Can a Pool Pump Be Too Powerful?

From https://www.swimmingpoolsteve.com/pag... this video talks about how common it is to find a swimming pool filtration pump which is too large or too powerful for a swimming pool system. When shopping for (any) pool pump you should look up the performance curve supplied by the pump manufacturer where you can look up the amount of resistance to flow and the amount of gallons per minute that a given pump will produce. This is how you create an apples to apples comparison between pool pumps and NOT by the horsepower rating on the label.

Every swimming pool should have less than 6 feet per second of suction line water velocity as a safety consideration for entrapment hazards. This is 38 GPM in 1.5" pvc pipe, 65 GPM in 2" pvc pipe and 90 GPM in 2.5" pvc pipe. Some of the larger pumps, 2 and 3 horsepower models, can deliver up to 180 GPM or more given the right system conditions, so these pumps would easily be too large for any pool with a small or medium sized plumbing system. In addition to the safety considerations you should also be aware that a pump which is too large can damage things like your filter, especially with sand filters which can have a notoriously low maximum designed flow rate.

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