Hayward vs Pentair

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S

senk

0
May 31, 2015
16
Elburn, il
I am looking at going to a SWG and keep going back and forth on Hayward vs Pentair. All of the current equipment is Pentair and nothing has had to be replaced since the pool was installed in 2008. I am not the original owner but I find that to be very impressive which is causing me to lean toward the Pentair. I have seen the comments in the forum about the ability to integrate Pentair equipment although I don't believe any of the existing equipment has the capability. I have not seen any comments that Hayward equipment is capable of doing that.

Any input would be appreciated.
 
Welcome to TFP!

Both make good, well known products. The comments you see are probably related to integrating equipment with automation. It is almost always easier to integrate like branded equipment with like branded automation. Hayward and Pentair both make automation products.

I have Pentair equipment and automation because that is what my PB prefers. I've had it 3 years and it is great.

If you are happy with your Pentair equipment there is nothing wrong with using it again. Especially if you might want to use pool automation in the future.
 
If you have Pentair automation then I would stick with a Pentair SWG. Without automation you have rough adjustments, in 25% increments, for the chlorine output with the Pentair SWG. The other con of the Pentair SWG is the replacement cell cost is higher than the Haywards. If you are not using automation to control the SWG then either brand will be fine as they have their own control box and need to be wired along with the pump so they run at the same time. You will have more control with the output on the Hayward as compared to the Pentair in this situation.
 
At the moment, I have no automation. If the pump goes out "tomorrow", I would be inclined to replace it with another Pentair, certainly more state of the art. My only rationale is because that is what equipment is there today and it seems to be holding up quite well. The pool was built in 2008 and none of the equipment has been replaced yet.

I do know that the Pentair replacement cell is much more expensive because the control unit is part of it. One "pro" argument that I have seen is that means one gets the latest and greatest whenever the cell is replaced. Of course, this assumes that Pentair has made changes to the control unit.

Is automation only really applicable to a pump or would it play into the filter unit and the heater?
 
Automation usually involves the pump, SWG, heater, solar panels, lights and actuator valves to change where water comes from and goes. The filter is never part of the automation.
 
The filter has nothing to do with automation. When any device has electronics controlling them then it is best to have all the same brand when using automation. There are workarounds for some brands to play with each other but it makes it easier when everything is the same.

Pentair is a good brand and you will most likely be very satisfied with it.

For my situation the most important consideration would be the rough control of the chlorine output without automation. In my case I would not choose a Pentair SWG for just that reason. My pool is open year round and in the winter I usually ran my old Jandy SWG in the 5% to 10% range to keep the pool at the proper FC level. With 25% being the lowest operating output, it would be making far too much chlorine for my pool during the winter.
 
Thanks for the information on the output consideration. No one that I have talked to has ever brought that up. The only thing that is consistently thrown out there is the difference in cost of the replacement cells. Like everyone has said, it does not look I can go much wrong with whatever way I go. Right now, I would lean toward Pentair believing that the Pentair pump will need to be replaced in another year, two at the most.
 
Yep, the pentair output can only be adjusted in 20% increments. It can be adjusted in 1% increments with Pentair automation. My IC40 is on an independent timer so I can adjust the amount of time it is on and the percentage. Right now mine is at 20% and about 6 hours. Next step 40% and less hours.
 

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Correct, any old timer will do. My VSpump is not connected to a timer it is wired directly to the breaker and has a built in timer and is also controlled by the Solartouch. Most (all?) SWG will not generate chlorine with no flow anyway. They will turn off and give a low flow error. But, you definitely need to make sure your pump is on when your SWG is on so you will make chlorine. My pump runs a lot more than my SWG.
 
My pump runs 24x7 (perhaps foolishly). Have often thought about turning it off overnight but that would only work if we were not out of town.

Guess I could look into changing the wiring so I could put a timer on the pump and the SWG (assuming that is even possible). I do plan on moving to a VS pump once this one dies. Was assuming it was better to use it till it no longer works but find myself questioning that logic when I get my electric bill!

Should I be thinking about replacing the pump now so I can tie things together with the SWG and be more efficient?
 
If you have a single speed pump then you definitely don't want to run it 24x7. I often run my VS pump 24x7 at 1100 rpm to skim all the tree stuff off the surface. But, it only draws 150 watts at 1100 rpm.

Do you have your pump wired through a timer now and it just doesn't have on/off dogs on it? Or is it wired straight to a breaker or shut off?
 
Pump is wired to a breaker. The documentation that I found says it is a WhisperFlo. And, as I look thru the Pump Owners Manual, there is no information about how often to run the pump. What is equally enlightening is the section of Care, I see about 4 things that should NOT be avoided yet I have not been avoiding. I guess it is a miracle that it has lasted as long as it has.
 
I have a Pentair IC40 and you are right the SWG only adjusts in 20% increments. My pump timer is can be set in minutes/hours on a 24 hour cycle. I can control my pump run time dynamically and don't have to worry if I am running my SWG at 33%, 40% ,or 49%. I don't see where the SWG incremental control makes any difference unless you intend to run your pump 24x7 and that makes no economical sense.
 
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