What is the right size swimming pool pump for perth conditions?

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A Pool Pump Should Circulate Your Pool Volume Twice A Day. How Do I Calculate The Right Swimming Pool Pump Size?

Your pool pump is one of the most important parts of your pool. If it is not able to do the job that it needs to then you may find that you are having problems keeping your pool looking clean. This can cause problems with the safety of the water for those who are swimming. It can also leave you with headaches that are really unnecessary. It is important to know that you have a pump that is able to handle the volume of your pool. Here are some tips to help you with choosing the right size pump.

How Many Litres Does Your Pool Hold

The first thing you need to know to choose the right pool pump is how many litres your pool holds. You will be able to find this on the documentation that came with your pool. You need to make sure that you are not taking a guess here. This is the only way for you to find out just what size your pool pump needs to be. If you have lost the paperwork for your pool then you need to do a little investigative work. Look for information about the model pool that you have and you are sure to find how many litres it takes.

Calculating The Water Volume Of A Rectangular Pool

Step 1) Calculate the surface area of the shallow end.  Width of your pool times length of the shallow end.

Step 2) What is the average depth of your shallow end? The volume of your shallow end is width times length times depth.

Step 3) Repeat for the deep end and add the two numbers together.

Example:

Shallow end is 2.4m wide by 3m long by 1m deep.  Volume is 2.4 x 3 x 1 = 7.2m³ 

Deep end is 2.4m wide by 4m long by 2m deep.  Volume is 2.4 x 4 x 2 = 19.2m³ 

Add together = 26.4m³

1m³ = 1000L so times your answer by 1000 for the number of litres your pool holds.

26.4 x 1000 = 26,000L

If you have a kidney shaped pool there are precise calculations or you can estimate as if it were a rectangular pool. 

How Many Litres Can The Pool Pump Move

Now you need to look at the pump. You want to see how many litres it can pump and how long it takes to do so. It is better to get a pump that is a little too big than to get one that is too small. Check the specifications.

You want a pump that is big enough to fully circulate your pool twice in an 8 hour period.

Calculate

Now it is time for you to do the calculation. You need to make sure that the pump that you choose for your pool is able to completely filter the how pool two times each day. If you have a 50,000L pool then the pump needs to be able to move 100,000 litres in a day. So make sure that you take the time to do this math before you get a pump that you may not be happy with. Remember that it is better to get a little more water circulating each day (and run your pump less) than it is to get a pump that is too small and not able to fully circulate all the water in the pool two times each day.

Fittings

You also want to make sure when buying a pump for your pool that it will be compatible with any fittings that you already have. If it is not then you need to buy extra fittings or adaptors for it to hook up to the tubing and the pool itself. This should not cost a great deal of money and you will likely even be able to get this stuff when you buy the pump that you need. Fittings are generally cheap but in some cases they will be needed.

As you can see it is not too difficult to find out what size pump you need for your pool. Once you know how much water your pool holds and how many gallons the pump can circulate you will be able to quickly and easily do the math to make sure that the pump you are looking at is the right pump for your pool. Since this is one of the most important parts of making sure you pool stays clean you want to make sure that you get the correct pump to handle all your pool circulation and filtration needs.