Correct Pump/Filter?

[cpmart]

Dave S. The 10 psi is what it usually reads, and we usually have the valve on like 80% skimmer and 20% main drain...

My husband and I are both pool newbies, so we *think* the filtering is good, but have nothing to compare it to! We have stuff floating on the top in the am before we turn on the pump, and most of it gets swept into the skimmer, and our pool hasn't had an algae bloom all summer (thanks BBB). We have debris that always collects in certain spots (the bottom corners), and our main drain doesn't seem to do much collecting, but the pool isn't green, so we think it is working ok...

Mark S. I got that 44 gpm figure from the hayward website and they called it "design flow rate" The info I got off the side of our filter says "Backwash rate 44 gpm" "Max psi 50" and "Rate 20 gpm/ft^2" and "Filter area 2.2 ft ^2" The filter gauge has always read around 10-12 psi (for the last couple of years), even if we switch to all skimmer or all main drain.

I just used the estimate for head calculation of 50-60 for and inground pool...forgive my ignorance, but does that mean something is out of whack if our actual head is different than the usual head value? Thanks for the responses...

Chris

EDIT: I actually went out in the dark with a tape measure...the distance from the skimmer/main drain to the pump is 46 feet...great guess Mark!

[mas985]

There is nothing wrong with low head loss just somewhat unusual. Most pools are between 45-65 feet of head. I would say you are probably on the lower end of that scale if not below.

However, Dave could be correct that there is a restriction on the suction side but you would normally see this as air in the pump lid.

Another concern could be a damaged pump impeller. This will also show up as low PSI since the pump is not moving enough water.

Otherwise, a few things that might account for the low PSI reading: No heater, large pipes and/or short distance from pool to pad. What size is your piping?

One other thing distance is not a direct conversion to head loss so the 46 feet is a coincidence.