Should I upgrade my pump?

[Cherie]

Hi. I'm new to all this pool stuff AND posting stuff. So please bear with me until I catch on! I'm Cherie and we live in Wylie, Texas.

First of all, THANK YOU so much for caring enough to offer the invaluable help on this site. You have already saved us a lot of money (which is one way we were able to contribute to your cause here :handshake:

In May 2008, we had the following installed, buried 3 feet into the ground, with a 7' deep end (and a 2 1/2' ledge around the deep end): Doughboy, 32x16 with one skimmer/one return inlet, 25 mil print liner, 19" sand filter (with zeobest). My calculations can only come in a ballpark for #gallons, because of the deep end ledge, but w/o the ledge figured, it would be 21,120 gallons. So I've been maintaining it as a 20,000 gallon pool and it seems to be working fine (except that we are still battling the mustard algae that was introduced through some neighbor kids' lakewater swimsuits!!) That's another story and a battle I will take on again next week -- now that I know all the CORRECT STEPS for beating it!

I have already initiated the BBB method, much to the worry of my husband (I chuckle as I type this) and the chagrin of our pool store! It's great, although I still have some learning to do.

My question now is: Can anyone give me advice on the Hayward Matrix 1 HP Dual-Speed Pool Pump? It runs at 2.9 amps (slow speed) and 11 amps (fast) and 115v. If my figures are correct, switching to this pump will cut our electric cost in half - and that's running it on low for 24/7 - which means it would be even lower if we don't run it 24/7! Our current pool pump is a Pentair 1HP single-speed, which runs at 12 amps, 115v. We are spending $75/mo to run it for 12 hours/day. So going from $75/mo for 12 hours/day to $36/mo for 24 hours/day sounds well worth the purchase!! So does all this sound right? Seems if this was the case, EVERYONE would be biting at the bits to get this Hayward installed!

We're about to have a 2nd return inlet installed as well (no thanks to the "POOL COMPANY" for not suggesting a 2nd inlet to begin with for this size pool!) I've been told the 1HP will work.

Help on the Hayward would be greatly appreciated and again, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'm not sure that I can find my way back here (I TOLD you I was new at this posting stuff). So if you post an answer and I don't respond anytime soon, it's because I've forgotten how to get back here -- but make no mistake....I WILL BE BACK (did you hear the Arnold accent??)

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I have a 2 speed and I run it on low 24/7. I don't know much about electrical stuff but I know it's not that much more for me to run my filter in the summer.... I think it adds less than $40 to my electric bill....I think the 1 hp would be fine, I think you have to make sure the PUMP and Filter are appropriate for each other....something about you don't want an oversized pump for a small filter, or the bigger the filter the better for the pool, many larger filters can work with smaller pumps or something. I don't know much about pool equipment, hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in. I love my 2 speed, the only time I run it on high is when I vacume....

 

[Cherie]

That's right about what ours would run, according to my figures! So I think I'll try to talk my husband into the upgrade, even though our pool stuff is only 2 months old. We'd recoup the cost in no time, because I want to run it 24/7! And I could SELL the Pentair easily enough, since it's only 2 months old

Our pump, I think, is a 150# sand filter with zeobest. I know we had to buy 3 bags of 25# and understand that to be half the amount of actual sand. So that figures to a 150# sand filter (I think). So a 1HP dual-speed sounds appropriate for our set-up? I'd be SO happy if you say YES to this!! I guess the make of the pump is not totally important, as long as it's a dual-speed and known to be reliable.

Also, how do I respond on here without having to add the quote thing?
Thanks for your help.

I have a 2 speed and I run it on low 24/7. I don't know much about electrical stuff but I know it's not that much more for me to run my filter in the summer.... I think it adds less than $40 to my electric bill....I think the 1 hp would be fine, I think you have to make sure the PUMP and Filter are appropriate for each other....something about you don't want an oversized pump for a small filter, or the bigger the filter the better for the pool, many larger filters can work with smaller pumps or something. I don't know much about pool equipment, hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in. I love my 2 speed, the only time I run it on high is when I vacume....

 

[Cherie]

Duh, never mind on the posting tip! I just found the "post a reply" button

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Glad you saw the "reply"

I honestly know very little about sand filters.....I'm a cartridge kinda gal myself.

I'm hoping the equipment guru's will chime in. ~Edited for Content by FPM~

I probably don't need to run the filter 24/7, I should have bought a timer years ago. I'm just a terrible procrastinator and too lazy to turn it on off manually. Plus I like my heater being set at 86 degrees and it automatically turns on if the water drops below that. If my heater were running, and the timer kicked off, it could damage the heater, there's a big warning that says allow the pump to run for 20 minutes after the heater to avoid damage. I'm just lazy.

 

[Cherie]

Well, I'm hoping the pool guy is blowing smoke. But I called him to price what they have in dual-speed and he says he doesn't even sell dual-speeds because the low setting would not have enough pressure to push the junk through the SAND FILTER. So I'll do some more research on this tonight and see. He says a high-speed is mandatory for a sand filter (guess using zeobest doesn't matter).

 

[giulietta1]

Well, I'm hoping the pool guy is blowing smoke. . .

I must say *I* think he is. I run a 1 hp on low speed (1/8 hp) and it works just fine! My pool is a lot smaller than yours, tho. BUT my filter is larger than yours!

I just got a new pump. . . need to update my sig. The new one is a 1.5 hp uprated and the old one was a 1 hp full-rated, which is supposed to be equivalent.

 

[Cherie]

Thanks Jules. I think we'll probably go with the 2-speed. The Leslie's manager said he didn't think it would work either. But then, you wouldn't believe some of the readings he's done on my water! I'll keep reading up on and hopefully make the move to do it next week. I'm still breaking into the BBB and absolutely LOVE the simplicity of it. I still need to order the T100 (?) test kit also - but just picked up a FAS-DPD for free and combined chlorine from Leslie's for $8!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Thanks Jules. I think we'll probably go with the 2-speed. The Leslie's manager said he didn't think it would work either. But then, you wouldn't believe some of the readings he's done on my water! I'll keep reading up on and hopefully make the move to do it next week. I'm still breaking into the BBB and absolutely LOVE the simplicity of it. I still need to order the T100 (?) test kit also - but just picked up a FAS-DPD for free and combined chlorine from Leslie's for $8!

Double check the reagents thru Taylor, make sure they are still good, that seems very cheap....Contact Taylor and they'll tell you the expiration dates of the reagents, make sure they are still good.

 

[Cherie]

Hi Mod. It's just a little cheapie with FC and CC only. I did a test with my Taylor FC comparator first and it matched what I was "guessing" the FC was. I've never had a CC test, so can't comment on that. But I feel comfortable that the FC is accurate. I'll still double-check in the morning with both my comparator and the drop-count for FC. I've been testing my water like crazy trying to "get to know my water"! I think my DH is getting a little envious (LOL) because I end my day with the pool and begin my day with pool!

OK, I'm outta here so I can go research the issue of using a dual-speed pump with a zeobest sand filter!

Thanks.