We own a home with a pool that has 1 1/2" pvc piping. We are currently running an older Hayward Super II 1HP pump and it works fine, but is not energy efficient. Due to the electricity being so expensive in So Cal (SCE is the provider), we want to change to a variable speed pump. Our pool equipment is miles away from the pool. We figured out the average feet of head is 80 feet but that is without counting 90 degree fittings of which we have 8. We have a small jacuzzi with a drain, the pool drain and a skimmer. Measuring the footage on those three items gave us the feet head of 80. We also have a connection inside the pool for the polaris pool sweep that is used with a booster pump. The pool itself is in good condition.
We have researched our brains out and, today, when we went to an independent pool supply/repair/installation company and to Leslie's, we got some very vague information on what will work on our situation.
We were told by indie pool guy that we should purchase the Pentair Intelliflo VS 2HP. Total price with installation would be about $1540. We asked about having the smaller 1 1/2" pipes and he said that it's no problem. The variable speed will take care of everything. He wasn't interested in the number of 90 degree elbows and that this unit would work fine with our equipment. My husband wants the Hayward EcoStar (removable wired controller) but indie pool guy doesn't sell any Hayward equipment. Only Pentair and Zodiac because of past problems. Indie guy's first choice is Pentair. We inquired about a the 1HP Pentair i1 that is made for older pools with 1 1/2" pipes but he never head of them. Funny because his store is in an old, established neighborhood where my husband grew up in the 50's with tons of old pools.
Leslies sells both Pentair and Hayward. Salesperson there said that they are equal in reliability and that they have not had any problem with either one. They want an arm and a leg to do anything but we mainly went to pick their brains. They said that the 1 1/2" pipes are no problem and they would charge us $71 to have somebody come out and look at the installation area, $200 to program and about the same price for pump and installation as the other guy. Now, programming isn't a big thing to me but my husband is pushing the wired remote so maybe they charge more for that? They have to program the pool to start it up and my guess would be that they leave it with us on their best guess programming for us to adjust later. So the $200 may not be valid. Salesperson seemed to know about pools and equipment but not about the mechanics of it. Husband doesn't like the Pentair control being fixed and having to be a contortionist to read or adjust the program.
So, we come home and husband is set on the Hayward because you can move the remote and I'm ready to order one from Amazon. We'll install it ourselves cause we pretty much do everything ourselves on our house. Husband has moved entire electrical service at our previous house (and it's still standing) and has done pump installations, filter installation, etc. We go to double check our figures using he charts and cannot fully understand if this pump can really move the water like we need. We aren't real sure on how to read the charts or what the variables may be. Can anybody tell me if we should buy a 1HP, a 2HP and if they will even work on our old 1 1/2" piping system at the distance that it is from our equipment? We know that we can set the timer on the Polaris pool sweep to work in conjunction with the circulation pump but don't know if we will get enough suction without running it on full blast all the time which would totally defeat the purpose of changing pumps. We are confused!
Comments or suggestions?
Thanks for your help,
Chris
We have researched our brains out and, today, when we went to an independent pool supply/repair/installation company and to Leslie's, we got some very vague information on what will work on our situation.
We were told by indie pool guy that we should purchase the Pentair Intelliflo VS 2HP. Total price with installation would be about $1540. We asked about having the smaller 1 1/2" pipes and he said that it's no problem. The variable speed will take care of everything. He wasn't interested in the number of 90 degree elbows and that this unit would work fine with our equipment. My husband wants the Hayward EcoStar (removable wired controller) but indie pool guy doesn't sell any Hayward equipment. Only Pentair and Zodiac because of past problems. Indie guy's first choice is Pentair. We inquired about a the 1HP Pentair i1 that is made for older pools with 1 1/2" pipes but he never head of them. Funny because his store is in an old, established neighborhood where my husband grew up in the 50's with tons of old pools.
Leslies sells both Pentair and Hayward. Salesperson there said that they are equal in reliability and that they have not had any problem with either one. They want an arm and a leg to do anything but we mainly went to pick their brains. They said that the 1 1/2" pipes are no problem and they would charge us $71 to have somebody come out and look at the installation area, $200 to program and about the same price for pump and installation as the other guy. Now, programming isn't a big thing to me but my husband is pushing the wired remote so maybe they charge more for that? They have to program the pool to start it up and my guess would be that they leave it with us on their best guess programming for us to adjust later. So the $200 may not be valid. Salesperson seemed to know about pools and equipment but not about the mechanics of it. Husband doesn't like the Pentair control being fixed and having to be a contortionist to read or adjust the program.
So, we come home and husband is set on the Hayward because you can move the remote and I'm ready to order one from Amazon. We'll install it ourselves cause we pretty much do everything ourselves on our house. Husband has moved entire electrical service at our previous house (and it's still standing) and has done pump installations, filter installation, etc. We go to double check our figures using he charts and cannot fully understand if this pump can really move the water like we need. We aren't real sure on how to read the charts or what the variables may be. Can anybody tell me if we should buy a 1HP, a 2HP and if they will even work on our old 1 1/2" piping system at the distance that it is from our equipment? We know that we can set the timer on the Polaris pool sweep to work in conjunction with the circulation pump but don't know if we will get enough suction without running it on full blast all the time which would totally defeat the purpose of changing pumps. We are confused!
Comments or suggestions?
Thanks for your help,
Chris
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