New pool owner have questions on pump replacement

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W

whytry

0
Mar 9, 2016
14
El Dorado Hills, CA
I live in CA, and have PGE for my power, so its expensive. I typically hit Tier4 during the summer which is .32/kwh. My home I purchased last year in June has an older pump, but it it so weathered I can not tell what it is, or even where to find a label to try to figure out what to look at for replacement. I know I was very interested in the Ecopump setup, I first was looking at the UV light setups to help control chemical use as I have not been very good with keeping the levels where they need to be, and one of the manufactures of the UV setup (spectralight, I think) has a sister company I'm guessing that sells the ecopump. I emailed on the UV setup and they said they have the abillity to get the pump too, so when I emailed the place for the pump I got a response from the same guy I was speaking to about the light, just different email address... (full name listed, and after speaking to him he confirmed same guy)..

So after seeing the pricing on their complete package, I thought it was very costly. I have been reading here for awhile and finally joined today and wanted to get some thoughts on my pool. It is a good sized pool, I was told by a guy from Leslie's pool that was nice enough to come out and help me get pool chemicals up and running so kids can use it while we moved furniture, etc, and he said looks to be roughly 20,000-23,000 gallons. How can I figure out what is a good pump to get, and be as energy efficient as possible, like I said I have been hitting tier 4 for awhile now, and it is frustrating when you get PGE bill of over $700. monthly, and have changed all lights to LED, rarely use the heater, A/C sparingly too as this bill is outrageous. I have spoken to PGE and they said when my pool pump is running I am typically at 3kwh, and when not (like middle of night) I am less than 1 kwh. So they are thinking my pool pump is taking close to 2kwh... There is so much to learn and yes I am new learning but need to get some guidance....

I will try to get more info from my existing pump tonight, but what else should I be trying to solve for?
 
Take photos and post them here...some pumps can be identified with a photo.
imgur.com can host your photos for free to post here.

Forget about the UV system, they only work on commercial public sized pools and do next
to nothing for residential pools. Maintaining proper chlorine levels will do the best job to take care of sanitizing.

Sounds like you could really use a variable speed pump to save on electricity, post your
pump photos so we can recommend something.
 
I have been reading on the UV opinions here since I posted the last post. I am really thankful for sites like this that can help steer someone in the right direction on these things. I will be home this evening and post some pictures up then! Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Welcome to TFP! Congrats on the new pool!

Do you have waterfalls, water features, infloor cleaning, spa, solar panels or other items that require higher water flow? Do you have pool automation? What brand and size pump do you have now? It will have HP (horsepower) rating and a SF (service factor). HP will be 1, 2 or 3. SF will be 1.0, 1.3, 1.4 or something like that.

You definitely need a variable speed pump. I run mine at 1100 rpm for filter, skimming and making chlorine and it only uses 150 watts. I can run my pump 24x7 at 10.25c/kWh for less than 12 bucks a month.

Here is what I have,
Pentair IntelliFlo Variable Speed Pump 011018 | Pentair 011018

If a smaller pump is good for you then here is a smaller one,
Pentair SuperFlo VS Pump 342001 | Pentair 342001

Check with your power company and the state for rebates for upgrading to an energy efficient pump.

For maintaining your water start reading here, Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
 
I can't figure out how to post pictures from my mobile, so I did take some pix and after some cleaning up n googling it looks like I have a A.O Smith motor K48M2N110, and from what I could decipher on the label and internet it's looks like I have a Hayward RS1500... It

- - - Updated - - -

Oops. Sorry.

It is a 1.5hp single speed max 2.25 hp. 1.1 kW, 3450 rpm, volts 115/230 and amps 19.4/9.7. That was taken from the label on the underside of the motor itself.
 
Just a couple of comment here,
First off, forget teh UV thing. Its nowhere nearly as effective as the marketeers claim it is. Especially in an outdoor pool.

Next,
the ecopump is fairly new into the VS pump market. Not a lot is known about them in terms of reliability. I not knocking the brand, Im just saying that "the jury is still out"
If the pocketbook can stand it, I would recommend looking one of the more major brands.

When it comes to VS pumps, it seems counterintuitive, but bigger VS pumps result in lower electric cost per gallon of water flow per hour, than does one of the smaller HP VS pumps.
Case in point. I have a 3 HP VS pump and run about 1000 rpm, which moves plenty enough water to very effectively filter my pool. At 1000 RPM, it uses about 125 watts.


Before pulling the trigger, do a bit more reading on TFP about Variable Speed pumps and keep asking questions. A VS pump is a sizeable expenditure, and you really should do all you can to get it right the first time.

You probably already know, but I'll mention it just in case it slipped your mind! :)
CA electric companies have several rebate programs for VS pumps, so check that out too.

About the pump you have now...
I dont know how the electric company came up with 3 KWH.
its a 1.5 HP full rated motor. (I googled the AO Smith pn to confirm it).

