Pump died - need replacement help

[tpspeier]

I got home tonight and the pump had shut itself off, smelled like smoke, and was extremely hot to the touch. Now it won't start at all. The pump is at least 12 years (not sure exactly when the prior owners installed it). We have a 25,000 gallon pool with a sand filter (I think it's 24" - it holds 250 lbs of sand). Plumbing in and out of the pump is 2" PVC. The old pump was a WhisperFlo WF-24, 1HP, SF1.25. The pool has three returns, two skimmers, and a main drain.

I see there is another thread regarding replacement pumps with a link to an article about pool hydraulics. While I find the article quite interesting, I'm not sure I can digest the information fast enough to determine a replacement pump (I don't want the pool to go too long without a pump).

My question is, should I stick with a 1HP pump? Is that the correct size for my pool/filter? Does anyone have a recommendation for a quiet pump? The WhisperFlo is quite a bit louder than a "whisper".

Thanks in advance for your help.

[SunnyOptimism]

I have a 1-1/2 HP Whisperflo on my waterfall and the first time I turned that pump on I thought to myself if ever there was a misnamed product, Pentair certainly gets 1st Prize for that one!

The IntelliFlo VS is very quiet (I have a 3HP one) but it may be way more pump than you need. I'd normally say take your time in choosing but I understand your haste. I'm not that familiar enough with sand filters to feel comfortable giving you a sizing advice for a pump. As for taking the time to study, you could rent an industrial grade Submersible pump to use to circulate the pool water (no filtration) while you decide? I've heard of others doing that when pumps died and they needed to keep the water moving. You could also raise the FC to shock levels and add some polyquat-60 to keep the algae at bay.

I think the thread you referred to is from me and that article on pumps/filters/etc was written by mas985 who is the expert at pumps here and on other forums. He's the guy that could give you the best advice.

Good luck.