Pump Choice for new Pool

[Omidh44]

Hello All. I'm new to the forum. I'm in the process of designing and getting quotes on a new pool in Southern California. I've had 3 different designers come out and they all recommended 3 completely different pool designs and equipment to purchase, so it's very difficult to compare. My question now is on the Pump:

Sta Rite vs Pentair vs Hayward vs EcoPump:
- Did Pentair purchase Sta Rite? If so, is Sta Rite their lower level option or are they equal?
- Which specific model would you choose within each of the 4 manufactures (Pentair IntelliFlo, Hayward EcoStar, Sta-Rite IntelliPro, EcoPump? I want to make side by side comparison spreadsheet on which would give the optimal long term choice for Energy Consumption and Efficiency since the pump is going to be the highest electricity drain.
- Will want to calculate how much energy is used for each option to make one full volume turnover with each pump option?
- How many times should we turn the water over each day?
- Some discussions online talk about running the pump at low setting with variable speed pump 24 hours a day. Is that a good plan?

 

[Isaac-1]

First off it is best to keep all your new pool questions in one thread when possible, as it allows us to see the "big picture". As to specific pump selection this is very hard without any knowledge of the pool in question. For example if you are installing a some types of water features (fountains, etc) or perhaps roof top solar heater, then you would likely need a higher head pump design than if your just looking at a basic pool design. Therefore your question about specific model is much like asking which specific car would you buy, everyone has different needs whether they know it or not. When it comes to pumps all major brands are about equal on overall quality, some may have extra bells and whistles and others may be easier on the installation (male union collar fittings vs female pipe fittings, or variable thickness base plates), I can't comment on Eco Pump, as their name does not come up much.

It is also hard to compare electrical cost with a high certainty without actual field testing since it will partly depend on plumbing resistance in your specific application (back to all that high vs low head pressure stuff again)

As to water turn over there is no hard rule on this, as much as is needed to keep your pool clean is the best answer we can give, or a rule of thumb of at least 1 full turn over per day, but like with many rules of thumbs, your performance may vary. As to running a variable speed pump on low 24 hours per day, it can potentially have a place if low speed provides enough flow to maintain skimming action, and provide minimum flow for other bits of pool equipment (heater, SWG, etc.)

Ike