with algae. That is normal. The lower powered pump is just making the flow restriction more noticeable.