Jandy ePump?

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gvnchase44

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Jul 1, 2009
9
Ok....I am new to this whole thing and the lingo you all are using is beyond me. I am a simple guy with a in-ground pool, 30 x 15 gunite/plaster and I currently have 3 Jandy Stealth 2 HP pumps. One for circulation, one is a booster for the spa and the third is to run 2 waterfalls. I am looking to replace only the one that does the circulation in an attempt to save money on energy costs. I know the Jandy epump will fit perfectly with my pda remote. I am, however, confused by some of the data that is presented here. It seems as though the Jandy is not as efficient as they say or at least compared to others. But I know that trying to put a hayward or pentair pump in would require much more cost in terms of controllers to integrate to my system. Any thoughts on my situation?? I have a supplier who will sell me the 2.0 epump for $850. Thanks for you time

Mike
 
The Jandy ePump is not as efficient as say the Pentair IntelliFlo, but it is way way better than what you have now. If it will integrate better with your existing control system, it is probably a reasonable upgrade. But, keep in mind that it may require upgrades to your current controller for it to be able to control the ePump. By the time you do that, you might be spending as much as an IntelliFlo and IntelliComm, which can save you electricity in the long run.

Regardless of your choice, make sure you work with an installer who has worked with the combination you are installing before. The newer variable speed pumps can be tricky to get configured and working happily with the controller, so it is best to be sure your installer knows how to deal with that.
 
I have talked to Jandy already and they have agreed to send me the upgrades on the chips for my PDA system....It is my understanding that I will be able to have one program to simply turn over the water and a second program with increased hp for running my navigator to clean the bottom...does this sound correct?? Is it worth the money for the new pump?? Are the electricity savings really that significant?

Thanks Mike
 
If you really don't need more than two speeds, another option is to just swap out the motor in your existing pump for a two speed. That will give you a majority of the savings although not as much as the ePump. For even more saving, you can downsize the impeller and the motor at the same time. This will probably get you pretty close to what the ePump can do and save you quite a bit in money.

The ePump would probably outperform the standard two speeds at the lower speeds but depending on what the power company charges, that could take a long time to pay off the cost difference.
 
It all depends on your electrical rates. If you are paying $0.45 per kwh, then a variable speed pump will easily pay for it's self. Most people see a 50% reduction in the cost of running the main pump when they replace a fixed speed pump with a variable speed pump. A few people save much more than that, though that is rare.
 
I replaced a 5-year old 2 hp Stealth with a 1.5 hp ePump about a month ago, so I can report on my experience. My pool is about 24k gal, has a raised spa with 5 jets, solar panels on a 2-story roof, and a Ray-Vac cleaner driven by a 3/4 hp booster pump. My top tier electric rate is $.38/kwh, so I'm guessing 2 years or less for payback. The old 2 hp pump was pulling 9.7A/2230 watts running the filter, and 8.9A/2140 watts running the solar.

I chose the ePump over the Pentair for the following reasons: 1) The location of the pump inlet and outlet ports is only 1/8" different from my old pump, so I planned to swap out the pump without needing any plumbing changes. 2) I have the Jandy Aqualink Onetouch control system. That needed to be upgraded to the new revision P firmware (cost $650), but the ease of use of an all Jandy control system seemed better than installing the Pentair IntelliComm II interface and having potential communication problems. 3) I was doing this as a DIY to keep costs down, and the Jandy parts were cheaper than the Pentair.

Installation of the Aqualink upgrade and the new pump took me half a day, but was simple and straight forward except for one major glitch. My old 2 hp Stealth (model JHP 2.0) uses a fine thread on the pipe connection union while the new ePump uses a coarse thread, so I needed to do some plumbing work after all. My local Home Depot and Lowes do not carry PVC larger than 1.5", but the ACE hardware and a landscape supply store had a good selection of larger diameter PVC.

One great feature of the Aqualink upgrade is that it reports both the pump speed and power use on the indoor Onetouch control unit. The Aqualink allows up to 8 different speeds to be set in 5 rpm increments. I'm currently using 5 speeds, as follows: 1) basic filter pump, 1250 rpm, 115 watts, 2) spa, 3025 rpm, 1060 watts, 3) spillover, 2100 rpm, 350 watts, 4) cleaner, 1700 rpm, 235 watts, and 5) solar, 2630 rpm, 700 watts. I'm still fine tuning the speeds to find out how low I can go without creating any problems. I did notice the pump had a wah-wah-wah sound when I went below 1100 rpm, but it smoothed out to a purr when I raised the speed a little.

I haven't gotten a new electric bill since installing the pump, so I can't comment on energy savings yet. Also, I have been using the A/C a lot since installing the new pump, so I would be happy if the next bill is about the same as the last one. Other than the unexpected thread problem, I have no complaints with the installation and operation of the ePump. Let me know if you have any questions.
 
Thanks to everybody for your input...As I stated before, Jandy was going to send me the chip upgrades for my pda at no cost. I did purchase the epump yesterday ($915 out the door, no tax or shipping) With my current electric bill at over $300/month without the use of air conditioning you can see why I was interested in this option.

Lochman, I would be very interested in what your realized cost savings are from your new pump, if you wouldnt mind. I too, am making this a DIY project, so I might run into the thread issues as well..although my pumps are only 3 years old. I would be also interested in how difficult it was for you to program them. I was on hold with Jandy for over 1 hour yesterday and the rep stated most of the epump calls are due to programming issues. Thanks Again!!

Mike
 
I got my electric bill and I can report on energy use compared to last month and last year. I installed the pump on 6/7 and the utility read the meter on 6/9 and 7/10. I didn't use the AC at all before 6/9 and have been using it pretty regular since then, and my electric bill this month is only $1 more than last month. So switching to a variable speed pump has given me free AC for the past month. My electric bill includes a comparison with same period last year, and the latest bill says I used 410 Kwh less than last year. Because all of that would have been billed at the top-tier rate, that means the new pump saved me $155 this past month, assuming AC usage was the same this year as last. Plus, the utility sent me a $100 rebate. Can't complain.
 
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