What are your impressions of the Calimar VS pumps? Do we have much information on their long-term reliability as compared to other pumps?
CaliMar VS Pumps
- Thread starter Nochain
- Start date
- Jul 21, 2013
- 65,253
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
A search will find mostly good experiences and one member who had the pump fail within a year and could find no way to contact them for warranty support.
www.troublefreepool.com
Calimar/Circupool/BD/Blue Torrent Pump - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
Thanks yes been reading some reports here. I don't know much about what automation is but all I need is to program my speeds for maybe 3 or 4 changes during a 24 hour period. I assume these pumps can run a program like that.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 65,253
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
From the manual it looks like you can program 3 or 4 speeds in a 24 hour period on the pump control panel.
Thanks, I just looked at the manual for the 3hp unit. It has 4 speeds that are factory set. Given this why would it be called a Variable Speed pump? In my opinion its a 4 speed pump. Are all pumps set up like this ie factory set speeds that you call out?
Most VS pumps will have default speeds that can be adjusted. I suppose to cut costs they simplified the control panel. You could look at Waterway Power Defender pumps if having granular speed control is important to you.
I have a 3 hp running non stop at 1000 rpm since April or May with no issues. It puts out a high pitched sound when running that i didnt expect but I dont know how that compares to other VS pumps. Overall a great value
If it's this pump (https://www.poolsupplyunlimited.com/Products/Manuals/168195_2022920133313.pdf) it does have factory defaults, but it looks like you can fully customize the schedules and speeds -- see the "Custom Schedules and Quick Clean" section. Fully variable in 10 RPM increments.
Definitely interested in this as an option if my Intelliflo ever needs replacing, now that I've settled on not putting in a real automation system (the pump's built-in timer plus cheap WiFi plugs for automating robot/light/SWCG works well enough). I've been pretty happy with the Calimar SWCG I installed last year.
It looks like you're right which is good to hear. I went on the Calimar website but they didn't include any documentation on the pump webpage.
I can't speak to long-term durability as I only installed ours a few months ago, but I'm very pleased with it so far. It's quiet on low speed and moves the water well. Have already noticed a major reduction in electricity usage.
I've heard reports of VS pumps from other brands balking at "dirty power" from generators, but our pump runs fine on the generator.
I installed an automation adapter for ours that allows me to control low/mid/high speeds via relays on our Jandy iAqualink system.
I've heard reports of VS pumps from other brands balking at "dirty power" from generators, but our pump runs fine on the generator.
I installed an automation adapter for ours that allows me to control low/mid/high speeds via relays on our Jandy iAqualink system.
Speaking of power, have you noted whether the Calimar pump keeps time when it loses power for an extended time? The manual claims it keeps time for a week -- but so does the Pentair IntelliFlo manual. And my experience and all other reports I've seen are that even a few hour power failure keeps the *settings*, but the time is usually way off when the power comes back on. Interested to know if the Calimar pumps do this better.
Interestingly, the Calimar manual has a few mentions of "Pentair", so I think someone copied and forgot to replace a few instances
TBH I never even bothered to set the clock on mine, since it's controlled by the iAqualink relays.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 65,253
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Interestingly, the Calimar manual has a few mentions of "Pentair", so I think someone copied and forgot to replace a few instances
Excellent observation. I had thought the pump and operation looked familiar.
The manual looks like a sloppy edit of the Pentair Superflo VS manual for the older pump version before RS-485 support was added.
Pentair Superflo VS...
Circupool...
Pentair SuperfloVS
Circupool...
Not an identical clone but close. Chinese knockoff of a pump Pentair no longer sells.
Most, if not all, pump controllers use a supercapacitor to retain time during power loss. Obviously the extreme environment they operate in like temperature ranges have an effect on their lifespan as does manufacturing quality. Unfortunately they are not serviceable so once they fail you will have no way to replace, unlike a coin battery. Settings are normally stored in non-volatile memory and will be preserved.
Is that a Battery, is that a Capacitor? No, it's Supercap! - Embedded Computing Design
Small-cell supercapacitors can provide long-lasting, reliable, and space-efficient backup power for applications ranging from IoT devices to industrial computing.
embeddedcomputing.com
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Just bit the bullet and purchased a 3HP Calimar pump. I hope it will be an enjoyable experience. Really didn't want to spend $2-3K on one and then have issues. BTW the cost of the parts for this pump are very reasonable! For this price I wouldn't hesitate to try and repair one myself if needed.
They are factory set but are user changeable to whatever you like. I have one in one of the pools this past season and very happy with it.
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