How to Size the Best Pool Pump for Your Home
To enjoy your home's swimming pool, you're going to need a quality pump. The pump pulls the pool water through the filter so that the filter can catch debris and contaminants that cannot be removed with chlorine and other chemicals. This keeps the water cleaner and can mean less vacuuming of the pool and less scrubbing of the sides. When you're ready to choose a pool pump for your home, note a few factors to consider so you know you get the right size or power.
1. Start with the filter
You may assume that a larger or more powerful pool pump is better, thinking that it will somehow work to clean the water in your pool more quickly. However, remember that it's the filter that does the cleaning; the pump simply pulls the water through the filter. You don't want water to be run through the pool's filter too quickly as the filter may not have time to trap contaminants this way. Choose a pump power by first noting how quickly the pool water should be run through the filter, according to the filter manufacturer's recommendations.
2. Note the gallons in your pool
Most pool pumps have their power rated according to the gallons per minute that they move through a filter, so you next need to know the number of gallons in your pool. You can figure this by multiplying the length times the width times the depth. If your pool is oddly shaped, do this figuring for each section. For example, if the pool is one large square with a deep end and then also one small rectangle that is more shallow, multiply the length times the width times the depth of both sections separately, and then add these two numbers.
3. Gallons per minute
Once you know the gallons of water your pool holds, you can break that down as to how many gallons per minute the pump needs to push through the filter in the recommended amount of time. For example, if a filter says it should have all water pass through every ten hours, and your pool has 4800 gallons of water, that would be 480 gallons per hour, or 8 gallons per minute. You would need a pump that works at 8 gallons per minute. Anything stronger or faster would mean the water would go through more quickly and not be filtered properly.
For more help choosing the best pump for your pool, contact a company like Shenton Pumps.
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