My single speed sta-rite pump was running loud and since it was under warranty, I had the opprotunity to switch to a 2 speed instead of getting another single speed. The new pump is also a sta-rite but the motor on it is a Century/A.O. Smith. Does that sound right to you guys? Another thing that I found odd was that the pump(supposed to be a 1hp) draws at 8.8amps and 2.6 on low which is more in line with a 3/4hp. I could not find the SF rating anywhere on the stickers(actually the century sticker with all the specs. has the hp and sf colums blank. Anyway, I dug around online by using the catalog number of this motor and, sure enough, it is a 3/4 hp motor. So I guess I have an 'uprated' 1hp. No big deal since my pool is a 24" round AG with about 14000 gal. and 1 hp is probably more than I need anyway. The new pump is ALOT quieter than my old one(on high) and on low you can't even hear the Dang thing. My biggest concern though is that low speed is enough to keep my pool clean. It doesn't really seem like it moves the water much(around 2.5psi vs. 11psi on high) and it doesn't seem to pick up junk in the skimmer very well. What do you guys with the 2 speeds think? I do have trees near the pool. Am I likely to still have to run high speed some every day to pick up surface debris or is low supposed to be able to do that in twice the time? I plan on running low for about 20 hr.s a day
Switched to a two speed pump and....
- Thread starter budysr
- Start date
Running on low for twice as long usualy does a better job than high, but this can be different in each pool. The only way to know for sure is to try it and see. Low speed will move half as much water at 1/4 the pressure, which sounds more or less like what you are seeing.
The motors are all made by the same two motor manufacturers regardless of what the label says. If yours says A.O. Smith that isn't a problem, though it is a little strange for a new pump.
The motors are all made by the same two motor manufacturers regardless of what the label says. If yours says A.O. Smith that isn't a problem, though it is a little strange for a new pump.
I have a similar problem but I have 2 skimmers and 2main drains. I just close the main drains half way and get more suction out of the skimmers. Since your pool is AG, I don't know how many suction side valves/piping you have.