My pump finally died and I'm upgrading to a vs but have questions

[hyder710]

My pool pump finally died last season and I'm buying a new one for this season. My question is what power VS should I get? My pool, heat pump and current pump are listed in my signature. I have been reading a ton about the savings between VS and single speed for awhile now but still have questions. The more I read the more questions Inseem to have so here they are.

1. What size do I need? I currently have a 1 hp pump so I can I replace directly with a 1 hp VS? How exactly do I determine the replacement VS size if I can't match 1:1?

2. I live in north Idaho and my heat pump runs a lot during the season so I'd be more interested in running at the minimum speed necessary to meet my heat pumps flow requirements unless I could easily get the heat pump to call for water when turning on.......is there any easy way of doing this?

3. Can VS pumps still give significant saving if left to run a lower speeds and not turned off throughout the day? I'm having a hard time finding power consumption for the lower speeds.

Thanks for taking the time to read this far. This site is an amazing source of information. You taught me the simplest way to keep my water clear and balanced and now I trust you more than the salesman at the local shop (they just want me to upgrade to a 2hp pump and can't explain why other than my pool is large).

 

[Jimrahbe]

hyder,

As a highly biased Pentair guy, I always recommend the "Gold Standard" of variable speed pumps, the 3 HP Intelliflo. I know you are thinking that 3 HP is way too much... and well, you would be right if the pump was a single speed pump. But with VS pumps the HP is "Max" HP not something that you would be using 99% of the time. Check with your Utility company.. I've read here that a lot of power companies will provide a rebate for the Intelliflo.

All the other major brands are probably "almost" as good...

My pump only uses 175 Watts when run at 1,200 RPM. This is the speed I use most of the time. I would run it slower, but my SWCG needs 1,100 to turn on the flow switch.

I run this pump 24/7 and it costs me less than $20 a month in electricity.

But... as with most VS pumps, the pump itself has an internal timer that you program. The downside to this timer is that it is for the pump only, so it cannot control other items that you might want running at the same time.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[hyder710]

Is it necessary to go up to 3hp for cpst savings or would a 1.5hp vs o the same thing? I'd like to save some money Sim i can upgrade a salt system.

 

[Pool Clown]

Manufacturer advertises that you could set their pump (intelliflo VS) next to your existing single speed, speed up the VS to a rpm where it is moving the same amount of water as your single speed, and you would get 30% savings in electricity. IOW, VS would require 30% less cost to accomplish the same task.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

If you don't have or plan to get a Pentair automation system, then the IntelliFlo VS is overkill. You can get a Pentair SuperFlo VS pump which has all of the controls on-board the pump but without the automation interface (communication interface between the pump and an EasyTouch panel). The SuperFlo's do have lower flow rates for the same HP as compared to the IntelliFlo but you can download both pump curves and compare to see if the 1.5HP SuperFlo fits the bill. You can also compare that to the Pentair SuperMax VS pump (also 1.5HP). Just check the pump curves to see how they compare.

If you post up more information about your plumbing such as how far your equipment is from the pool, the diameter of the PVC pipe used on the intake and return sides, the pressure of your filter when the system is running normally and if there is any elevation change between the equipment pad and the pool, our pump experts can give you an idea as to how much head loss your system has and which pump would match what you currently have.

That all said, if you are thinking of going the automation route with an SWG, then you want to be careful as to what you purchase because automation only works well when you stick with one particular manufacturer of equipment. Either all Jandy, all Hayward or all Pentair; trying to mix & match automation/pump/SWG components is a recipe for disaster...

 

[GaryT58]

I replaced my 1hp pentair superflo single speed with the 1.5hp pentair superflo vs and like it a lot. I can run as low as 650RPM and satisfy my SWG, but that barely moves the water. Yes, it is a very good investment. I also like the fact that at 1200rpm, you can hardly hear it, unless you are right next to it.

 

[hyder710]

Alright I just bought a brand new 3hp intelliflo for $850 shipped (my local shop wanted nearly that to put a new single speed motor on my 10 year old pump). I'm not doing any automation and at that price I should be able to find salt water generator as well.

Just to be clear if I set my speed (flow) at the minimum required to run my heat pump and salt water generator (as soon as it's installed) I could set it and forget it assuming my filtration is sufficient?

 

[GaryT58]

Alright I just bought a brand new 3hp intelliflo for $850 shipped (my local shop wanted nearly that to put a new single speed motor on my 10 year old pump). I'm not doing any automation and at that price I should be able to find salt water generator as well.

Just to be clear if I set my speed (flow) at the minimum required to run my heat pump and salt water generator (as soon as it's installed) I could set it and forget it assuming my filtration is sufficient?

In theory yes. As your filter gets dirty, you may need to raise the RPM. For example, while the minimum on my pump is 650 for SWG, it can take up to 800 as the pump gets dirty. Also, at the lowest RPM it would be sufficient for SWG, but maybe not for water flow to get stuff to your skimmer. I found I need 1100 ish to do that. So you can set up different program times - like run 30 minutes at higher speed to clean surface, then lower to generate chlorine.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

The IF pump has a lower speed limit of 600rpm AND below ~1000rpm, there's little to no change in electrical power draw.

So setting the RPM below 1000rpm doesn't typically save you anything.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pool Clown]

a brand new 3hp intelliflo for $850 shipped (my local shop wanted nearly that to put a new single speed motor on my 10 year old pump).

I wouldn't call those guys for anything...again!

I would charge about 450.00 to do that, And I'm expensive!

Just to be clear if I set my speed (flow) at the minimum required to run my heat pump and salt water generator (as soon as it's installed) I could set it and forget it assuming my filtration is sufficient?

Yes. Note: You should monitor your chems and overall clarity of the pool though, through it's first season with this new pump. Your pool is going to circulate differently now since you can adjust the flow rate.

 

[hyder710]

Thanks for the advice. The big pool store in my town isn't always the most helpful. I had a longer than necessary learning curve as a result of them and this web site really helped me through that 5 years ago.

I found a local pool guy that works out of a van and has little overhead so his prices are quite fair, his work is excellent and that's who I use when somthing is over my head.