Posted by Gary on May 9, 2006, 4:13 am
Hi,
I did a little more looking around on the pump issue, and found one source that
reccomended putting a filter in that has lower back pressure. They suggested
using a filter that is sized for about 50% more than your actual pool volume.
Not sure it thats the best way, but its something to think about.
Gary
Gary wrote:
> dold@XPressureX.usenet.us.com wrote:
>
>> I want to add solar heat to my pool.
>> My original intent was to add a solar powered pump, like the El Sid
>> included with the domestic water heaters from solarroofs.com
>> I've been led to believe that would not be enough pump for rooftop pool
>> collectors, and now I wonder if the existing 1.0 HP pool pump is large
>> enough. I don't think so.
>>
>> I did some pressure checks.
>> With the pressure gauge indicating 19 psi backpressure from my DE filter,
>> it was time for a backflush. I connected my poolvac hose to the outlet
>> into the pool. It would only push water up about 5 feet above pool
>> level.
>>
>> With my waste hose connected, I could push water well above the roof
>> height. As I raised my waste hose, and then plugged it completely as a
>> check, it appears that my 1HP pump is producing a maximum of 22PSI.
>> That might be internally regulated, as the DE filter is rated for a
>> maximum
>> of 25psi.
>>
>> With a freshly loaded DE filter, my backpressure is 11psi. That would be
>> 25 feet of lift tied in at a point after a clean DE filter. The DE
>> backpressure rises to about 15psi during a few hours run, and drops off
>> when the pump shuts off. The next day, the pressure is back down to
>> 11psi.
>> If I am correct, when the backpressure reaches 15psi, I have 7 psi
>> left to
>> push water to the roof. That's 15 feet, which would barely be the top of
>> the roof, and there would be almost no flow at that point.
>>
>> If I wait until my normal backflush time of 19-20psi, I only have 3 psi
>> available from the pump, and water would not reach the solar collector.
>>
>> There isn't much mention of pressure on the pool heating web sites,
>> except
>> for powermat, and that one is not clear to me.
>
> HI,
> I don't know much about pool plumbing, but is there not some way to
> plumb in the
> line to the solar collectors before the filter so that the collectors
> have the
> full pump pressure available to them? It seems like 22 psi should be
> plenty?
>
> You might find something in the Home Power solar pool heating basics
> articles
> that would help:
> http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/PoolHeating/pool_heating.htm
>
>
>
> Gary
>
--
Gary
www.BuildItSolar.com
gary@BuildItSolar.com
"Build It Yourself" Solar Projects
Posted by Gary on May 9, 2006, 3:09 pm
Gary wrote:
> Hi,
> I did a little more looking around on the pump issue, and found one
> source that
> reccomended putting a filter in that has lower back pressure. They
> suggested
> using a filter that is sized for about 50% more than your actual pool
> volume.
> Not sure it thats the best way, but its something to think about.
>
> Gary
This installation manual from SolarEnergy.com has a discussion on pump
horsepower, filter resistance, and booster pumps (if needed):
http://www.solarenergy.com/specs/sunhom_pool/pool_install_manual.pdf
Gary
>
>
> Gary wrote:
>
>> dold@XPressureX.usenet.us.com wrote:
>>
>>> I want to add solar heat to my pool.
>>> My original intent was to add a solar powered pump, like the El Sid
>>> included with the domestic water heaters from solarroofs.com
>>> I've been led to believe that would not be enough pump for rooftop pool
>>> collectors, and now I wonder if the existing 1.0 HP pool pump is large
>>> enough. I don't think so.
>>>
>>> I did some pressure checks.
>>> With the pressure gauge indicating 19 psi backpressure from my DE
>>> filter,
>>> it was time for a backflush. I connected my poolvac hose to the outlet
>>> into the pool. It would only push water up about 5 feet above pool
>>> level.
>>>
>>> With my waste hose connected, I could push water well above the roof
>>> height. As I raised my waste hose, and then plugged it completely as a
>>> check, it appears that my 1HP pump is producing a maximum of 22PSI.
>>> That might be internally regulated, as the DE filter is rated for a
>>> maximum
>>> of 25psi.
