I have an approximately 16,000 gallon pool with a Pentair 2HP 1.3SF 3450RPM pump on it right now. The bearings are starting to make noise on this pump so I'm investigating my options. This led me to read this article which almost seems to be a sales pitch for VS pumps more than anything. Nevertheless, if I follow this article which otherwise makes sense, I see that I can run a VS pump at around 900 to 1,200 RPM (approximately 90GPM for my set up with the 3-2" lines to the skimmer/drain about 20feet to the skimmer and 7 feet deep to the drain or 2-2" lines to the spa and ) for 6 hours a day and get the required two turn overs a day for adequate chlorine generation.
I've come to find out that the state of California now requires VS pumps when replacing pumps but if I R&R the bearings in the existing pump I am exempt from this requirement. My pool maintenance guy states that the repair people he works with will not install a new single speed pump but will do a rebuilt one. As far as new goes, they'll only do a VS Pump.
The recommended VS pump from Inyo Pool will cost me $600 + whereas an exact replacement single speed is $270 and rebuilding what I have costs in the neighborhood of $200 at a local electric motor repair shop. The local utility will give me a $200 rebate on a new VS pump So after tax that brings that down to $500. Assuming I only do the rebuilt pump, that's an initial outlay of nearly $300.
Assuming this is at my top electrical rate is $0.185 per KwH so running the pump 6 hours a day now costs me 11amps x 230V X 6hours or 15KwH/day @ $.185 or $2.80 a day.
For the VS pump with the same run time assumptions, I'm at maybe 1000RPM or 1/2HP which is about 25% of maximum HP yielding 2.5amps x 230V x 6hours or 3.5KwH a day @ $0.185 or $0.64 a day. This is a savings of over $2.00 a day. In the course of a year it comes out to $730 which covers the initial cost of the pump.
During the winter the run time is only 4 hours a day and the rate is at a lower tier as we're on solar and even some months we don't pay for electricity at all so this skews my numbers somewhat so maybe it is a savings of $500.
Here's the rub.. the guy that cleans my pool is adamant about VS pumps not properly chlorinating Salt Water Pools and that it all looks good on paper but in the real world I would end up with a green pool unless I run it at full speed so I save nothing. The other consideration is that the spa cascades into the pool and with a VS pump that would slow to a mere trickle, losing the aesthetic effect of it as well as becoming a problem keeping clean. The sales rep at Inyo Pools I spoke with on the phone said this shouldn't be an issue but that seems a little hard to believe for me.
Then there's having enough flow/pressure to run the pressure side automatic vacuum at low flow rates possibly reducing the effectiveness of keeping the pool clean and it not being able to stay stuck to the walls as it does now. Non of my analysis considers this as I'm not sure how to account for it.
One last thing is that I wouldn't be able to control this pump with a smart phone unless dropping another $280 on a control module and it would not be incorporated into my Autelis Pool Control with my Vera Home Automation Plugin. It might be possible to incorporate it into the Jandy but I'd have to shell out a pretty good chunk of change to replace the board, which
So all that said, what do the experts here at TFP have to say about this?
I've come to find out that the state of California now requires VS pumps when replacing pumps but if I R&R the bearings in the existing pump I am exempt from this requirement. My pool maintenance guy states that the repair people he works with will not install a new single speed pump but will do a rebuilt one. As far as new goes, they'll only do a VS Pump.
The recommended VS pump from Inyo Pool will cost me $600 + whereas an exact replacement single speed is $270 and rebuilding what I have costs in the neighborhood of $200 at a local electric motor repair shop. The local utility will give me a $200 rebate on a new VS pump So after tax that brings that down to $500. Assuming I only do the rebuilt pump, that's an initial outlay of nearly $300.
Assuming this is at my top electrical rate is $0.185 per KwH so running the pump 6 hours a day now costs me 11amps x 230V X 6hours or 15KwH/day @ $.185 or $2.80 a day.
For the VS pump with the same run time assumptions, I'm at maybe 1000RPM or 1/2HP which is about 25% of maximum HP yielding 2.5amps x 230V x 6hours or 3.5KwH a day @ $0.185 or $0.64 a day. This is a savings of over $2.00 a day. In the course of a year it comes out to $730 which covers the initial cost of the pump.
During the winter the run time is only 4 hours a day and the rate is at a lower tier as we're on solar and even some months we don't pay for electricity at all so this skews my numbers somewhat so maybe it is a savings of $500.
Here's the rub.. the guy that cleans my pool is adamant about VS pumps not properly chlorinating Salt Water Pools and that it all looks good on paper but in the real world I would end up with a green pool unless I run it at full speed so I save nothing. The other consideration is that the spa cascades into the pool and with a VS pump that would slow to a mere trickle, losing the aesthetic effect of it as well as becoming a problem keeping clean. The sales rep at Inyo Pools I spoke with on the phone said this shouldn't be an issue but that seems a little hard to believe for me.
Then there's having enough flow/pressure to run the pressure side automatic vacuum at low flow rates possibly reducing the effectiveness of keeping the pool clean and it not being able to stay stuck to the walls as it does now. Non of my analysis considers this as I'm not sure how to account for it.
One last thing is that I wouldn't be able to control this pump with a smart phone unless dropping another $280 on a control module and it would not be incorporated into my Autelis Pool Control with my Vera Home Automation Plugin. It might be possible to incorporate it into the Jandy but I'd have to shell out a pretty good chunk of change to replace the board, which
to my knowledge doesn't support controlling VS pumps and
is a Jandy Model 8156 Type RS-8 Combo circa 2003.So all that said, what do the experts here at TFP have to say about this?