Intelliflo owners -- report in

[lbridges]

First let me state that yes I do know every pool is different, but as a new pool owner I'm curious about others experience.

Below are my numbers for a VS-3050 and Easytouch controller:
RPM and wattage rate from the Easytouch remote,
Other numbers courtesy of the spreadsheet developed & provided by mas985 in this thread.

7 hours at 1400 RPM, 230 watts, ~30.5 GPM, 13.6 ft head

2 hours at 2000 RPM, 550 watts, ~49.1 GPM, 26.4 ft head (run 1st thing in the AM to clean the surface of insects, etc).

Moving ~18K gallons moved per day, and with current electric rates at ~$0.14/kilowatt hours: ~$0.38 (a day), $11.40 (30 day month) or $138.5 (a year as I will be open year round).

 

[ajgiii]

I have the Intelliflo VF.

The pump I replaced was an older, single speed, 1.5HP Hayward Ultraflow that was uprated to 2HP.

Electric consumption of the Hayward was a constant 3,450 rpm, at 9.5 amps. This yields 2,428 watts (assuming a 90% efficiency factor). I measured 14.9 amps (3300 watts) at start up. Probably pushing 50+ GPM. Pool run time was 8 hours. Calculated cost was $360/year (disregarding the much higher electricity usage at start up)

My Intelliflo electric consumption for the same flow rate is about 1630 watts by its display. I measured 6.6 amps which yields 1687 watts (using 90% efficiency) which tells me the pump motor is more efficient than 90%. No other equipment changes, the only piping changes were to fit the Intelliflo into place...had to add a foot of pipe before the inlet, and raise up the outlet; I added unions in both places (previous installation geniuses installed no unions anywhere). Pump run time is now 10 hours.

NOTE: I did the comparison with my pool sweep OFF. With it on, the Intelliflo shows a 25% reduction in wattage, which yields 1,280 watts at 50 gpm....about half of the Hayward. Reason: less head, and the pump compensates speed (read electricity) ... something a single speed pump can't do.

Taking this into effect: Our electric rate, I think, is $0.10/kwH. Again, disregarding the much higher electricity usage at start up, but taking into account cost of a new pump that I needed anyway ($1200 for the Intelliflo, $480 used for the same type of Hayward pump), my payback is about 7.5 years with the pool sweep off, but 4.5 years with it on.

Big added benefit :-D : the Intelliflo is WAY quieter, and I have opportunity for additional savings once I learn what the minimum pressure is that I can run for my DE (its label shows 50 gpm, but I don't know if that's a minimum or not).

 

[chem geek]

This post gives my Intelliflo VF numbers for GPM, RPM, Watts and PSI for solar on vs. off and for using The Pool Cleaner. My pipe runs are quite long and the solar runs the entire length of the house with lots of twists and turns of piping navigating the roof hips. I have cut down my pump electricity costs about in half going from a 1 HP main pump and 3/4 HP booster pump (for the cleaner) to a single Intelliflo VF pump. Most of the savings comes from the very low power when the solar is off, though I also save some when the solar is on since I've tuned for the recommended flow rate. I also save some by not having a separate booster pump for the pressure-side pool cleaner.

 

[geekgranny]

I'm not going to post numbers as I'm short for time. Will look at my posts later to get some numbers.

I'm running VF 23/7 and have been doing so for over two months now. My last bill, meter read around May 20, with average day time temps same as same month last year.........

REFLECTS $128 less for the same time period last year.

At last years rate, $0.02 higher, it would have been a savings of $147.

I wasn't running Challenger SFHP 2.23 as much time either, per day, either. All other conditions similar. I've just dialed down one set of outdoor low voltage lights in past week or so. Several sets still on dusk to dawn.

We did reduce some head via 2" pipes at pumping station, took out some "frankenplumbing" which included some elbows and 90s. Also less head from 36 sq ft DE to new Quad 80 sq ft. And using Fiber Clear this year. BUT have added head at returns by closing one off and drastically resticting a second one to get enough flow to Pool Skim.

Can't wait to see the reduction now that I stopped using the booster pump, as of yesterday.

gg=alice

 

[ttmatsu]

ajgiii,
50 PSI for your filter is the max. You should coat your filter at high speed. Once the DE coats the girds, it stays on the girds. I know this is true because I don't backwash - I drain my filter, take it apart and clean it each time PSI indicates it's required and the girds are fully coated. Fiber clear falls off the girds when the pump turns off (this is why a quick backwash effectively empties the filter of all the fiber clear). Because the DE stays on the girds, the filtering effectiveness of a DE filter is not impacted by low GPM (confirmed by Hayward tech support). SWIM claims that their media is so light that even under low flow, it will still completely re-coat the girds when the pump turns on each day.

 

[ajgiii]

Re: Intelliflo owners -- report in...Thanks ttmatsu

ttmatsu

Thank you for your note, and explaining how fiber clear behaves.

Well, here comes some lower speeds and lower electricity bills, and less noise, and longer pump life.
I REALLY like my VF!!!!

Seriously, thank you.
J.

 

[geekgranny]

ajgiii,
50 PSI for your filter is the max. You should coat your filter at high speed. Once the DE coats the girds, it stays on the girds. I know this is true because I don't backwash - I drain my filter, take it apart and clean it each time PSI indicates it's required and the girds are fully coated. Fiber clear falls off the girds when the pump turns off (this is why a quick backwash effectively empties the filter of all the fiber clear).

