I have wondered for a long time now if a pool pump would work as a softwash pump. Think about it, Pool pumps are built chemical resistant. They certainly have the flow! Yes that are 120v but a generator covers that aspect. If you are a grown man and you haven’t stood in front of the jet in a pool to use as a back massager you haven’t lived! They obviously have great pressure! Maybe they would burn up easily with being shut off at the wand?
Just my random thought of the day!
I not familiar with them but I do imagine they are constantly on. You would really need your roof pump to have a pressure switch to cycle the pump off when it reaches the set pressure like you have on a On demand diaphragm pump or it could stay on if it bypasses within the head like on the bypass diaphragm pumps.I imagine the pool pumps are built for open flow so I doubt you could even get any pressure with them. Now with transferring chemicals yes depending if it will create a vacuum but I think they are a centrifugal pumps so likely no luck there.
Realize when you have a lot of flow but very little pressure what seems like power may just be flow. Think about the hurt a hydrant can inflict while it’s providing no more pressure then what’s at your sink
When you think of stuff like this you have to ask yourself two questions:
Is anyone else already doing this?
Is it going to be a bigger headache than what’s available and designed to accomplish the exact task I’m trying to recreate with something else?
Lol
I may experiment this summer when I get some free time. I haven’t seen anyone else do it but that not to say it can’t be done. Maybe just use a remote on/off?
Just as a transfer
We had a 24’ round above ground pool at our previous house. It had a 1.5 hp motor for the pump. I don’t know how many gpm is too much for soft washing but the pump we had put out over 75 gpm. I think even the 3/4 hp are designed to put out over 50 gpm. As mentioned above I don’t think they are designed for pressure. I used to push one of those floating noodles with the hole in the middle up against the side of the pool where the water enters the pool so I could squirt the kits. I could push the noodle and completely seal it off to where all of the water would shoot through it. It would barely shoot over 10’. It might’ve had something to do with the sand filter though.
I’d be surprised if it would hold up to the sh. The amount used in a pool is hardly anything compared to a roof or even a house mix.
I’ve done the same! But when I was a kid we had a fountain that hooked to ours. We would kink the hose to build pressure and let go at I remember it rocketing water in the air.
