New Pump recommendation

[nealyak]

Hello, All,

First time poster here. Excellent forum here. Already saved me a ton of money and given me the satisfaction of DIY!!

Looking for pump for Inground Concrete/Plaster Diving Pool, 17X30 ft, 20k gallons, 1 skimmer, 1 main drain, 5 returns,
1 HP (SF 1.25) STARITE SINGLE SPEED 115V, Hayward Sandfilter 3.14 ft.ft. Its an older pool. Piping seems mainly 1.5 inch.

From reading other posts here and learning. I am leaning toward a 2 speed pump (AZ energy is cheap) and my pool has no water features. So no need for Variable Speed.

I am trying to decide between Pentair SuperFlo 3/4 hp (341111 SF-N2-3/4A), Whisperflo WFDS-24 and an appropriate Hayward SuperPump.

Will the smaller Superflo be sufficient. Is it a good quality pump? I read that its Pentair's cheaper pump to compete with the Hayward Superpump. In which case, I do not mind paying more for the quality of Whisperflo. Is the Whisperflo supposed to be quieter? The pump is not far from our bedroom so noise is a consideration.

Thanks all!

 

[jblizzle]

So your current pump is definitely 115V? What is the size of your plumbing.

Also note that the WFDS-3 is identical for the WFDS-24, but they may have different pricing.

The SuperPump and SuperFlo are in the same class pump, but not "cheaper" as in quality. They are just smaller pumps for applications that do not need to move as much water and are thus cheaper to buy and run.

I dropped from a 2.2 SFHP Hayward to a 1.25HP Superflo 2-speed with no problems including running a large solar array.

Note the Superflo comes with unions to connect to the plumbing and a manual switch installed to change the speed ... the Whisperflo does not.

 

[nealyak]

Thanks for the info, Jason.

I believe the piping is 1.5 inch. But its mostly underground so hard to tell for sure. The plumbing near the pump station is mostly 2 inch but is a mismatch. As you can see in the picture.

[attachment=0:386fdpgb]poool13.jpg[/attachment:386fdpgb]

The hole in the skimmer is 1.5 inch. I'm pretty sure the pool is more than 15 years old

 

[nealyak]

Also yes, my current pump is 115V/230V but run at 115V. But from my understanding, making the switch is fairly simple. Just switch a couple of wires around?

 

[jblizzle]

You would have to switch the breaker and then I guess switch the neutral line (115V) to the 2nd LINE (230V) and mark it with electrical tape ... although I am not sure doing that is to code or not.

Given the single suction line, I would the the 115V 3/4HP Superflo 2-speed would be the easiest install. It might be a little smaller than what you have now as far as water flow on high speed, but you would only be using high speed for backwashing likely anyway, right?

The less water you move, the lower the power consumption (within reason).

 

[nealyak]

Thanks again Jason. Yes, thats pretty much my understanding for switching the voltage. Basically, my understanding was that it didnt involve installing new wires or any other major infrastructure.

Yes, high speed would only be used for manual vacuuming and backwashing. So the 115V 3/4HP Superflo 2-speed will handle those tasks? I am wondering if the vacuuming will be weak and insufficient.

Have you any idea what the other return line could be for (see pic). There is nothing else in the pool, apart from the already accounted for jets and returns.

 

[jblizzle]

That pump should certainly handle vacuuming and backwashing.

Are you sure you have accounted for ALL the return jets? Maybe that valve is connected to 1 for a pressure cleaner and it just looks like a normal return?

 

[nealyak]

hmmm, I didnt know about pressure cleaners! How are they different looking from regular return jets.

When I turn off valve 1 all but 2 returns go quiet (these returns look like jets). Turning off Valve 3 quietens the 2 remaining returns (one is above water level and the other is just a hole in the wall). I cannot see what the other one could be, there are no other holes. I am wondering if the sometime in the pool's history someone combined the two return lines.