This is not true in all cases. I've had to take my Quad apart to clean the cartridges (Quad uses 4 special cartridges instead of grids) because after several backwashes, the fiber clear, AND MY CLAY AND CHALK DUST, get "glued" to the cartridges. Quad and VF installed early March 2010. About one month to 6 weeks into use I couldn't get anything out backwashing. I took the top off to clean the cartridges. (Backwashing prior to that had removed most but it reached a critical point) I have pics and video. The cellulose was mixed well with the dust and virtually all had stayed in place on the cartridges. A couple of weeks ago, after trying about every flow rate possible for backwash setting on VF all the way up to 100 gpm, and 9" of water out of my pool total (in two separate attempts) when I opened it same thing. This time I used the brass reducer on end of hose which did knock it off but in order to get back to original starting filter psi I had to soak the grids in dishwashing detergent. At that time the first backwash, several inches of water from pool, only lowered the filter psi 3. Another backwash, bringing total to 9 inches used for backwashing in two days (with no cellulose added after first), and psi didn't go down any more.

I had been running VF between 1000 up to about 1700 rpm, 16 gpm and about 34 gpm (my figures will vary a little in different posts as I don't always have recorded figures in front of me)

So the cellulose, Fiber Clear, does not always "act" as they predict. When I asked my "Favorite Most Trusted" pool guy, who installed my Filter and VF, if many of his customers, out this way use the Quads, he said no because they are too much trouble. He had just replaced a new Quad with a vertical grid, that week, because people were having the same issues using DE in Quad, mixed with our clay and chalk dust.

In addition, my VF alerts me to backwash long before the filter psi goes up above 8, usually at a rise of just 6. Pool guy told me to let the smart pump do its job and I am seeing more and more what he is talking about.

Because the DE stays on the girds, the filtering effectiveness of a DE filter is not impacted by low GPM (confirmed by Hayward tech support). SWIM claims that their media is so light that even under low flow, it will still completely re-coat the girds when the pump turns on each day.

I've been resting my media for any hour a day and running at pretty low flow or very low all the time. I'm going to try giving it a couple more "rest" times a day to see if that makes any difference. There will be one thing that will effect the testing though. I've stopped using the Polaris and have been using the vac cleaner a few hours a day, usually two or three 90 minutes sessions. I haven't programed that into the pump yet so go down and select the vac option, which I have preset at a certain flow in order pull enough water for the cleaner to work.

 

[ajgiii]

I've never used fiber clear or any other DE enhancer. I must say, I haven't had trouble cleaning my grids. We'll see the results after our replastering job.

Regarding the VF alert to backwash. Mine's never alerted, and the "% filter numbers" are always very low.

I noticed your psi numbers are low....8psi? I set the backwash psi on the VF to 14, but perhaps I should rethink, since I was basing that on my old, single speed pump. The set up runs at a relatively high pressure because we have an integral spa with the pool, with only one pump. In fact, the previous owner ran a Polaris 360 as well, and I've continued the practice.

Running pressure clean is perhaps 18psi (but I need to validate because I'm using memory)

Thank you for the extra food for thought.

 

[geekgranny]

When the cartridges are in prime condition, re., clean and after loading the 16 cups (Fiber Clear special scoop(cup) that comes in the bag) my starting filter psi, running VF pump at about 16 gpm, the starting psi is 2-3 At 34 gpm it goes up to starting psi 5. I just started using the vac Tracker 4X instead of Polaris 280, three days ago. After cleaning the cartridges today, I'll get to see what gpm I need to run the cleaner with prime condition cartridges. Using the vacuum function the pump seems to disregard the filter status.

I've moved the setting, in pump, for clean filter psi, up a bit when it gets near backwash time, so it won't alert me so much, but I think this is adding to my problem. After cleaning the cartridges well, before the second backwash, I can turn the pump off to rest the media and get the filter status back to 0%, but after the second backwash, as the "cement" is starting to build up, with less and less effectiveness of backwashing, that "resting" becomes less and less effective. As it reaches rise of 6 psi it no longer works at all.

With the 36 sq ft DE filter and old Challenger SFHP 2.23 (and loads of "frankenplumbing" at pad) my starting pressure was never less than 16.

My plumbing is really simple with pretty short run to pumping station, 1.5" until the valves where we just put in 2". PS is below grade but we moved the new filter out from under the deck for vertical clearance and up a few feet from original spot. We added about 8-10 ft pipe length on both sides of filter but all the unneeded elbows, couplers, unions were removed. AND the old push/pull backwash valve was probably creating a lot of turbulence. I haven't been able to disassemble it in several years, to lube the o-ring, because of the grit keeping pretty it "welded" in place. So there are several factors leading to such low starting filter psi including the new Pentair multi-valve.

Our "dust" is pretty unique to our area. Because of the rock and soil here, three of the ten largest cement plants, in the US, are located just seven miles south of us. Most of the raw materials are mined right here, limestone, chalks, shale, clay, sand (probably from dredging), most mined from open pits. Much of the year our wind comes from the south.

So my DE filter is a mini cement factory. Not many people have those conditions in their environment or nearly the amounts that make it into my pool, and house, autos, anywhere it can get, seeping through every crack and cranny. The stuff in the filter is a light brown/dark tan with a slight tinge of pink.

gg=alice