My 10 year old single speed pool pump recently started to go south and I knew it was time for a change to a variable speed pump to save some money on my energy bill. Before my pump totally died I thought I should do some research on the main brands like Hayward and Pentair. I went to my local Leslie's ( where I only buy liquid chlorine at this point) to learn about the Jacuzzi brand that only THEY sell. The results of my research I should say, were eye opening!
First, the Jacuzzi brand that we all know from the Spa business for the last 60 years was sold years ago and the Jacuzzi family is no longer running the business. The Venture capital firm that is now behind the Jacuzzi brand said, we don't know anything about the pool pump business so let's get quality control to a new level and have an established brand manufacture the pumps for us. Why am I telling you this? Because the Jacuzzi line of pool pumps, including the three variable speed models, the 165S, the 185S that I bought, and the 270S, are ALL MADE BY HAYWARD! Compare the pics online or at any website you want to visit if you don't believe me. They are identical except for color. The sales guy at Leslie's told me this and I DIDN'T BELIEVE HIM until he took me into the part of his store that had Hayward models on display and showed me THE EXACT SAME PUMP made by Hayward. The only difference in the appearance was that the Hayward comes in that ugly industrial all black that they use as compared to the Jacuzzi model that's a much more pleasing tan and black. He had a stupid grin on his face at this point. It get's better. Read on...
Ok, now the guy has my attention. I'm thinking I'm going to get hit over the head on the price, but Leslie's pricing was about $200 less than online stores and my local Pinch a Penny for an equivalent Hayward or Pentair model. Pinch a Penny wanted between $199-300 to install, depending on what install sale I caught, if any. You have to use a certified installer or you invalidate your warranty so I thought it best to get the best deal available on installation from the pool store. Pumps are never on sale anywhere like vacuums and other supplies so I knew I was getting no break there, but I knew I might be able to save on the install if I could catch a deal. The Leslie's guy said that a $99 installation sale was coming soon. I came back in a week and voila! I just saved another $100+ on the certified installation. I ended up doing the deal, getting the pump for $1489 plus $99 to install. Oh, free delivery to my home so I didn't even have to carry that heavy thing to my truck. I decided to finance and got easily approved. Very surprising being my credit is marginal at best.
Let me touch on the warranty situation for a minute as it bears mention...The equivalent Pentair and Hayward models, (remember, the Jacuzzi is a HAYWARD with different branding stamped on) come with anywhere from a 1-2 year warranty. Pretty skimpy if you ask me, but it is what it is. The Jacuzzi comes standard with a two year warranty that can double to four years. How? Join the FREE loyalty club and they DOUBLE your warranty. I was already a member from my old caveman days before I joined TFP so I doubled my warranty without even trying. Oh, I got $75 in FREE REWARDS for buying the pump from them. That is equivalent to about 12 containers of chlorine at current prices. In other words, I beat Hayward/Pinch a Penny/ online retailer at their own game by getting a four year warranty on the Jacuzzi/Hayward pump, free delivery to my home, a $99 install, a nicer looking pump and 12 FREE containers of chlorine.
Now that you know the background leading up to the purchase, the big question: How does it work? In one word...FANTANTIC! The install was seamless and the install guy took away my old pump. He programmed two basic speeds for me but I have a choice of eight. The pump is DEATHLY QUIET! So quiet that I was on the other side of my yard the day after the install and I thought it had broken and stopped running, when in fact it was pumping great! Even at the top speed of 3450 rpm I have to touch it or look at the basket to know that it's running. I was told that Jacuzzi/Hayward use magnets in their motors so there are less moving parts and more quiet operation. There is a dedicated button I can press for a quick clean when I want to attach my vacuum. The digital display is easy to read even in direct sunlight. I want to find something wrong with this pump and I can't. That's why I came on here. To give my fellow TFP members some insight into a brand that not enough people are using. We'll they are, but there paying more and getting a short shift warranty from Hayward.
I wanted to save money on my electric bill and my calculations so far have me saving almost $60 a month off of my energy bill here in SW Florida. $60! That means the pump will pay for itself in about 30 months or about 18 months before my warranty expires. It's been two months and I can't say enough. People, please don't take this as an endorsement of Leslie's. I'm against the pool store as much as every subscriber on here, but you can only get a Jacuzzi from Leslie's. From my view, I did the right thing and saved big money at the end of the day. I just want to end here by saying that this pump is a winner all the way around! I have the 1.85 HP model, but the smaller 1.65 HP model and the bigger 2.75 HP model seem to be equivalent values for the money. I gave Jacuzzi a shot and I have to say I'm extremely happy. I welcome any comments.....
