Leslies ugh pool pump

[Katodude]

So I went to Leslies to buy a 3hp Intelliflo. The 011028. It is on sale for 1299 including installation. They gave me some Crud about it being to big for 1.5” piping and were pushing me to a superflo. I have to believe they are wrong, figured I should double check. Any issue on running this with 1.5” piping?

 

[duraleigh]

Well, a 3 hp pump is wa-a-ay overkill for your pool. I would be more concerned about it being able to "overdrive" the filter. The model number for your filter is a model number for a cartridge refill.....not the filter.

What model filter do you have and can you find a gpm flow rate for it?

 

[Katodude]

And I am not sure that my piping isn’t 2”. The outside circumference of the pipe is 7.5”. Here is a picture of my equipment pad.

 

[Katodude]

Here is a picture of the pump label.

 

[mknauss]

Just to clarify, a VS pump cannot be too big. You just do not run it at full speed. You can easily limit the max speed it uses for priming or any other time.

 

[duraleigh]

1. That looks like 2" pipe to me. How did the subject of 1.5" come up.

2. I agree with mknauss, that a vs pump is never too big. I do believe they can be too costly though, because you pay for horsepower. Compare that 3 HP vs to a 1.5 vs (which would be perfect for your pool size.)

 

[Katodude]

The Leslies person just assumed I had 1.5” pipe. I think it is 2” also considering the outside circumference is 7.5”.

My current pump is 2hp so I am a little hesitant to downsize. I though the 3hp would be perfect running at a slower speed.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Dude,

I have two rent houses and they both have 1.5" plumbing and a 3HP IntelliFlo VS pump and they work just fine. One was installed 10 years ago and one about 7 years ago.. They have been running 24/7 since they were installed.

The advantage of a large VS pump is that you can run it slow and move more water.

In my case, both pools have EasyTouch Automation systems, so it had to be the IntelliFlo..

The only downside to having a large pump is the price..

I see you have a DIY controller.. Do you intend to use it to control the speed of the pump? If so, I doubt you will be able to use the RS-485 that the IntelliFlo uses, but both pumps have the ability to accept discrete inputs for speed changes.. The SuperFlo VS requires a special cable, and the IntelliFlo requires an IntelliComm kit.. which translates discrete inputs into RS-485 commands

Thanks,-

Jim R.

 

[duraleigh]

Jim and Marty have a lot of hands on experience with vs pumps. If the price is in the ballpark, I would defer to their wisdom and get the 3 HP.

 

[Katodude]

Dude,

I have two rent houses and they both have 1.5" plumbing and a 3HP IntelliFlo VS pump and they work just fine. One was installed 10 years ago and one about 7 years ago.. They have been running 24/7 since they were installed.

The advantage of a large VS pump is that you can run it slow and move more water.

That’s the answer I needed to hear!! Thank you very much.

I actually plan on controlling the pump through the RS-485 connection. Been experimenting on the NodeJS Pentair pool controller and should be able to incorporate it into my system.

 

[Katodude]

So just to update, the Intelliflo was installed and so far working great. Running at 1750 rpm for now, clean filter pressure is 6psi vs 12psi for the old pump. However, it seems like it still moving quite a bit of water. Definitely much more than 50% that the pressure would indicate. Also I hear water sloshing through the pipes which is something I have never heard before, but that might be related to the fact that the pump is soooo much quieter.