Upgrading AGP to SWG, new pump and PVC lines - ???

[vdubin71]

Hi TFP. I had a great first season of pool ownership last year thanks to all of the people on this site. Looking forward to opening the pool this year, I plan for the "ultimate" system upgrade to a SWG and along with that, a more efficient 2 speed pump and switching from the accordion tubes to PVC lines. I have done a bunch of research and used the SWGCalculator and PoolPumpTools excel sheets to hone in on what I need. I am looking for your guidance/feedback on my plans as I need some help on the final decisions. My current equipment is in my signature and these are my options/plans/questions for the upgrades:

PVC plumbing lines: Planned for 1.5" but should I go to 2" lines and why? My equipment pad is about 6' away from the pool. From my reading I am unable to get a good reason to go with 2" over 1.5"

Pump: Pentair OptiFlo 1HP, 2 speed P#346991. My current 1 speed pump is only one season old but this seems like a good option for 1. to run on low speed for a longer duration (compared to my single speed pump) matched to a 50% (or lower) output setting on the SWG 2. similar form factor to my existing pump 3. save money on electric. Are my assumptions correct? Any better pump option?

SWG: Either the Circupool RJ-30 Plus or the CORE-35. Both have similar pricing and daily CL outputs, 1.5 and 1.4 respectively. The RJ has more output adjustability in 12 increments compared to the CORE with only 4 increments. That is what has me leaning more towards the RJ. Which one is better for my setup and why?

What are your thoughts? Am I crazy? Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much

 

[Newdude]

Hey Dubs and Welcome back !! It sure didn’t take long to have you want to come over to the Dark side.

Either of the SWGs will be fine and ultimately depend how much runtime control you want. You can easily decrease the pump time as a workaround the SWG % that you can’t adjust more on the one unit.

With such a short pipe run I can’t imagine any benefit to go with a larger pipe other than what the pump and SWG are already plumbed for. It will be easiest not to have to use adapters, but still stupid easy if you do need to reduce them. The flow part shouldn’t matter.

A pump guru will be along shortly. Hang tight.

 

[vdubin71]

Hey Newdude! Thanks for the guidance and encouragement. I can't wait to join the Dark side! ...I will be there soon...

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Go ahead and order the Taylor 1766 salt test kit to test your current existing salt level, so that you don't accidentally over add salt. Your pool *does* already contain some salt as a byproduct of previous chems added.
www.tftestkits.net K-1766 Taylor Salt Test

Maddie

 

[kellyfair]

Are you sticking with your DE filter? (Just being nosy!)

 

[vdubin71]

Thanks for the tip Maddie! I will order the kit as soon as I place the order for the SWG...I didn't pull the trigger on that yet.

Hi Kelly, yes I am keeping the DE Filter.

I have been having a problem finding a 1HP 2 speed pump like the Pentair Opti-Flo (though I find lots of them from brands that don't have much use by the members here). With that, I decided to convert my current pump using a new 1HP 2 speed motor. Just received all of the parts and will have at it over this week.

Now for the Circupool RJ-30+...I already waited too long as the price jumped by a couple of hundred bucks...time to move quick or deal with hauling jugs for another year...

 

[Baumeister]

Last year on our 12x24 Intex(8600 gallons) I tried a 3/4hp Pentair Dynamo 2 speed motor along with an EC40 filter and the larger Intex SWG I had from the year before. I used a combo of 1.5" hard and flexible PVC, except for the SWG connections. The pump's electrical draw on low speed was 150 watts so I just left it run 24/7, thinking I would bump it up a few hours every other day or so but that proved to be unnecessary, just left it on low all season. I tried borax at 50ppm for the first time also. My pH stability was incredible, my least consumption of acid yet.

 

[vdubin71]

Last year on our 12x24 Intex(8600 gallons) I tried a 3/4hp Pentair Dynamo 2 speed motor along with an EC40 filter and the larger Intex SWG I had from the year before. I used a combo of 1.5" hard and flexible PVC, except for the SWG connections. The pump's electrical draw on low speed was 150 watts so I just left it run 24/7, thinking I would bump it up a few hours every other day or so but that proved to be unnecessary, just left it on low all season. I tried borax at 50ppm for the first time also. My pH stability was incredible, my least consumption of acid yet.

Thanks for the input and motivation!