Intelliflo SV+SVRS, can I get rid of my booster pump?

[pilotbob3]

Wondering if anyone here can assist?

I recently installed a Pentair Inteillflo SV+SVRS filter and am thrilled with the energy savings over my previous Whipserflo.

My next project is trying to eliminate the need to use my Haward 5060 booster pump to power my Polaris 280 pressure side pool sweep. Electricity costs in Northern California are punititve ($0.49 per KwH), so every savings really helps. My Hayward 5060 booster pump draws 9A at 240V so getting rid of it would save me a ton of money.

To test things out, I temporarily plumbed the output of the filter to go directly to the 1" pressure line (and not to the pool returns), eliminating the booster pump from the equation.

I think I'm close to right, the pump while priming (I had to adjust the priming sensitivity a bit so the pump could recognized it was primed) happily drives the Polaris around the pool. The problem is when the pump downshifts to running speed (looks like 3200 RPM will drive the Polaris) after a short time the SVRS alarm trips and shuts down the pump. I think the back pressure from the sweep makes the VS think that the drain is plugged.

I don't have a main drain (this was plugged years ago due to a leak), and the only intake is the pool skimmer. I was hoping that running the Intelliflo at high speed a couple of times a day would combine the need for pool cleaning along with running the sweep. Even at 3400 RPM, the Intelliflow uses far less power than the Intelliflo+Booster pump combo. Thus, I don't think I even need the SVRS feature, but there seems to be no way to disable it.

I was going to automate the system with a Jandy valve/actuator and timer, but need to solve the SVRS alarm problem before I attempt the automation.

Any ideas on how I can disable the SVRS feature, or how I can circumvent the problem? It really does look like the single Intelliflo provides enough flow and pressure to do a good job with the 280, but whatever the software is sensing with the pump is at issue, and I don't see a way to overide.

I understand I can change cleaners, but my Polaris 280 is fairly new and does a great job for my pool.

Thanks in advance for any advice,
Bob

 

[tmoss]

3 yr old pool, running VF and Legend II on a dedicated 1.5" line with no booster. The only way I could keep the pump from shutting down while trying to run the cleaner was to divert flow to the returns to relieve backpressure. This is what the PB and Pentair service rep came up with for a solution. The problem was that the pump ran close to max speed in order to get effective cleaner action. After researching on this forum, speaking to a pump designer from Pentair, and a fair amount of experimenting I found I could run the cleaner at 15 gpm with the returns closed provided I cracked open the relief valve at the wall fitting. Has worked great for 3 yrs. Cleaner runs relatively trouble free with the pump running 550-700 watts depending on filter loading. I occasionally adjust the wall relief for optimum performance. What speed are you priming at? Your post suggests that the pump slows down to 3200 after priming. Perhaps slowing the prime speed and maybe the ramp speed will keep the pump from shutting down.

 

[pilotbob3]

Thanks a million tmoss, great ideas. I will give both a try tomorrow and will inform how it turned out.

Your ideas have given me hope. My guess is that I can save an extra $75 per month on my power bill if this works.

 

[poolneophyte]

Bob,

I asked a similiar question last year because I wanted to run a Polaris 280 using a Jandy variable speed ePump. Take a look at this thread for more details. As I mentioned in the above thread, I received conflicting information from Jandy (Zodiac) tech support whether or not it would work.

My pool is plumbed with a dedicated return for a pressure side cleaner and I would like to use it without a booster pump. I know that there are pressure cleaners which don't need a booster pumps, but the Polaris 280 seems to get very good reviews. I am also looking into Poolvergnuegen pressure side cleaners or possibly re-piping the cleaner line to be a suction port but I'd rather not do that.

Please let us know how it works out.

 

[JasonLion]

It is very unlikely that you will be able to get a Polaris 280 to work without a booster pump. The IntelliFlo can't generate enough pressure for a pool cleaner designed to work with a booster pump. There are a number of other cleaners that work just fine at lower pressures, but not the 280.

 

[pilotbob3]

Thanks to tmoss and Jason for all the advice,

I think I'm ready to throw in the towel on the experiment. Close, but no cigar.

Tmoss- great idea about cracking open the relief valve at the wall. This was exactly what was necessary to get the arrangement to work at all. Now, the Intelliflo does not think that the drain is clogged and runs successfully.

However, with the pressure relief valve opened a bit, I do not quite get enough pressure (might be true even with the pressure relief valve fully closed) to really drive the 280 well. Using just the Intelliflo, the RPM of the wheel on the 280 is 27 (with the manual suggesting a 28 minimum). I've got the Intelliflo running at 3400RPM consuming 1500 watts, but the 280 is just able to climb the walls and can't quite pick up the heaviest of leaves. So, Jason is right in his comment that the Intelliflo alone can not create enough pressure for the 280. Maybe someday I'll get a different cleaner, but for now my 280 does a very nice job with the types of debris I get so I'll just have to suck up the electricity costs.

Thanks again guys,
Bob