One horsepower is equal to 745.7 watts. When you multiply 745.7 watts by 1.5 hp, you get 1118.55 watts, which is right about 1.1 KW as it says on your motor tag. So that makes sense.

Energy costs are calculated in kilowatt-hours, and to get kilowatt-hours, you multiply watts by hours and divide by 1,000. So, if you run your pool pump for 8 hours in one day at 1118.55 watts multiplied by 8 and divided by 1,000 equals 8.9 kilowatt-hours. If you run your pump every day for an average of 30 days per month -- 30 multiplied by 8.9 -- your pump uses 269.4 kilowatt-hours in a month

$0.32*269.4 = $86.20 a month if you run it 8 hours a day.
 
The power used by that pump is probably close to 2,000 watts (power), which means that every hour of operation uses 2 kilowatt-hours (energy).

The actual power used can not be determined by the rated hp x 746. Service factor and pump efficiency have to be considered. The actual power draw by a single speed pool pump will be roughly 1,000 watts x total horsepower.

A VS pump is definitely the best option. It's a law in California that the filter pump has to be less than 1 hp total hp or two speed or variable speed.

The pump is a Hayward Super II, made as a private label for Leslies.

The maximum power draw for the pump is 230 volts x 9.7 amps = 2231 watts. Typically, the pump won't draw the maximum power, but it won't be very far away.

Some of the new variable speed pumps display power usage. That's a very good feature to have. Try to get a pump that displays power usage.

I would forget about the ecopump and uv. The ecopump is just a regular two speed pump that uses a lot of jargon to try to sound impressive. They use the word "condenser" instead of the common term "capacitor". Anyone that uses confusing jargon and marketing mumbo jumbo should be avoided.
 
I've been talking to my pool guy since like I said Im new at this and he said he can get the pump for me and don't buy it online as the warranty isn't the same. He is saying the pumps typically are around $1200-1800 for a good VS pump. But when I look online they are about 1/2 that much.

Also he wants to drain n clean the pool(it had been neglected for several years from the prior owners, I have even been told to replaster it as its really bad). Can someone explain how to add a picture, this way I can show you what it looks like). The pool guy is the same one 2 neighbors use so I don't know him from anybody. He is just someone else who has also told me to either drain n paint, replaster, or some type of pressure wash he wants to do to see if if can improve. The white plaster is a couple different shades of white and in some spots looks like it's algae but he said its not. 'Just needs work'
 

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So my existing single speed pump is making this horrible squeeling sound almost every time it turns on now. I do have a home warranty on this pump as well, (part of package when bought home). After reading more and more and calling to confirm that my warranty covers the pump, does this sound like something they will replace under the warranty? It looks like if so they have to replace with a VS pump here in CA...

Am I wrong in thinking the pump is going out and I should try for a replacement? Or is there more to it?

THanks, again sorry for all the questions, I'm very new to this pool stuff...
 
That usually means the bearings are going. There are several options.

1) Replace the motor with a two speed motor and get most of the energy savings of a VS pump at less than half the cost.

2) Replace the entire pump with a variable speed pump. More cost up front but saves more on energy. Depending on the cost of #1 vs #2, either can come out ahead over the life of the pump.

3) Replace the old pump with a new two speed pump. For CA, this is probably not as cost effective as either #1 or #2.
 
Hi everybody! Checking back in with you all on progress. I have terminated my pool guy as I had a Polaris 280 sweep and it was clogged and I cleaned it out as he said replace it and after I told him it was working again about 2 wks later it just broke again. Checked it out and found one of the gears just happen to crack and now won't work. Also I have been reviewing replaster vs painting and decided to replaster! It is getting started tomorrow! I have changed from the pump sweep to the Dolphin electric sweep after seeing my good friends in action and seeing how it uses way less power as well I ordered it from Amazon. Now for the new pump. I need some guidance. The Leslie's pool is telling me to get a 3hp variable speed pentair and another pool place is recommending the Ultraflow version at 2hp variable speed pump. Pool has no waterfall but does have built in spa and it is the kidney shape.

Is it better to get a 3 HP or 2 HP? As I said in the beginning I'm learning as much as I can and reading a lot of info on here. Thank you for all the help!

Now off to read about startup after replastering!!
 
The smaller VS pumps are generally not suited for spas but it depends on the number and type of jets the spa has.

But Pentair does not have an UltraFlo VS. Did you mean SuperFlo VS? Good pump but not very powerful.
 
pooldv said:
Welcome to TFP! Congrats on the new pool!



Here is what I have,
Pentair IntelliFlo Variable Speed Pump 011018 | Pentair 011018


For maintaining your water start reading here, Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
Click to expand...


THis is the pump I am going to get. To buy this online I was told has only a 60 days warranty, is that true? At the Leslie's near me they told me that and even showed me the box where is says 60 day warrantly if bought online. And must be installed by professional otherwise it will void the warranty is that true too?
 
Yes, Pentair does have some protections in place to help their authorized dealers and installers. I would call INYO Pools and Sunplay.com and ask them these questions directly
 
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