JasonLion,
Thanks for your reply again.
I'm not sure what you mean by the WhisperFlo "costing a little more to start". Are you referring to the higher initial capital cost? Or are you referring to the WhisperFlo costing more to start from an electrical utility perspective? If you are saying the later, I'm pretty sure that would not be the case.
I have an electrical engineering background, so I think I understand what you are saying is that single-phase motors are inherently less efficient than three-phase motors. And I have learned (or relearned, as the case may be) that single-phase motors, except for a couple of exceptions, are not really able to h ave their speed controlled by an adjustable speed drive.
Three-phase motors, however, ARE able to have their speed controlled by an adjustable speed drive. And many of the adjustable speed drives on the market now are able to take in single-phase power, like you would have at a residence, and the drive outputs three-phase power suitable for a three-phase motor. In many ways, a three-phase motor is a much simpler creature than the single-phase motors in use on pools.
I will probably spend a little time in the morning checking into whether it is more cost-effective to buy a 2-speed 230 Volt 2 HP motor with a NEMA 56J frame, or whether it would be less expensive (or at least equal in cost, since the flexibility would be greater) of finding a three-phase motor 2 HP motor with the necessary NEMA 56J frame AND a low-cost drive which can accept a single-phase input and produce a three-phase output. Unfortunately, time is somewhat of the essence if I want to avoid a pool swamp.
Thanks for your help. Please keep up the useful information. I have learned a lot from you and this site.
Titanium