1. Swimming pool pums
Pums are categorised by their horse power(hp), although they are often badged with a kilowatt
rating. Swimming pool pump manufactures develop a model and then sell it in, usally, 4 horse
power sizes. So for example the company sta-rite have, among other things, their dyna-glas
pump and it comes in 0.5, 0.75, 1.0 and 1.5 horse power.
The important thing for the pool owner is not so much the Horse power but the amount of
water the swimming pool pump can move in an hour. The amount of water it can move
depends upon how much resistance the pipes etc. put upon it. The resistance of the pipes etc is
measured in “meters of head” It is possible to work out the resistance in your pool pipework
but it is very complicated. Most domestic pools have a resistance of 10 to 13 metres. As a rule
of thumb, you should circulate your entire pool volume in 8 hours, so your hourly capacity
should be the volume of your pool divided by 8.
So, for a 15ft x 30ft pool at an average of 5 ft deep, our volume calculator tell us the volume is
64 cubic meters.Divide 64 by 8 and you get 8m3 per hour required. If this was your pool you
would need to choose a pump with a capacity greater than 8m3 per hour. In most cases you
will see a 0.75 horses power pump is what you need.
When you look at the plate on your pump it often quotes the power in KW. To convert KW to
HP (approximately) multipy by 1.33. click here for more about Swimming pool pums.