spa pump replacement

(I hope spa questions are okay in this forum. It's just a small pool, right?)
My spa pack died a year or so back and I finally replaced it. When I evicted the frogs and hooked everything back up, the pump motor ran okay, but was making way more noise than before. I suspect bearings were going.

I just ordered a replacement Gecko Aquaflo XP2 that matches the original specs.
I do have to adapt down from the 2" ports on the pump to the 1.5" pipes of my system. So far, I haven't heard any reasons why this won't be a problem. (increased resistance?)
I was talking to a friend who has a full size pool. His only has a 1.5 hp pump. I am wondering why my tiny spa needs a bigger pump than a pool? I considered downsizing to a 1.5hp one but found a good price on a 2hhp so went ahead with that.

Physical size is not an issue because the pump sits on an open platform.

I replaced my tiny built in filter with an external 50 sf one(Hayward C500) several years ago on the advice of an old timer pool repairman who gave me the old filter. This should increase filtering capacity as well as decreasing resistance to water flow.

This is all moot now that I've ordered the pump, but would still like some confirmation on my plans. I'm a total amateur when it comes to spa equipment and design.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sharpstick

I was talking to a friend who has a full size pool. His only has a 1.5 hp pump. I am wondering why my tiny spa needs a bigger pump than a pool? I considered downsizing to a 1.5hp one but found a good price on a 2hhp so went ahead with that.

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Spas jets require high flow rates and high pressure. Pools don't. In fact, a pool can usually get away with the smallest available pumps on the market. I use a 1/2 HP pump on my pool but my spa has a full rated 1 HP dedicated jet pump that does not go through the pad equipment which will lower flow rates.

But you just can't compare HP on pumps either. The label HP has only a loose relationship to power. You really need to compare pump head curves when choosing a replacement pump for a spa so I really hope you did that. Otherwise, you could end up with a pump that is either overpowered for the spa or under-powered.

What was the model # of your previous pump?

There are some barely legible numbers on the impeller end plate, "311-1110" and "E126519" (Pretty sure that's what they are.) No other info known. I think it was purchased about 8 or 10 years ago. I'll search my records and see if I can find anything else.