Should I replace 3 year old pump to save $$$

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poolboy10001

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Jun 14, 2010
19
Alabama
I have a 16x32 inground vinyl pool that was built 3 years ago. It is about 17,000 gallons. When we had it built it seemed like a neat idea to have some of the Jandy Deckjets installed as well. Due to this the builder put in one large pump instead of 2 smaller ones. The pump is a Pentair WF-26 which is a 1.5 hp uprated pump, but it is single speed. The piping is 1-1/2 inch with a 400 lb sand filter. The pump is about 40 feet from the pool about 2 feet above it. My rough and dirty calculations come to .25 - .30 cents per hour to run this pump. So running it for 8 hours per day cost me around $2.00 per day. It gets run more on the weekends, so I figure it costs me about $80-100 per month to run the pump. This passes the smell test for my before-and-after-pool comparisions of my power bills.

We never use the deckjets because you can't hear the music over them and it is hard to hear someone next to you if you are having a conversation. Only during a party will we turn them on - couple times per year.

Anyway, I was thinking that it may be worthwhile to scrap the 1.5 hp pump and go with (A) a smaller single speed pump, (B) the same size 2 speed pump, or (C) the multi speed Intelliflow pump. If I could save 50% on the power consumption it would pay for itself quickly.

One other note, I do not close my pool in the winter and am running the pool with a Goldline system with freeze-protect turned on at 35 degrees, so the pump does run a lot in the winter, even her in sunny AL. Also the deck jets are setup to turn on during freezing weather as well so they need flow as well.

If I could cut the power consumption in half it would almost pay for the Intelliflow pump - am I missing something? Also with the multi-speed pump I would have plenty of flow in the event that I need it for the deckjets.....

thanks,
 
In Alabama it's going to be hard to justify the variable speed pump but if you go with a 2-speed of the same SFHP you'll save a good bit of money. That'll also allow you to run the deck jets if you ever decide you want to. The breakpoint for VS payback is about 24 to 26¢ per kwh.
 
I'd suggest replace the motor with 2spd, not the whole pump. A new motor will bolt right on, maybe $300 or so, and get a lot of the benefots of the vfd without the high initial cost. Looking to do this myself for many of the same reasons ;)
 
acroy said:
I'd suggest replace the motor with 2spd, not the whole pump. A new motor will bolt right on, maybe $300 or so, and get a lot of the benefots of the vfd without the high initial cost. Looking to do this myself for many of the same reasons ;)
Click to expand...

Had not thought about that. That may be the way to go. With a 2 speed pump do you control the different speeds on the pump or can I set it up through my Goldline system?
 
Either way. Most people leave the pump on low and only manually turn it up to high when priming the pump or vacuuming. But it would be very easy to setup the automation system to be able to control both speeds instead.
 
I remember now when setting up the Goldline that there is a setting for single vs 2 speed pumps so I would need to change that in the Setup section. Is there any difference in wiring? How does the Goldline controller change it from low to high?

Thanks. Great site, BTW.
 
Assuming you have an AquaLogic controller like mine, low speed uses a second relay and you configure the relay as low speed so the controller is two speed aware. With the Aqualogic, the pump will always come on at high speed for 3 minutes for priming before switching to low speed if that is the desired cycle. You can separately control the high speed and low speed schedules. I have mine setup for a couple of hours on high for the cleaner before stepping down to low speed. Also, if you have solar, high speed will engage when solar is engaged and then automatically switch to low when solar is not needed which is a nice feature to have with solar. Other than that, it is fairly easy to setup and use.
 

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Yes, the pump has separate high and low speed terminals. It will also have a common terminal used at both speeds for the second hot wire (or the neutral wire if it is 115 volts). It is very easy to wire, there should be a diagram in the controller manual, and a diagram on the motor telling you which terminal is which.
 
mas985 said:
... I have mine setup for a couple of hours on high for the cleaner before stepping down to low speed.
Click to expand...

Why do you run your filter pump on high when your cleaner is running? Does you cleaner not work properly if your filter pump is on low? Is your cleaner a pressure side unit or something else?

Many thanks!

Best regards,

Bill
 
I run on high speed for several reasons:

1) Solar requires high flow rate and pressure due to the height of the panels and the placement of the vacuum release valve.
2) Skimming works much better on high speed than low speed.
3) I want both skimming and the cleaner running at the same time and there just is not enough flow rate on low speed for both.
 
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