I am replacing my existing Hayward pump with another Hayward Superpump. My old pump was 115v. However, extra wire was run in the conduit to setup 230v circuit. I am trying to decide if I should stay with 115v or get the system wired for 230v. What is the benefit of running the pump at 230v vs 115v. Electric bill?

Thanks,
Rich

If it's the same size pump it'll use the same amount of power whether it's 115 or 230 volts. The reason for running 230 volts is to cut down on wire size. A 1 sfhp 230 volt pump uses half the current that a 1 sfhp 115 volt pump does, so you can have smaller wires. Also since the voltage is higher the voltage drop will be less for the same distance.

+1 for no difference in power consumption or cost. Since you already have everything (including the circuit breaker) set up for 120V, why not just stick with it? There's no practical benefit to changing at this point.

Given that the wire already exists and isn't changing size, there will be less voltage drop across the wire, and thus improved overall efficiency, if the pump is setup for 240 volts instead of 120 volts. The difference won't be very large, but it will be just a little more efficient at the higher voltage.

One other thing to consider is the timer you currently use. While a 115V timer switch probably could be used to switch one leg of the 230V circuit, the other would remain "live". This would function, but could pose a surprise to someone that did not turn off the breaker when working on the motor.

Then again, maybe you are not supposed to use the 115V timer in this manner ... I am unsure.

Thank you all for the help. With no substantial benefit for the 230V, I will switch the motor wiring to 115V and stay with the 115v system. The Hayward 1HP Superpump comes wired for either 115v or 230V. (the default setting is 230v).

However, I believe you just have to change a jumper in the back of the motor.

Does anyone have experience or instructions on how to change the 1HP Hayward Super Pump from 230v to 115v. ? Is it a jumper change in the back of the motor? The manual with the pump didn't explain this.

Thanks

There's a diagram on the motor that shows how it's done. Mfg's use different motors on the pumps and different motors are switched differently.

If you'll take a pic of the dataplate we'll walk you through it.