What's better, 120V or 240V for peristaltic pump?

[kellyj]

My PB wants me to buy the chlorine tank and pump that I want to use (Rola-Chem; http://www.rola-chem.com/peristaltic_pumps.html) and then contract separately with his electrician to install it - I'm sure he just doesn't want to warranty it. So I have to decide on either the 240 Volt pump (that will be wired directly) or a 120 Volt (that gets plugged into a socket. Any opinions? Pros and Cons?

Kelly

 

[Bama Rambler]

It doesn't really make a difference except in installation costs. I would personally opt for the 120 volt because if something happens to it you can replace it yourself and not have to have an electrician to disconnect/reconnect it.

 

[Richard320]

We had one of those roller pumps for chlorine decades ago when I worked at a Boy Scout camp. It plugged in, but the outlet was wired to the filter timer. When it died, it was pretty simple to replace it.

 

[Miranda]

Will the peristaltic pump be wired into the SAME circuit as your pool pump and/or other equipment? If so, you will have to match the voltage to the existing circuit. Though some folks will split off from one leg of the 240 circuit to run a 120 receptacle or other fixture, that is illegal and unsafe. 240 and 120 items cannot share a circuit.

If you already have two separate circuits to your pool area (a 240 and a 120) then it is your choice of convenience, the peristaltic won't use much energy. My choice would be to wire it at the same voltage on the on the same circuit as my pool pump, after the timer/switch, in order to prevent it from injecting chlorine when the pool pump is off. However this setup may not be compatible with the timer features on the peristaltic pump (because if there is no power to the peri pump when the pool pump is off, the the peri pump timer won't run).

So, it depends... on what circuit(s) are present, what voltage your pump is at, what type of timer system you run for you rpool pump, what type of timer system the peri pump has, and whether you want it to operate independently of your pool pump, or only when it runs.

240 doesn't have to be hard wired. Your electrician can easily wire a 240V twist lok receptacle.

 

[Aquaman95]

My PB wants me to buy the chlorine tank and pump that I want to use (Rola-Chem; http://www.rola-chem.com/peristaltic_pumps.html) and then contract separately with his electrician to install it - I'm sure he just doesn't want to warranty it. So I have to decide on either the 240 Volt pump (that will be wired directly) or a 120 Volt (that gets plugged into a socket. Any opinions? Pros and Cons?

Kelly

I'd go 120. It's much more standard. I would also recommend considering the Stenner (www.stenner.com) over the Rola-Chem. Lower maintenance and better parts availability in TX.

If you're planning on ordering a tank online you may be able to buy one less expensively locally due to the shipping. Austin Pump down around 35/71 stocks them and there is another tank distributor down 290 in Giddings.

 

[kellyj]

Great, thanks for the info. I guess I will have to ping the electrician to see if I can go with 120. I had the homebuilder pre-wire a 240 outlet for equipment, but don't know if there's another circuit.

And I will check out the local companies for Stenner, seems competitively priced.

Thanks all, Kelly

 

[Miranda]

If you have ONLY 240 and aren't going to add a circuit, then you will need to go with the 240 peri pump. BUT, I would suggest you go ahead and have him add a 120 receptacle, because many things you may want to add to your setup will require 120 (like a robotic pool cleaner) and it is handy to have a receptacle available near the equipment for other things (like power tools, trouble lights)