First, the Jacuzzi brand that we all know from the Spa business for the last 60 years was sold years ago and the Jacuzzi family is no longer running the business. The Venture capital firm that is now behind the Jacuzzi brand said, we don't know anything about the pool pump business so let's get quality control to a new level and have an established brand manufacture the pumps for us. Why am I telling you this? Because the Jacuzzi line of pool pumps, including the three variable speed models, the 165S, the 185S that I bought, and the 270S, are ALL MADE BY HAYWARD! Compare the pics online or at any website you want to visit if you don't believe me. They are identical except for color. The sales guy at Leslie's told me this and I DIDN'T BELIEVE HIM until he took me into the part of his store that had Hayward models on display and showed me THE EXACT SAME PUMP made by Hayward. The only difference in the appearance was that the Hayward comes in that ugly industrial all black that they use as compared to the Jacuzzi model that's a much more pleasing tan and black. He had a stupid grin on his face at this point. It get's better. Read on...
Ok, now the guy has my attention. I'm thinking I'm going to get hit over the head on the price, but Leslie's pricing was about $200 less than online stores and my local Pinch a Penny for an equivalent Hayward or Pentair model. Pinch a Penny wanted between $199-300 to install, depending on what install sale I caught, if any. You have to use a certified installer or you invalidate your warranty so I thought it best to get the best deal available on installation from the pool store. Pumps are never on sale anywhere like vacuums and other supplies so I knew I was getting no break there, but I knew I might be able to save on the install if I could catch a deal. The Leslie's guy said that a $99 installation sale was coming soon. I came back in a week and voila! I just saved another $100+ on the certified installation. I ended up doing the deal, getting the pump for $1489 plus $99 to install. Oh, free delivery to my home so I didn't even have to carry that heavy thing to my truck. I decided to finance and got easily approved. Very surprising being my credit is marginal at best.
Let me touch on the warranty situation for a minute as it bears mention...The equivalent Pentair and Hayward models, (remember, the Jacuzzi is a HAYWARD with different branding stamped on) come with anywhere from a 1-2 year warranty. Pretty skimpy if you ask me, but it is what it is. The Jacuzzi comes standard with a two year warranty that can double to four years. How? Join the FREE loyalty club and they DOUBLE your warranty. I was already a member from my old caveman days before I joined TFP so I doubled my warranty without even trying. Oh, I got $75 in FREE REWARDS for buying the pump from them. That is equivalent to about 12 containers of chlorine at current prices. In other words, I beat Hayward/Pinch a Penny/ online retailer at their own game by getting a four year warranty on the Jacuzzi/Hayward pump, free delivery to my home, a $99 install, a nicer looking pump and 12 FREE containers of chlorine.
Now that you know the background leading up to the purchase, the big question: How does it work? In one word...FANTANTIC! The install was seamless and the install guy took away my old pump. He programmed two basic speeds for me but I have a choice of eight. The pump is DEATHLY QUIET! So quiet that I was on the other side of my yard the day after the install and I thought it had broken and stopped running, when in fact it was pumping great! Even at the top speed of 3450 rpm I have to touch it or look at the basket to know that it's running. I was told that Jacuzzi/Hayward use magnets in their motors so there are less moving parts and more quiet operation. There is a dedicated button I can press for a quick clean when I want to attach my vacuum. The digital display is easy to read even in direct sunlight. I want to find something wrong with this pump and I can't. That's why I came on here. To give my fellow TFP members some insight into a brand that not enough people are using. We'll they are, but there paying more and getting a short shift warranty from Hayward.
I wanted to save money on my electric bill and my calculations so far have me saving almost $60 a month off of my energy bill here in SW Florida. $60! That means the pump will pay for itself in about 30 months or about 18 months before my warranty expires. It's been two months and I can't say enough. People, please don't take this as an endorsement of Leslie's. I'm against the pool store as much as every subscriber on here, but you can only get a Jacuzzi from Leslie's. From my view, I did the right thing and saved big money at the end of the day. I just want to end here by saying that this pump is a winner all the way around! I have the 1.85 HP model, but the smaller 1.65 HP model and the bigger 2.75 HP model seem to be equivalent values for the money. I gave Jacuzzi a shot and I have to say I'm extremely happy. I welcome any comments.....
