Variable Speed Pump / Freeze Protection Questions

[Viper16]

Looking to upgrade my pool pump and then spa pump eventually, but had got me thinking as I am almost past my first year and first time owning a pool:

FREEZE PROTECTION:
Both pumps have freeze protection and will turn on when ambient temperatures drop below 36F. Has anyone laid out a cross-over piping to allow a single pump to circulate through all the piping? I kinda hate to see what my electric bill is gonna be this winter with the freeze pumps running both pumps for +10 hours a day and sometimes 24 hours as temperatures take a few dives....a combined 3.5 HP between the two pumps (of course haven't ran a clamp meter on it to verify the actual load).

SINGLE PUMP:
The single pump handling the piping brings another question, has anyone installed a single large main pump, variable speed of course, that would handle both the spa blowers and the heater/filter piping? I have a background in hydronic pump/boilers, but would like to hear real world trial of this. If this is doable and correct way of handling something like this, then I would tie this back to one of the consumer controllers to operate the heater, pump speeds, salt cell, lighting, and the air blower.

 

[Jimrahbe]

V,

I'd say that most pool spa combos only have one pump.. So it certainly can be be done. At the same time there are plenty of pools/spas with a second pump for the spa jets. I suspect it has a lot to do with the number of jets and the amount of water they require.

Here is an example.. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/38/6d/31/386d3160de407cd3f2fefd2397501e44.gif

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Turbo1Ton]

I have a single 3HP pentair VS pump for my pool/spa, and a separate, also 3HP VS pump, for my water features. I'm curious as to how yours is plumbed, since the filter pump also goes through the heater, I would assume this most definitely would feed to the spa. Is the second pump just a booster pump to add more oomph to the spa jets?

--Jeff