Very first impression? Awesome upgrade!
So, my original to my pool Superpump died about 10 days ago. Started digging in here for any helpful information but nothing too direct. After looking at Hayward's website for what seemed like forever, I settled on their SP2600VSP. Besides being slightly taller, it was a virtual exact match in size to my dead Superpump.
After ordering my Superpump VS, I waited for delivery. Given the fact that my current setup was dead, I had it shipped one day delivery. I get the delivery the next day. Upon inspecting the unit, I see there was some minor damage. Namely the hand knob and swivel nut for the strainer cover. The nut itself actually split in half. Not wanting to return the item and suffer even more downtime, I decided to give Hayward's customer service a shot. I got on the phone with Mike in NC. I explained that I purchased the unit and I had some minor damage. After telling him which pieces were damaged, he not only agreed to send me the pieces but also an extra set! Kudos to Hayward and their CS!
So time comes to install this baby! Not remembering the wiring setup for the original pump, I assumed it was 230 volt like the VS needs. No, no it isn't! 115 volts!
So, not only did I have some plumbing in my future, but also some fairly serious electrical. Off to Ace hardware I went with a material list! After upgrading the circuit breaker to a double pull/double throw on my pro logic, I also upgraded the wiring going to the pump. Pump wired up, I turned my attention to the plumbing part. Everything went well in that department. The only recommendation I do have as far as the plumbing is concerned is to visit your local pool place for parts. I was basically adding a few pieces from generic pvc parts in order to make up for pieces that the pool place would have normally.
After following some basic practices on how to prime your pool pump, I started her up. Priming up and I discovered a leak on the union between the strainer/drain tee. I gave here a few more cranks with my channel locks and that was done. After that, I noticed the returns in my pool were bubbling quite a bit. I gave it a few more minutes but it continued. I then knew I had an air leak. Going through my installation, I noticed the drain screws on the strainer box were leaking. I knew the air wasn't coming through there. I tightened those up and the leaking stopped. My point mentioning those was because I then decided to turn off the pump to continue my search. There is a run/stop button right on top of the SP2600VSP. This was perfect because when I pressed the button, there was a spray of water that shot out from underneath the strainer cover. I realized that the cover was not tightened enough. The knobs are hand tighten only but I didn't apply enough pressure. After re-tightening the knobs, all was well and air leaks stopped. Something to note, Hayward recommends lubricating the gasket for the strainer cover with a certain type of grease. I would highly recommend this be done prior to the installation and start-up. I would think plumber's grease would also be a worthy lubricant in place of the named product in the installation manual.
My observation regarding performance between the old Superpump and the Superpump VS. The old pump was rated at 3450 rpm continuous. The VS is rated at 3000 max. I'm not sure if there was a design improvement or my old pump was dying a slow death but the VS is noticeably stronger at the returns versus the old pump.
Sound. at max rpm, the VS is quieter than the old pump. The big difference is when you reduce the rpm on the VS. It really is unbelievable! I could run this pump in my living room with no disturbance to me, that's how quiet it is! Very pleased with this.
My final thoughts: If I would have known what I was missing, I would have done it some time ago! I am happy the old one died so I could justify spending the money on this VSP though. I highly recommend it!
So, my original to my pool Superpump died about 10 days ago. Started digging in here for any helpful information but nothing too direct. After looking at Hayward's website for what seemed like forever, I settled on their SP2600VSP. Besides being slightly taller, it was a virtual exact match in size to my dead Superpump.
After ordering my Superpump VS, I waited for delivery. Given the fact that my current setup was dead, I had it shipped one day delivery. I get the delivery the next day. Upon inspecting the unit, I see there was some minor damage. Namely the hand knob and swivel nut for the strainer cover. The nut itself actually split in half. Not wanting to return the item and suffer even more downtime, I decided to give Hayward's customer service a shot. I got on the phone with Mike in NC. I explained that I purchased the unit and I had some minor damage. After telling him which pieces were damaged, he not only agreed to send me the pieces but also an extra set! Kudos to Hayward and their CS!
So time comes to install this baby! Not remembering the wiring setup for the original pump, I assumed it was 230 volt like the VS needs. No, no it isn't! 115 volts!
So, not only did I have some plumbing in my future, but also some fairly serious electrical. Off to Ace hardware I went with a material list! After upgrading the circuit breaker to a double pull/double throw on my pro logic, I also upgraded the wiring going to the pump. Pump wired up, I turned my attention to the plumbing part. Everything went well in that department. The only recommendation I do have as far as the plumbing is concerned is to visit your local pool place for parts. I was basically adding a few pieces from generic pvc parts in order to make up for pieces that the pool place would have normally.After following some basic practices on how to prime your pool pump, I started her up. Priming up and I discovered a leak on the union between the strainer/drain tee. I gave here a few more cranks with my channel locks and that was done. After that, I noticed the returns in my pool were bubbling quite a bit. I gave it a few more minutes but it continued. I then knew I had an air leak. Going through my installation, I noticed the drain screws on the strainer box were leaking. I knew the air wasn't coming through there. I tightened those up and the leaking stopped. My point mentioning those was because I then decided to turn off the pump to continue my search. There is a run/stop button right on top of the SP2600VSP. This was perfect because when I pressed the button, there was a spray of water that shot out from underneath the strainer cover. I realized that the cover was not tightened enough. The knobs are hand tighten only but I didn't apply enough pressure. After re-tightening the knobs, all was well and air leaks stopped. Something to note, Hayward recommends lubricating the gasket for the strainer cover with a certain type of grease. I would highly recommend this be done prior to the installation and start-up. I would think plumber's grease would also be a worthy lubricant in place of the named product in the installation manual.
My observation regarding performance between the old Superpump and the Superpump VS. The old pump was rated at 3450 rpm continuous. The VS is rated at 3000 max. I'm not sure if there was a design improvement or my old pump was dying a slow death but the VS is noticeably stronger at the returns versus the old pump.
Sound. at max rpm, the VS is quieter than the old pump. The big difference is when you reduce the rpm on the VS. It really is unbelievable! I could run this pump in my living room with no disturbance to me, that's how quiet it is! Very pleased with this.
My final thoughts: If I would have known what I was missing, I would have done it some time ago! I am happy the old one died so I could justify spending the money on this VSP though. I highly recommend it!
