So I had a pool heater installed last Friday, and since the waterfall we have is barely running. This is usually an indication of low water pressure and time to backwash the pool. Only problem is that I have done that 2x and really hasnt changed much. Anyone else have any idea why installing the heater would affect the speed of the water flow? The guy who installed it has been less than impressive in his responses. He mentioned I may have to modify my valves, only rub is that I have zero idea what that means.
Thanks in advance.
This is what you will have to do. You probably added some significant length to the pipeline with the heater install, causing the pressure to drop. If you partially close some of the valves in the other lines, the pressure and flow should increase going to your waterfall.
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to see if sufficient water is being sent to the waterfall or is too much being sent to the pool return.
This is what you will have to do. You probably added some significant length to the pipeline with the heater install, causing the pressure to drop. If you partially close some of the valves in the other lines, the pressure and flow should increase going to your waterfall.
This is partially correct. Constricting a line by closing a valve will increase pressure, however it will decrease flow.
It sounds to me more likely that you have a flow problem, not a pressure problem. Your pump is designed for a certain GPH rating, however- this is t the amount of flow you will get from your system as a whole, it is just the maximum the pump can move. (Gallons per hour). Depending upon a whole lot of different factors, your overall system flow is going to be up to 20% or more less than what your pump can move completely unhindered. Smaller systems- say for a 10K-15K gal pool may have a pump that moves 2500GPH- with a simple system design (1 intake and 1-2 returns) that gives you an overall system flow of 2000- 2100GPH.
Simple changes/additions to the system can greatly affect overall system flow- size of piping, length of piping, additional inlets/outlets are going to cause pretty dramatic changes to how much water will flow through your system.
If you’re relatively handy, you can google ways to increase system flow, but with a larger/more complicated system you might be better off contacting your local installer to see what you need to do. It may be possible that your pump is no longer large enough to handle the extra components. This is a big issue, as keeping the water moving is the most important step in keeping your pool clean and clear....rule of thumb is that your system needs to be able to run 100% of the water in your pool through the filter in 8hrs.
I’m in no way a pro- just work with various cooling systems at work, and just put my own pool in by myself over the past few weeks.
I've mucked with my system substantially, definitely see changes in pressure when I moved my filter. I offset that by buying a stronger pump motor - currently run around 12 psi and that's with water pumped almost 30 feet back to the heater I installed adjacent to my laundry room with 2.5" PVC.