Filter too small & Pump too big??

[mas985]

Based upon your description, I estimate that you should have about 82 GPM @ 49' of head. However, because you only have one suction line and it is only 2", the suction is likely to be quite high which could draw in some air into the pump basket. Do you see any air in the pump basket?

If you are trying to equalize the flow between returns, one way to do that is to downsize the eyeball diameter in the closest return, assuming that is even possible for your returns.

[Hey_Dad]

Madwil - "when you say pump is hot, do you mean the pump housing, or the motor?" Answer: The metal part so the motor is what seems to be getting hot.

Carl - I can not bypass the filter without replumbing it. As for the WAG, since I can't easily bypass the filter I was thinking about increasing the size of the filter to handle the load, I was thinking something that would handle at least 75GPM since that is what is stamped on the skimmer,.... I did take the filter apart and did the acid wash etc this spring. Everything looked ok. It's in service now and working just fine as far as I can tell. The pressure in the tank when it's totally clean, NO DE, is 13 LBS pressure. After adding the DE it goes to about 15ish.... I don't let the pressure get above 22. So maybe there is a flow restrictor in the input of the filter. The manual says one is supplied but since I didn't plumb the filter I don't know whats in there.... Bottom line, I think the pressure in the filter is low enough that it's not going to blow up or anything. (If I'm wrong yell at me.... ) However, the more I read, the more I believe the filter size needs to be increased.

Mark - The only time I get air in the pump basket is when I vacuum. When I attach the vac hose the pump couldn't draw enough H2O and just struggled. It had a high pitch whine and then the basket lost prime. To solve this problem I drilled a 1/8 " hole in the vacuum plate. Started the pump, and attached the hose. I repeated this, each time making the hole larger, until the H2O flow could keep up with the pump.

Yes I am trying to equalize the flow. I have "massage" jets that the water just trickles out of. Not much of a massage. :-) I have also been playing around with 2 valves in the pipe manifold (returns) I am able to increase the flow to the massage jets, but that causes the pressure in the filter to go up about 4lbs. So I keep that valve open 100%.

Anyway, the more I think about it.. the more I believe that I need to reduce the size of that pump and increase the size of the filter.... I'd rather spend that money on beer with the neighbors, but....

[Hey_Dad]

Can I just swap the motor out on my pump? Could I swap it out for a two speed motor? If so, how do I know which motor will fit?

I was thinking that this might be the cheapest/fastest way to fix the issues above.

[PoolDoc]

To reduce delivered HP / wattage consumed you need to swap out the impeller and diffuser, not the motor. A motor will draw current according to the load placed on it -- it's just that if you put a 2HP load on a 1HP motor, it will burn up. However, if you put a 1 HP load on a 2 HP motor, everything will be fine.

Ben

[Hey_Dad]

Okay, so that sounds even cheaper than chaning the motor. Do I just order the impeller & diffuser from the 1HP version of this pump? How do I know which impeller & diffuser to get?

[PoolDoc]

Look at this page
http://www.a1poolparts.com/-strse-22...ump/Detail.bok

But, call them, tell them what you have and tell them you want to step down 1 size from your current impeller & diffuser. Let THEM pick everything you need to make it work.

Ben

[Hey_Dad]

Thanks, I'll give them a buzz, order the parts and update the thread after the pump has been "downsized"