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CATEGORIES SwimmingPoolCalculations
AllCategories Whenpurchasinganewswimmingpoolorswimmingpoolproductthereareseveralcalculationsthatcanbehelpful.Belowarea
fewcalculationsthatmayhelpdeterminethesizeofyourswimmingpool,heater,filter,ormanyotherproducts.Pleaseselectfrom
AboveGroundPools
thefollowingcalculations...
Cartridges&Grids
TheSurfaceAreaofyourSwimmingPool
Chemicals TheGallonsofWaterinyourSwimmingPool
Chlorinators TheHorsePowerSizeofyourIngroundSwimmingPoolPump
TheSizeofyourIngroundSwimmingPoolFilter
Cleaners
TheSizeofyourAboveGroundSwimmingPoolPump/FilterSystem
CleaningAccessories TheBTUSizeofyourSwimmingPoolHeater
Covers SurfaceArea
ThesurfaceareaofaswimmingpoolcanhelpdeterminetheBTUsizeofpoolheaters.
Filters

Heaters PoolShape Formula

Lighting

Liners
SurfaceArea=LXW
Motors

Pump&FilterSystems Rectangular
Pumps

ReplacementParts
SurfaceArea=3.14X(D/2)x(D/2)
SaltChlorinators

Valves
Round
Waterfalls

Clearance
SurfaceArea=.45X(A+B)L

Kidney
GallonsofWater
Determiningthegallonsofwaterinyourswimmingpoolcanhelpdeterminesuchthingasthesizeofyourpumpandfilter.The
gallonsofwaterdependsontheshapeofyourpool.

GallonsofWatercalculator

aD=AverageDepth

PoolShape Formula

Gallons=LengthxWidthxAverageDepthx7.5

Rectangular

Gallons=DiameterxDiameterxAverageDepthx5.9

Round
 Gallons=LongDiameterxShortDiameterxAveragedepthx5.9
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Oval
TheHorsePowerofIngroundPoolPumps

ThethreebestmanufacturersofpoolpumpsareHayward,Pentair,andStaRite.Eachmanufacturersellsdifferentmodelsof
pumps.Thesemodelsrangeinperformance,andareratedbytheirHorsePower(HP).Therearetwoimportantfactorswhen
tryingtofigureoutwhichHPpump,thegallonsperminute(GPM)andtheAmountofheadinfeet.Inordertofigureoutwhatideal
GPMyouneedforyourpoolpumpfollowthesesteps.

Tofigureouttheamountofgallonsinyourpoolusethiscalculator
Agoodruleofthumbisyoushouldbeabletoclearyourswimmingpoolinan8hourperiodoftime.Take
thenumberofgallonsanddividethatby8.
IdealGallonsPerHour(GPH)=Gallonsofpoolwater/8

NexttaketheGPHanddividethatby60
IdealGPM=GPH/60

NowthatyouhavetheidealGPMyouneedtofigureouttheFeetofheadofyourpump.Agoodestimateistotaketheamountof
feetfromwhereyoursuctionlinesare(skimmersormaindrain)backtowhereyourpumpwillbelocated.Thetotalamountof
returnpipingshouldgiveyouagoodideaonhowmanyfeetofheadyourpumpwillhave.

ManyoftheSwimmingpoolpumpswillhavechartsshowingtheHorsePowerofeachpump.Thesechartsareusuallyshownwith
theGPMvs.TheFeetofHead.

Forexample,ifyouhavea20,000Gallonpool.

GPH=20,000/8=2,500

GPM=2,500/60=41.7

NowthatyouhaveyourGPM,weneedtomakeacouplemoreassumptions.Let'ssayyouchoosethepopularHaywardSuper
Pumpandyouhavefoundyourtotalreturnpipingtobeatotalof30feet.NextlookatthechartlistedonHaywardSuperpump
descriptionpage(seebelow)

PumpOutput(GPM)vs.TotalResistanceToFlow(FeetofHead)
ModelNo.MaxRated20ft 30ft 40ft 50ft 60ft 70ft
SP2600X5 55 45 29
SP2605X7 67 58 47 31
SP2607X10 85 76 65 50 27
SP2610X15 97 90 80 67 50 10
SP2615X20 116 111 99 85 70 51
SP2621X25 109 109 104 95 84 69
With30feetofheadand46.7GPHwewouldusetheSP2605X7(alwaysgotothehighersizeGPH,58intheexample).The
SP2605X7isa3/4HPpump.

TheSizeofIngroundFilters

ThemostimportantfactorofthesizeoftheSwimmingPoolFilteristheGPMyourPoolPumpproduces.Filtershaveadesigned
flowrate.ThisdesignedflowrateshouldbehigherthanthesizeofyourGPMyourpoolpumpproduces.

IntheexampleabovewewereusingtheHaywardSuperpumpthatproducesa58GPMat30feetofHead.Ifweweretochoose
theHaywardStarClearPlusasourchosenfilterwewouldusethechartfoundonthedescriptionpage

PerformanceDataResidential

Turnover(InGallons)
ModelNumberEffectiveFiltrationAreaDesignFlowRate*8Hours 10Hours
C7512 75ft2 75GPM 36,000 45,000
C9002 90ft2 90GPM 43,200 54,000
C12002 120ft2 120GPM 57,600 72,000
C17502 175ft2 120GPM 57,600 72,000
 Thesizeofthefilterthatcouldhandlethe58GPMSuperPumpwouldbetheC7512.

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HaywardFilters
HaywardPump&FilterSystems
JandyFilters
PentairPoolFilters
StaRitePoolFilter
TheSizeoftheAboveGroundPumpandFilterSystem

Thesizeofyoursystemismostlydeterminedonthesizeofyourabovegroundpool.Thegallonsfoundinsideyourpoolwillgive
youthehorsepowerneededforyourpump.Asimpleruletofollowisyoushouldbeabletoclearallofthegallonsofyourpoolin
an8hourperiodoftime.Youcanusethefollowingasaguideline.

AboveGroundPoolupto24Ft.Round=1HPpump
AboveGroundPoolover24Ft.Round=1HPpump

DeterminetheBTUSizeforSwimmingPoolHeaters
TheSurfaceareawillhelpdeterminetheBTUsizeofyourpoolheater.DecideonthetemperatureriseyouwantperhourThen
consultthischart.Heatrisewillvaryslightlywhendealingwithdifferentheaters.Weusuallyrecommendanincreaseof111/2
degreeperhour.

PoolSizeSquareFeet
BTUSize500Sq.Ft.650Sq.Ft800Sq.Ft.
200 1degree 1
250 11/2 11/2
350 2 13/4 1
400 21/2 2 11/4

HaywardHeatersLowNox
PentairHeatersMasterTemp
RaypakHeatersRPSeries
RaypakHeatersLowNox
RaypakHeatersASME
RaypakHeatersHPSeries
StaRiteHeatersMaxETherm
JandyLegacyPoolHeaters
LaarsHeatersLite2
LaarsHeatersLXi
PoolHeaterCovers
SwimmingPoolHeatPump
HSeriesAccessories
PoolChillers

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