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I have an old but new to me pool to take care of and have a few questions.
1. The pool is rectangular with 8 return eyeballs pointing in no particular direction with not much flow. Should I change these or try and point them to make a whirlpool effect so the skimmer works better?
2. It has a 3/4 hp pump with 1 1/2 piping. I have a 1 1/2 hp pump with 2" taps. Is there any advantage to installing it?
3. The pool light seems very dim but I'm getting 12v at the junction box. Can I use a stronger bulb? Should I remove the light and check for corrosion?
I assume it is in ground. Point the eyeballs down to keep the lower water circulating. 8 returns is a lot for 3/4 hp pump, you may want to consider removing a few. You need to size the pump with the filter also. If its a cartridge filter to much HP could collapse it. Check the light housing to make sure theirs no scale on it.
To be honest.. Hard to say you could have a pump issue... Impeller could be shot... And the returns.... Depends on the size of the lines... My pool is 42,000 gal.. Two returns that blast .. With 1-1/2"
Lines supplying the jets reduced to 3/4" ... But I pushing water with a 2 hp pump and a 1-1/2 " return line... Had to say some one before you could have cut corners somewhere
If the returns are all plumbed back to the pump, you could probably use the bigger pump if the pool's size warrants it. If it is a smaller pool, 3/4 Hp is fine.
Older 12v pool lights are often not that bright - you can replace with led or color changing led for an easy update.
I wouldn't sweat the jet positioning too much, honestly the important thing is to have good flow all over and to exchange the water a few times a day. I have a 3/4 Hp pump in a 12-13k pool, and based on the flow I get only "need" to run it 4-5 hours a day.
I assume it is in ground. Point the eyeballs down to keep the lower water circulating. 8 returns is a lot for 3/4 hp pump, you may want to consider removing a few. You need to size the pump with the filter also. If its a cartridge filter to much HP could collapse it. Check the light housing to make sure theirs no scale on it.
Hope this helps
Good advice about the filter. If you currently have 1 1/2" lines all going into a pump with a 1 1/2" intake, you are really restricting what the plumbing is capable of handeling (or will be with a 1.5 HP pump). I switched over to the 1 1/2" lines going into a 2" pump/filter/heater system and the difference was very noticable with the same HP. The pool flows a lot better and the pump isn't getting choked. A new filter was also sized to match the new pump. I have a 28,000 gallon pool and the 3 returns do a very good job of rotating the water to the skimmers. I think return placement is more important than the number of returns and 8 seems like a lot. Maybe cap off a few (or close the valves) and see how it affects the water rotation.
I have an old but new to me pool to take care of and have a few questions.
3. The pool light seems very dim but I'm getting 12v at the junction box. Can I use a stronger bulb? Should I remove the light and check for corrosion?
Thanks in advance!
Water might have seeped into the housing, or the bulb could be bad. Yes, take it out and look at it. If you're going to replace the bulb and have a few extra bucks laying around, you might like this light http://www.colorgloproducts.com/colorsplash.html
I have one and it's pretty cool.
Swimming Pool Questions? 
