Often, pool owners don’t bother incorporating the right size of pool plumbing for their pools. But pool plumbing is the heart of every pool. If your pool contractor uses the wrong pool plumbing size, you are more likely to experience pool issues in the long run. Think about it. The size of the pipes highly determines the rate of water flow in your pool. Typically, larger pools need larger pool pipe sizes. I mean, they hold more water capacity. Thus, for the pool pump to work more effectively, the pump size must be big to facilitate a faster flow of water.
Average pool plumb size #
Pool professionals recommend having a plumb pool size of 2.5″ and a 0.375 h.p pool pump. Anything smaller than this won’t work efficiently. Besides, if your pool water moves faster, you would actually be saving on energy. Avoid purchasing 1.5″ pool pumps and 1.5 h.p pool pumps. Even so, the correct pool plumbing size mostly depends on the size of the pool and your pool requirements.
What happens if I have a small pool plumbing size? #
Suppose your pool plumbing size incorporates a 1.5″ pipe and a two h.p pool pump; you will likely damage the pump. What happens is that you put too much pressure on the pool pump. Simply put, the pool pump is circulating more water than the pipe can hold. As a result, there will be the formation of bubbles in the pump. This process is often known as cavitation.
Effects of cavitation #
In turn, cavitation leads to the destruction of the pool pump. Since bubbles get formed as the water is trying to navigate to the small pool pipe, vibration may occur. As the pool pump vibrates, it could make an unusual noise and malfunction in the end. Additionally, since the pool pump is straining to work, it won’t function to its maximum. Thus, it could take longer to circulate the whole pool water. And as seen earlier, the pool pump can get damaged in the end. You now see why you would instead incorporate large-sized pool plumbing, right?
See this illustration: #
Consider a 1.5″ pipe and a 3″ pipe. A 3″ pipe functions 50 percent much faster than a 1.5″ pipe. As a result, a 3″ pipe runs at 275 GPM while a 1.5″ runs at 85 GMP. It would be much more time consuming to use small-sized pool plumbing.
Conclusion #
Be very careful before installing your pool plumbing. Find out the size that your pool contractor wants to incorporate. If you feel that the size won’t work for your pool, you can always make some modifications. You’d rather spend more on installing a large pool plumbing size than experiencing long-term issues with your pool.