>>>
>>> With a freshly loaded DE filter, my backpressure is 11psi. That
>>> would be
>>> 25 feet of lift tied in at a point after a clean DE filter. The DE
>>> backpressure rises to about 15psi during a few hours run, and drops off
>>> when the pump shuts off. The next day, the pressure is back down to
>>> 11psi. If I am correct, when the backpressure reaches 15psi, I have 7
>>> psi left to
>>> push water to the roof. That's 15 feet, which would barely be the
>>> top of
>>> the roof, and there would be almost no flow at that point.
>>>
>>> If I wait until my normal backflush time of 19-20psi, I only have 3 psi
>>> available from the pump, and water would not reach the solar collector.
>>>
>>> There isn't much mention of pressure on the pool heating web sites,
>>> except
>>> for powermat, and that one is not clear to me.
>>
>>
>> HI,
>> I don't know much about pool plumbing, but is there not some way to
>> plumb in the
>> line to the solar collectors before the filter so that the collectors
>> have the
>> full pump pressure available to them? It seems like 22 psi should be
>> plenty?
>>
>> You might find something in the Home Power solar pool heating basics
>> articles
>> that would help:
>> http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/PoolHeating/pool_heating.htm
>>
>>
>>
>> Gary
>>
>
>
--
Gary
www.BuildItSolar.com
gary@BuildItSolar.com
"Build It Yourself" Solar Projects
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Posted by dold on May 16, 2006, 12:04 am
> Hi,
> I did a little more looking around on the pump issue, and found one
> source that reccomended putting a filter in that has lower back pressure.
> They suggested using a filter that is sized for about 50% more than your
> actual pool volume. Not sure it thats the best way, but its something to
> think about.
That would be sensible.
Powermat.com just tells me that I'm wrong about my pressure readings, or
that there is something wrong with my filter.
He suggests that you should have a lower HP pump, trying to push less
volume. The result would be longer run times, resulting in better water
clarity and lower power consumption overall. That part sounds good if it's
true. But the industry seems not to agree with him, according to his web
pages.
I'll take a look at
http://www.solarenergy.com/specs/sunhom_pool/pool_install_manual.pdf
I'm inclined to run a separate pump, controlled by a temperature
differential controller. If it weren't for the clogging of the DE filter,
I'd be okay with the one I have, but clogging is a bi-weekly norm.
Today, just the solar cover has the water temp very high for the first inch
or so at the surface, but a solar collector on the roof will be a good
thing.
I was off for a week, exploring the water temperatures in the Bahamas ;-)
--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5
XML site map
>
>> I want to add solar heat to my pool.
>> My original intent was to add a solar powered pump, like the El Sid
>> included with the domestic water heaters from solarroofs.com
>> I've been led to believe that would not be enough pump for rooftop pool
>> collectors, and now I wonder if the existing 1.0 HP pool pump is large
>> enough. I don't think so.
>>
>> I did some pressure checks.
>> With the pressure gauge indicating 19 psi backpressure from my DE filter,
>> it was time for a backflush. I connected my poolvac hose to the outlet
>> into the pool. It would only push water up about 5 feet above pool
>> level.
>>
>> With my waste hose connected, I could push water well above the roof
>> height. As I raised my waste hose, and then plugged it completely as a
>> check, it appears that my 1HP pump is producing a maximum of 22PSI.
>> That might be internally regulated, as the DE filter is rated for a
>> maximum
>> of 25psi.
>>
>> With a freshly loaded DE filter, my backpressure is 11psi. That would be
>> 25 feet of lift tied in at a point after a clean DE filter. The DE
>> backpressure rises to about 15psi during a few hours run, and drops off
>> when the pump shuts off. The next day, the pressure is back down to
>> 11psi.
>> If I am correct, when the backpressure reaches 15psi, I have 7 psi
>> left to
>> push water to the roof. That's 15 feet, which would barely be the top of
>> the roof, and there would be almost no flow at that point.
>>
>> If I wait until my normal backflush time of 19-20psi, I only have 3 psi
>> available from the pump, and water would not reach the solar collector.
>>
>> There isn't much mention of pressure on the pool heating web sites,
>> except
>> for powermat, and that one is not clear to me.
>
> HI,
> I don't know much about pool plumbing, but is there not some way to
> plumb in the
> line to the solar collectors before the filter so that the collectors
> have the
> full pump pressure available to them? It seems like 22 psi should be
> plenty?
>
> You might find something in the Home Power solar pool heating basics
> articles
> that would help:
> http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/PoolHeating/pool_heating.htm
>
>
>
> Gary
>
--
Gary