Looking for advice with a new pump

[imann08]

Info
Size - 20,000gal
Filter - DE 38gallon but planning on going to a 60
Pool - IG Plaster
PumpSize - Single Speed ancient Anthony. I think it is a 1HP

I wasn't sure whether to put this here or under pumping station. I'm a newbie with this stuff so I put it here.

My situation is that I have a pool that I don't use. I would like to continue to keep it clean though and need to get a new pump. I am looking at either the Whisperflo or the Intelliflo. I have seen many comparisons between an Intelliflo and an old single speed pump where the Intelliflo blows it away in efficiency. My question is if the Intelliflo is that much better than a 2speed Whisperflo pump that I would see the difference in efficiency savings or if the difference is so insignificant that it isn't worth the extra money for the Intelliflo pump?

My plan is to run the pump as low as I can to ciculate the 20k gallons once a day over the course of 16-20 hours and give it an official cleaning with the skimmer every 2 weeks or so. It's my impression that running it for a longer time at lower speeds also helps to keep the algea out of the pool to some extent.

I'm sort of clueless on this stuff so I'm sorry if I haven't given enough information. Try to keep it simple if possible. BTW, I live in SoCal so my cost per kwh is quite high comparatively speaking.

 

[Chasville]

When I had to replace my pump last year, I did some research and opted for the Hayward NorthStar.
Unfoturnately, I don't remember why I settled on it.
But, I do like it very very much.
It is really relatively quiet. The air conditioner heat exchanger fan is much noisier.
It has a really good, big, basket, and supports 2" plumbing.
I don't run it 24/7. Last year I ran it for 10 hours a day over night.
This year I'm currently doing 13 hours/day, during the day.
It is 1.4 THP single speed.

Again, I don't remember why I didn't go with a 2-speed model.

I know I compared waranties and actual flow rates, water rise charts, etc.
Perhaps it's because I get a lot of debri in the pool regularly, lots of trees too close.

Anyways, that's my $0.02 worth.

 

[frankthailand]

A 1 hp 2 speed whisperflow sounds like it would fine in your situation. I think the inteliflow is better when you have water features, the power savings between your present pump and a 2speed will be good, but between the 2 speed [when on low speed] and the inteliflow wouldn't be much.

IMHO
Let's see if someone else chimes in.
Happy swims
Frank

 

[JasonLion]

Compared to a single speed pump running a simple pool (no water features), a two speed pump typically saves about 1/3 of your electric bill. The IntelliFlo typically saves about 1/2 of your electric bill. Depending on your electric rates, that may or may not justify the additional up front costs.

The above assumes that the single speed pump and the two speed pump are sized appropriately for the pool. Builders frequently put in oversized pumps, which waste even more electricity. Replacing one of those will increase your savings. It also assumes that the IntelliFlo is appropriately programed to run on a very low flow rate for a long period of time, which is the mode which saves the most electricity.

Solar heat and water features greatly complicate the savings calculations. The IntelliFlo saves some electricity at all but it's very highest speed. But just how much that savings may be for complex setups if often difficult to determine.