Jandy Variable Speed Replacement Pump (ePump vs VSFloPro)

[JayTee427]

Hi All!

(First, my many thanks to everyone who's ever contributed here on TFP. Over the last few years of owning a pool, this forum has taught me a ton, and I'm still learning through all the shared knowledge!)

To my question though. I currently have an a Jandy AqualinkRS8/iAqualink controller, and several older single speed Starite Max-E-Pro 2HP pumps. I'm looking to upgrade to one of Jandy's variable speed pumps to hopefully save a few hundred dollars a month on electricity, as well as take advantage of the $100 per pump rebate from PG&E.

All that said, I'm trying to decide between the Jandy ePump 2hp and the VS FloPro 2hp pumps. I found a few older forum threads that mention either/or, but no real reviews or comparisons, and nothing recent. From what I've been able to gather, I've found a few stand out differences as follows:

VS FloPro:
- Easy replacement with most pump mfg's, using the adjustable base system.
- Onboard controller included (I don't need it!)

ePump:
- Large trap basket
- Slightly more efficient motor (~10% compared to VS-FP)
- No onboard controller (I don't need for my Aqualink setup)
- Proven Jandy Stealth wet end

Prior reviews give the ePump a thumbs up for being fairly reliable/robust. It looks like the VS FloPro's had some motor reliablity problems when they first came out, but then they started using the AO Smith motors and that seemed to make things better. Other than that, that's about all I've managed to figure out. The VS FloPro with the the adjustable base sounds like a really attractive feature, but haven't been able to find anyone commenting on the usefulness of the system. The with/without controller isn't an issue for me either way as I won't be using them. The ePump size wise is slighly larger in size and will require me to re-pipe things to make it work, where as the VSFP looks like the dimensions will work with minimal if any tweaks to the plumbing using the bases. As for a price difference, I've found that the ePump is about $40 more than the VSFP, which in the end, isn't that big of a deal.

I'm hoping some TFP folks have some 2014/2015 install/user experience to help me out with my upgrade. Good, bad, tips, tricks, I'm all ears!

Many thanks!
-jt

 

[Patrick_B]

Welcome to the forum JT!

I'm not so sure you'll save a few hundred a month with any pump out there. Without crunching numbers you'd have to have enormous electrical costs to get a savings on just the ROI for the upgrade.

 

[ping]

Add your pool specs and some pump experts will be able to offer some advice on which pump makes the most sense for your pool.

How many pumps do you run and how many hours a day are they running? It seems to me that you are running way more than is needed if you think you can save hundreds a month by switching to a VS pump. With CA electrical rates, switching to a two-speed or VS speed pump with proper run times will save you a lot of money very quickly compared to running single speed 2 HP pumps.

 

[JayTee427]

Thanks for the reply guys!

As Ping noted, here in California the electrical rates make upgrading a very cost effective option. Add the $100 per pump rebate with my power company as well.

My pool is ~35k gallons inground, with two main pumps. Both are Starite 2HP fixed speed pumps. One for the filter (Starite Sys 3 Cartridge) and rooftop solar (2story) path, and other is dedicated to the skimmer and it's return via a Paramount floor cleaner/circulation system. I have a Jandy Aquapure 1400 SWG inline with the filtration, so I run that pump 8hrs a day. In in attempt to save $$, I run the skimmer 5hrs a day.

During the winter (if you can call what we have here in CA winter!) I run things about a 3rd of the time, and I see about $175-200 difference in the electricity bill vs the summertime. (If I would have known to upgrade when I moved in, they would have already paid for themselves by now!)

I've narrowed it down to either of the Jandy pump's, and that's my real question. Is looking for current 2014/2015 feedback, reviews, info on either of them before I make a decision on what I've already gathered.

Since my post I've talked to a few folks, and it seems that the VS FloPro makes for the easiest swap in my scenario. But of course always looking for more feedback on either of these pumps!

 

[ping]

I would leave the pump that runs the floor cleaners as that system needs a high flow to work properly. The thing I would do is run it no longer than one hour a day and see if the pool stays clean enough for you. Five hours of run time every day seems to be way too long and a half hour might be enough time.

I would opt for a VS pump for the main filtration along with the solar and SWG plumbing. The run time will depend on how long it takes to make enough chlorine for the pool. Don't be afraid to run the SWG at 100% to lower the pump run time.

 

[pooldv]

So, here is a way to ballpark what you are spending to run your pump(s), if you know the running state power draw of the pump, even better.

#watts/1000 x #hours x electric rate = daily cost

A 2hp pump pump will draw about 2000 watts

2000/1000 = 2 x 8 (hours/day) x 0.15 (price per kWh) = $2.40 per day x 30 = $72 per month

 

[JayTee427]

Thanks guys!

The VS pumps are going in, the math over the last few years had me make this a priority for this season!

I really need some current feedback on the pump choice between the ePump and the VS FloPro!

(Pooldv thx, your math is solid) However, I'm on a tiered usage, so I start for a few days @ .13kWh, but spend most of the month in the .19/.28/.33 kWh rates.) Then it gets worse... Because the pool pumps push me into the upper tiers halfway through the month, my normal household electrical usage then gets billed at those higher rates as well. So the pumps not only cost me up front, but cost me with general usage.

 

[pooldv]

Thanks guys!

The VS pumps are going in, the math over the last few years had me make this a priority for this season!

I really need some current feedback on the pump choice between the ePump and the VS FloPro!

(Pooldv thx, your math is solid) However, I'm on a tiered usage, so I start for a few days @ .13kWh, but spend most of the month in the .19/.28/.33 kWh rates.) Then it gets worse... Because the pool pumps push me into the upper tiers halfway through the month, my normal household electrical usage then gets billed at those higher rates as well. So the pumps not only cost me up front, but cost me with general usage.

Wow, those are big numbers! So, you save on consumption and billing rate. Double winner chicken dinner!

I love my VS pump and it is super energy efficient. I run my pump on 1100rpm for skimming and chlorine making, which only draws 150 watts. And then it jumps to 1950rpm for solar, which draws about 600 watts (I think), and is also more than enough flow to run solar and the waterfall too. Plus, you can turn it up or down for more or less flow, whatever you need. Good stuff!

 

[ping]

I really need some current feedback on the pump choice between the ePump and the VS FloPro!

I was in the same situation about which pump to get if I went with a VS pump and I couldn't find much information on reliability of either pump. I decided to just replace my motor and keep the wet end and I'm happy that I did that in my situation. In the end, I would have picked the FloPro if I made the switch.

Why are you switching out the floor cleaner pump? You need the HP to run the system and running on low will not do it any good. Just run it for one hour a day.

 

[JayTee427]

Why are you switching out the floor cleaner pump? You need the HP to run the system and running on low will not do it any good. Just run it for one hour a day.

It's really my skimmer pump, which happens to have the pool return connected to the floor cleaner. The skimmer does a nice job of skimming, and would like it to continue to run it long enough to be effective. Skimming duration x electricity = $$. If I could run the skimmer at 1/3 speed of what it's at now, get good surface cleaning efficacy, and reap the energy savings, that would be huge! (BTW: The floor "cleaner" is less than effective, I never run the skimmer pump thinking about any actual cleaning...)

 

[JasonLion]

Skimmers don't need much water flow to work well, It is likely they will be fine with a quite low speed.