Equipment Info and Runtime

[mas985]

Not to mention that a typical 1 HP up rated (non-SPL) AG pump is smaller than a typical 1 HP uprated IG pump. So a 1.5 HP SPL will be smaller than a typical low end 3/4 HP full rated IG pump. I think I might of posted this graph before but it illustrates the difference between AG and IG pumps and how label HP can be very deceiving.

Pump Label HP Ratings

Most in the industry have long understood that pump labels can be very deceiving. It is bad enough that manufactures have chosen to have two classes of IG pumps, up rated vs full rated, but AG pumps and combo systems add even more confusion around what these HP labels actually mean.

The chart below shows the flow rates of several Pentair and Hayward low label HP IG and AG pool pumps on two of the CEC plumbing curves, Curve-A and Curve-C. The higher the flow rate, the more powerful the pump.



Even when comparing IG up rated pumps, there is clearly a large difference between the Whisperflo and Superflo line of pumps that have the same label HP. But the difference is just as great when comparing IG to AG pool pumps with the same label HP. Both the Optiflo and Dynamo are significantly smaller than even the Superflo with the same label HP rating.

However, it doesn't end there. If you compare the impellers used in some of the combo systems, you will find that the impeller is smaller than even the up rated version of the same pump. In the manual they call this SPL HP. The bottom line is that a 1 1/2 HP (SPL) Dynamo pump/Filter combo uses a 1 HP up rated impeller which is equivalent to a 3/4 HP full rated impeller but still smaller than 3/4 HP up rated Superflo impeller which makes the pump a very small pump, especially by IG standards.

So the lesson here is that you cannot judge a pump's power or strength just by the label HP rating.