Re: Hayward EcoStar vs. Pentair IntelliFlo VS-3050 - Pro & Cons?
PoolGuyNJ said:
The Pentair motor, given enough current, can go to 10K rpm, or about an 8 HP output.
Scott, I would be interested to know where you got that information because it really doesn't make much sense to me.
In a pump, BHP goes up by the cube of RPM so if the motor was operating at 3 BHP at 3450 RPM, then it would need to be running at over 73 BHP at 10k RPM, assuming the same plumbing system load. The windings in the motor simply cannot support that much current or at least for not very long. Have you ever seen the size of 75 HP motor or for that matter even an 8 HP motor? I seriously doubt that the windings in the Intelliflo could even support 8 BHP for very long before the windings and/or insulation would give out.
This could be just marketing hype but in reality any induction/PM motor can be over loaded to nearly any HP but only for a limited period of time. But I think this is all moot because it really doesn't have any bearing on the performance and/or life of the motor since the loads are lower than the ratings in either case. Most pool pumps are designed to run well below full SFHP rating. So for most cases, the bearings will wear out much sooner than the windings and that will be dictated by the average RPM setting and length of run time.
BTW, I think the TriStar wet ends are better designs than the Whisperflo wet end used by the Intelliflo. The TriStar pumps tend have better efficiency than the same size Whisperflo pumps. For example:
TriStar SP3205EE, Curve-A Efficiency = 3 Gallons/Watt-Hr
Whisperflo WFE-2, Curve-A Efficiency = 2.69 Gallons/Watt-Hr
The TriStar has about 12% better efficiency so it is not surprising that the EcoStar would also have better efficiency. The wet end efficiency is close to half of the total efficiency of a typical pump and for VS pumps, it is the majority of the efficiency contribution since the motors tend to be quite efficient.
Note: All of the numbers that I am quoting are actual CEC measurements. People may have opinions about pumps but the measurements are what really tell you about the performance of the pumps. Both the EcoStar and TriStar measured efficient seems to be better than the Intelliflo and Whisperflo.