- Apr 26, 2009
- 419
So, my WAVE II pump's motor is going out (Baldor 1/2 HP) and I will need to find a solution for the pond this coming summer.
I'm estimating ~15'-20' of head (based on filter PSI) and ~600W. 600W is quite a bit that needs to run in the summer 24x7 (at CA electrical rates), running me ~$150 month in the summer (PG&E's top tier electrical rate is around $0.40/KWh).
Here is a copy of the pump's curve:
And, I am highly skeptical on the curve vs. actual performance, as I had a 1HP Whisperflow powering the pond at one point with much more flow.
I can just replace the motor, however I would like to find a way to cut the power in half (~300W) and still get reasonable flow. I also have access to several wet-ends (Whisperflo, Northstar, Max-E-Flow) that need new motors, so "designing a pump" with a low-power motor might be a route as well.
Just looking for ideas here on ways to get the power down without affecting the flow too much.
I'm estimating ~15'-20' of head (based on filter PSI) and ~600W. 600W is quite a bit that needs to run in the summer 24x7 (at CA electrical rates), running me ~$150 month in the summer (PG&E's top tier electrical rate is around $0.40/KWh).
Here is a copy of the pump's curve:
And, I am highly skeptical on the curve vs. actual performance, as I had a 1HP Whisperflow powering the pond at one point with much more flow.
I can just replace the motor, however I would like to find a way to cut the power in half (~300W) and still get reasonable flow. I also have access to several wet-ends (Whisperflo, Northstar, Max-E-Flow) that need new motors, so "designing a pump" with a low-power motor might be a route as well.
Just looking for ideas here on ways to get the power down without affecting the flow too much.