New Pump Dilemma

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M

magicshot

0
Apr 15, 2015
7
Cottage Grove, MN
My old pump is getting loud and my energy bill from running are getting worse.

I have a century 1hp pump with a SF of 1.4. 26,500 Gallon Pool.
I was looking at the Pentair 011018 3 HP VS Pump but they also have a 1HP VS Pump 011008 but its like ~$100 more. I am thinking the increased HP of the 011018 will have a higher operating cost than the 1 HP. I have 1.5" piping also. I am not sure if I will have an issue with the 3HP running or cost. Pentair does make a Super-Flo 1.5 HP VS pump 342000 for like ~300 less but it only has a 1 Year warranty vs. the 3 year warranty of the intelliflo.

Any insight will be helpful.

Thanks!
 
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The Intellifo is a much larger pump that you currently have and not cheap to buy. Unless your power is VERY expensive, it is not likely going to be worth it. The best option very well may be to just replace the motor on your existing pump with a 2-speed version and then run on low speed almost all of the time.
 
Thanks jblizzle.

I thought about that too. If I were to order a 2-speed pump and have my our pool guy replace it would cost as much as Pentair Super-FLO VS 342000 pump. Our power is currently only about .11 or .12 p/kwh. It may be going up again as summer comes on though.
 
Hi Magicshot,

I concur with jblizzle that a 2 speed pump will do the job and for a reasonable cost and that you may not realize very much return on the investment of the Intelliflo.

Regarding the intelliflo, actually it may seem logical that the larger pump will cost more to operate than the 1 hp VS pump. Actually, thats usually not the case. It all depends though on how fast you run it.

The 1 HP pump will need more RPM to move x amount of water that the 3 HP pump does at a much lower RPM. This is due to the larger impeller on the 3 HP pump. The operating cost of the 3 HP vs 1 HP Vs will most likely actually be lower.

There is a crossover point though. At some RPM, the 3 HP will start using more power than the 1 HP, although I cant tell you specifically what that is, but if I recall, its somewhere around 2200 - 2500 RPM which is way higher than you would actually ever need for normal pool filtering.
 
Dave,

How do you like your Intelliflo? I am guessing you have the 3 HP model. Also is there any issue with using 1.5" piping with this pump. Also what would be a good 2-speed pump to look at too?

Thanks!


Divin Dave said:
Hi Magicshot,

I concur with jblizzle that a 2 speed pump will do the job and for a reasonable cost and that you may not realize very much return on the investment of the Intelliflo.

Regarding the intelliflo, actually it may seem logical that the larger pump will cost more to operate than the 1 hp VS pump. Actually, thats usually not the case. It all depends though on how fast you run it.

The 1 HP pump will need more RPM to move x amount of water that the 3 HP pump does at a much lower RPM. This is due to the larger impeller on the 3 HP pump. The operating cost of the 3 HP vs 1 HP Vs will most likely actually be lower.

There is a crossover point though. At some RPM, the 3 HP will start using more power than the 1 HP, although I cant tell you specifically what that is, but if I recall, its somewhere around 2200 - 2500 RPM which is way higher than you would actually ever need for normal pool filtering.
Click to expand...
 
Well, up to you. It is a lot easier to swap a motor than to put in an entirely new pump which will likely require plumbing changes. Sounds like you are at the mercy of your installer.

What PUMP do you have now? You have only listed the motor brand and no listed the service factor. Maybe add pictures.
 
jblizzle,

I am not sure on brand I am gonna get pictures shortly. The Service Factor is 1.4 also on the Pump. If I were to Super-Flo VS its 100-150 more than a 2-speed pump. Is that worth the difference in cost?

On the intelliflo side of things is there any downsides to the 3HP pump vs. the 1HP pump ie 1.5 piping or energy costs?

I'm sorry if I seem all over. I just want to make sure I am making the best choice for our pool and manageability too.

On a side note I would like to add Z-Wave controller to this. It seems like a 2-speed pump would be better for this as I don't think there is an easy way to do this with a variable speed pump.

Thanks!
 
The Superflo VS would just allow you to run even slower to lower the electrical costs ... but it may take years to recoup that extra $150. Just allows you to dial in your desired speeds.

The Intelliflo is more flexible in speed programming, but you have no need for more than 2 speeds. It also costs a lot more. Again taking years to recoup the extra cost ... maybe, if ever.

I think a 2-speed would be easier to hook into a home built automation.

If for some reason the cost is the same for a new 2-speed pump + install as it is for just a motor + install ... then you may as well get the new pump. But, I think you are getting ripped off on the price for just the motor and install.
 

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Hard to say if the heater will work or not on low speed. It should but I can not guarantee it. That would be one advantage of the VS, you could set the low speed to something that ensures the heater works.
 
That's the real Humdinger. I did the cost analysis on Pentair's site. It looks like I would save about ~150/yr over the 2-speed. and about 650 over what I have now. That's crazy. so providing the VS pump lasts and Its programed correctly it would take 3-4 years to make up the cost from going to intelliflo from a 2-speed. It calculated my cost correctly so if there power calculations are correct that's not too bad.
 
The 3 HP IntelliFlo is the most energy efficient of the Pentair VS pumps, and has a fancy timer builtin. The 1 HP IntelliFlo should be avoided, unless you are legally restricted to something that is 1 HP or smaller (hardly applies to anyone). The 1 1/2 HP SuperFlo costs a lot less up front, but is otherwise not quite as good as the IntelliFlo in several different ways (less energy efficient, less powerful, less programing ability, doesn't work with automation systems, and so on).

At your electric rates, a two speed motor (or pump) will have the lowest lifetime costs.
 
Since you asked Dave if he like his 3hp VS pump, I will answer for me because I have that pump also. I love my pump. It is a lot more pump than I need. I can't even run it on high speed, 3450 rpm, because it shoots water out of my waterfall almost across my entire pool.

But, what it does let me do is precisely dial in pump speeds for good skimming, running my SWCG, get the flow right for my solar panels and have a little or a lot of waterfall. I started low speed at 900 rpm, but when my filter started clogging there wasn't enough flow for the SWCG. So, I was able to fine tune my low speed to 1100 rpm which gives me good skimmer action and enough flow to make my SWCG happy. My pump draws 150 watts at 1100 rpm. Then, when solar heat is available the solar controller turns the pump up to 1950 rpm. Pump draws 550 watts at 1950 rpm and provides enough flow to keep the solar panels cool for max heat transfer. I also experimented to find this flow rate. Then we can turn it up or down for more or less waterfall. Pump has no problem running everything including a lot of waterfall at 2500 rpm or less.

I know that Dave loves his pump also. We both have said many times that if this pump dies we will buy another one immediately.
 
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