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Variable Speed Pump Sizing Made Simple

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Variable speed pool pumps are one of the best upgrades you can make for energy savings, quieter operation, and better control of water flow, but the big mistake is buying the wrong size. A practical starting point is to match the total horsepower of your current single speed pump within a reasonable range, because that usually reflects what the pool was designed to need. If you have a 1 HP single speed pump, a 1.5 HP to 1.65 HP VS pump is typically plenty. If you have a 1.5 HP single speed, stepping into the 1.65 HP to 2.2 HP class can work, while jumping straight to a 2.7 HP or 3 HP VS pump may be overkill unless the system truly demands it. With a VS pump you can always dial RPM down, but you cannot undo the upfront cost of buying more pump than the pool can use. Small pools and older pools often share the same limiting factors: 1.5 inch plumbing, simpler hydraulics, and sometimes 115V electrical supply. Those details matter because a dual voltage variable speed pump wired on 115V ca...
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Pool Water Testing Explained: What Pros Actually Use

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Pool water testing is the backbone of reliable pool service, yet most problems start with bad data, not bad chemicals. This podcast breaks down the most common pool water testing methods used by pool service pros and homeowners: test strips, reagent test kits, photometer testing, and digital water testing. The key takeaway is simple: the “best” test is the one that matches the job, your accuracy needs, and your budget. If you manage a busy pool route, you need speed and consistency. If you handle commercial pools, new plaster startups, or problem pools, you need precision and documentation. Understanding what each method does well helps you avoid chasing readings, overdosing chemicals, and wasting time.   Reagent testing remains the best value for most pool routes, especially with widely used Taylor test kits like the K-2005 and K-2006. Reagents are affordable, refills are easy to stock, and the workflow is fast. The main limitation is also obvious: your eyes become the instru...
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Should You Buy a Cheap Variable Speed Pool Pump?

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Cheap variable speed pool pumps are everywhere right now, especially on Amazon and big box sites, and the price tag can be hard to ignore. When you see a $300 to $700 variable speed pool pump advertised as 1.5 HP or 2 HP, it feels like an easy win compared to a Pentair WhisperFlo VS, Hayward VS pump, or Jandy VS pump that can cost well over $1,300 to $2,000. The catch is that “works” and “works well for your pool” are not the same thing. A variable speed pump swap is a system decision: plumbing layout, flow needs, head pressure, automation compatibility, and long term reliability all matter if you want energy savings without constant headaches. One of the first real world issues is physical fit on the equipment pad. Pool pros think about inlet and outlet alignment because a “simple replacement” can become a replumbing project fast. If your current pump is a Pentair WhisperFlo, matching it with a WhisperFlo variable speed replacement is close to plug and play. The same is true when you ...
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How to Actually Find the Source of Algae in Your Pool

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Algae in a swimming pool is not always a “bad chlorine” story, and treating it that way can waste time and money. Some pools rarely see a bloom, while others fight green dust or mustard algae all season. The first step in effective pool algae prevention is figuring out the source: is it being introduced constantly by the environment, or is it taking hold because water care fundamentals are failing? Wind-prone yards, heavy pollen seasons, and nearby trees can load a pool with organics that feed growth. Shady surfaces and wall seams also give algae a place to settle, especially when brushing is skipped. A big clue is where the algae appears. If it keeps returning on steps, in a spa, along a deep-end corner, or behind ladders, you are likely dealing with low circulation “dead spots.” Those areas may not receive enough measurable free chlorine, even when the test at the surface looks fine. Poor mixing means sanitizer is not reaching the exact surfaces where algae attaches and grows. Return...
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Bob Lowry on Pool Service Rookie Mistakes

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New pool service pros often inherit “rules” like keeping free chlorine at 2–4 ppm and calling it good, then wonder why algae keeps coming back. A core mistake is not understanding how cyanuric acid (CYA) changes chlorine strength. With CYA in the water, most chlorine becomes bound and only a small fraction is immediately active as sanitizing hypochlorous acid (HOCl). Add in the way pH shifts HOCl versus OCl-, and the effective killing power can drop fast. That is why a pool can test “high chlorine” and still grow algae. If you run a pool service business, this is one of the most important pool chemistry concepts for consistent, algae-free results and fewer emergency cleanups. Once you accept that the active sanitizer is what matters, the free chlorine target has to scale with CYA. The practical field rule discussed is simple: keep free chlorine at about 7.5% of the cyanuric acid level to prevent algae. So if CYA is 100 ppm, free chlorine needs to be about 7.5 ppm, not 3 ppm. This refra...
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Bob Lowry on Dialing in Free Chlorine the Right Way

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Pools that “won’t hold chlorine” are one of the most common and expensive headaches in pool maintenance, especially for pool service pros trying to stabilize water fast. When someone says they’re adding two or three gallons of liquid chlorine a day to an 8,000 to 10,000 gallon pool and still reading near zero free chlorine, the first move is not panic dosing. It’s investigation. Chlorine demand usually has a cause: organics, contaminants, or active growth. Start by looking beyond the water test and into the yard, the deck, and the daily habits around the pool. Grass clippings, fertilizer drift, landscaping debris, and rain runoff dripping from dense vegetation all add organic load that chlorine must oxidize. Even well-meaning actions like washing the deck so dirty rinse water flows into the pool can wipe out chlorine overnight.   Once you suspect contamination, think like a detective and list every source of oxidizer demand. Heavy bather load can create big swings, especially ...
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Bob Lowry Breaks Down TDS in Pool Water

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Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) is one of the most ignored numbers in pool water chemistry, even though it quietly influences how water behaves. TDS simply means the total amount of dissolved material in the water, measured in parts per million, and it is not the same as visible debris or suspended solids. Modern pool service pros usually measure TDS with a digital meter that reads conductivity and converts that to a ppm estimate. That convenience is why it exists, because the old-school “total dissolved residue” method required evaporating a carefully measured sample and weighing what was left. The key takeaway for pool maintenance is that TDS rises as you add chemicals over time, and that rising baseline changes the way your test results and balance calculations perform. A practical way to think about TDS is the “kettle scale” analogy: keep boiling water away and you eventually see what was dissolved all along. In pools, the biggest contributors are often chloride and sodium. Every time...
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