New Installation - What does the Electrician need to know?

[cramar]

Starting to put together all the things that have to happen for this summers AGP install, haven't decided on the final pool size yet but the pump will likely be a 1hp Hayward (max 1 hp) and I'd like to locate it in the garage (I have room) since it's close to the pool site, enclosed and will reduce operating noise.
I'm planning to call an electrician in to look the garage wiring over as I'm assuming the breaker panel will be deemed too small.

Just wandering what the electrician will need to know with regards to the pump specs, will I need to provide him with specific information regarding the pump?

Thanks for the help.

 

[dmanb2b]

Other than ensuring the wiring is up to your local code requirements, that should be it and he should know this . The wiring should be sufficient to handle any size AGP pool pump as one day you or someone else may decide to replace the pump.

Not to go off topic, but if you are concerned about energy consumption, but even a 1hp pump may be a tad much (i'm nit picking ) for an avg size agp (up to 20K gals). A 3/4hp uprated or 1/2hp full rated single speed pump is all you need if you are going to have just a simple single skimmer/single return set-up and do think about oversizing the filter.

 

[Ohm_Boy]

Make sure that you plan for a fair amount of water in the garage. You may even want to set up a catch pan underneath similar to a water heater pan so that you can 1) drain any leaking water out of the garage, or even 2) detect leaking water and shut down the pump.

Also, consider locating near some place where you can dump out the strainer basket, like a doorway or trash can.

 

[cramar]

dman: There's one circuit out to the garage and I do experience the occasional blown fuse throughout the summer when I'm running my table saws (lights on, radio on, etc), so I suspect any additional consistent load may be too much, thus perhaps upgrading the fuse box is in order.
I agree with you on the pump size and I've really been mulling that one over, the pool will be either 18' or 21' (max) with a solar heater on the garage, I'm fine with a smaller pump for the pool but I can't really find any thoughts on the pump size needed for the solar unit. My thought was that 1hp should be enough to do the pool and solar unit.

But just so I'm understanding this (household electricity is simply beyond me, try as a might) I should be able to to call the guy over and say "I'm looking at putting a 1hp pool pump on that outlet" and he'll either say "Your good" or "You need to do x,y,z."

Ohm_Boy, good point! I have a drain in center of the garage but I will definitely assess the whole situation and make sure it's up to the job.

Great points, thanks to both of you!!

 

[dmanb2b]

Got it...stick with the 1hp then for extra insurance

The bad news sounds like that outlet is used for other items and a pool pump should be wired to a dedicated 20amp (120v) GFCI protected line. If the pump should require 240v, you'll definately need another line. If your breaker box has room in it, it may be as simple as running an additional line out to the garage. In my case, unfortunately my 100amp box was packed, so I finally bit the bullet and upgraded to 200amp service. If it's just a line and you are not too far from your breaker I can't see that being any more expensive than having to have electric run out to the pool area.

 

[cramar]

Ha, nothing is ever easy!
I pretty much assumed that in the end I'll need a dedicated circuit run to the garage, the current one is underneath cement driveway in a duct which is great...but I just don't know how well another line will go thru that 50' of duct as the diameter of the duct is small, if that's even allowed by code.
This could all be easy on the electric side, or it may all be $$$$.

The original owner punched a hole thru the cement wall to run an air conditioner, and patched it back up really good, may have to resort to opening that hole up a bit $$$$.

Guess I'll just have to call some one in and ask what needs to be done to power a pump, and let him figure it out.

PS, how would I determine if apump requires 120v or 240? Is this a dual power pump kinda thing, or total horsepower? like I said, I'm severely challenged by electricity theory 101

 

[woodyp]

My pump can draw up to 10 amps on startup just to give you an idea. Half a 20 amp dedicated circuit right there. Briefly anyhow.

 

[JasonLion]

A typical 1 HP pump will draw somewhere around 6 to 8 amps at 230 volts, or 12 to 16 amps at 115 volts. Most, but not all, 1 HP pumps can be configured when you install them to be either 115 volts or 230 volts.

 

[cramar]

Re: New Installation - What does the Electrician need to kno

Just wanted to provide the end result for this:

- the Pentair pump I bought recommends min. 14/2 line
- put 20 amp breaker in the main box
- ran 12/2 UF from main box, thru cement wall (pre existing hole for air conditioner), once outside there is an elevated covered sun room, pegged cable to the underside of that then cable ends at covered GFCI receptacle
- cable is elevated +- 4' off ground the entire run
- once the deck is finished I'm going to extend it out a bit closer to the pool on the underside of the deck and connect pump to timer to GFCI
- also planning to bond the pump to the pool wall