We just bought a new house with a small pool (12 feet by 22 feet) and I am a total beginner so please excuse the basic questions. The pool equipment needs a few repairs, including the Coverstar automatic pool cover which is broken (we got a credit for the repairs). I haven't actually seen the water in a couple of months since the cover won't retract. I am attaching a picture of the pool for reference.
We got a huge shock when our first electricity bill arrived; $270 for one month based on SoCal Edison rates here in Los Angeles. We discovered that the previous owner was running the pool for 12 hours a day during peak daytime hours. We have since set the timer to run at night. My first question is, should I replace the 1 HP Pentair Whisperflo WFE-4 with a more efficient two-speed or variable speed pool pump? Something like an Itelliflo, EcoPump or Leaf Pump? Since we'll have someone out to do the repairs shortly, I thought it might pay itself off in reduced energy bills over the first year or so. Here is a quote we got during escrow for the repairs (minus replacing the pump):
$550 Replace Pentair 4000 Series DE filter housing (it's cracked)
$525 Replace salt system cell (Eco-Matic)
$450 Acid wash and sand pool plaster (he said it was a bit rough)
$2,150 Replace pool cover fabric, install new switch cover and GFI protection
I have nothing to compare this quote with. Does it sound reasonable? Once everything is up and running I will try to do all the maintenance myself (wish me luck), so I will be spending a lot of time at the TFP forum! Oh, as you can see from the picture, I need a pool cover pump too. It's been filling up with rain; not sure which cover pump to get. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.[attachment=0:2l4uw4r8]Pool.jpg[/attachment:2l4uw4r8]
We got a huge shock when our first electricity bill arrived; $270 for one month based on SoCal Edison rates here in Los Angeles. We discovered that the previous owner was running the pool for 12 hours a day during peak daytime hours. We have since set the timer to run at night. My first question is, should I replace the 1 HP Pentair Whisperflo WFE-4 with a more efficient two-speed or variable speed pool pump? Something like an Itelliflo, EcoPump or Leaf Pump? Since we'll have someone out to do the repairs shortly, I thought it might pay itself off in reduced energy bills over the first year or so. Here is a quote we got during escrow for the repairs (minus replacing the pump):
$550 Replace Pentair 4000 Series DE filter housing (it's cracked)
$525 Replace salt system cell (Eco-Matic)
$450 Acid wash and sand pool plaster (he said it was a bit rough)
$2,150 Replace pool cover fabric, install new switch cover and GFI protection
I have nothing to compare this quote with. Does it sound reasonable? Once everything is up and running I will try to do all the maintenance myself (wish me luck), so I will be spending a lot of time at the TFP forum! Oh, as you can see from the picture, I need a pool cover pump too. It's been filling up with rain; not sure which cover pump to get. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.[attachment=0:2l4uw4r8]Pool.jpg[/attachment:2l4uw4r8]