Looking for guidance on selecting a variable speed pump.

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R

RSKelme

0
Nov 13, 2017
19
Fort Lauderdale, FL
My presumably 12 year old Hayward pump is on the way out. A few months ago I noticed a leak at the bottom of the motor lock ring and replaced the diffuser seal, diffuser, impeller and shaft seal. The plate seal was delayed in shipment so I never got a chance to put that in. At the time the motor looked like it was in rough shape and I was surprised it was performing as well as it was. Two months later the bearing is screaming. I considered replacing just the motor but I'm not convinced the pump housing is sound given the leak. It's 12 years old, it's time for a new one.

I like the idea of a variable speed pump but my Aqua Logic control system can only support a one or two speed pump. To run a two speed I'd have to give up the relay that runs my landscape lighting, it's not the end of the world but still a negative. That sent me down the slippery slope of replacing my Aqua Logic controller with the OmniLogic. I've wanted internet and Alexa control for some time now so it's a good excuse to upgrade. I've considered the Pentair Intellicenter but I think sticking with Hayward will be the most cost effective upgrade option. I should be able to reuse the existing relays, actuators and salt cell. I'm not sure if I could do the same if switching to Pentair. I was hoping to reuse our Aqua Pod 2 remote control too but it looks like the OmniLogic uses a newer wifi based remote instead.

Assuming I go with the OmniLogic controller, which Hayward variable speed pumps should I consider? Are there any to avoid (EcoStar)? Given the controller will manage all the automation I shouldn't need to pay extra for a pump with a lot of features. Should I consider something other than a Hayward brand pump?

I was planning to do all the installation myself but I believe the warranty would be limited to one year unless I pay someone to install the pump. Does the same apply to the OmniLogic?

Thanks in advance for your advice!
 
Hi,

No responses yet, hmm. I'll probably be no help since I am in the same boat as you - needing a pump replacement, seeing the need to go VS, but a prisoner of sorts by my older automation system (Hayward 2100).

From the input I have gotten so far, any VS pump can work ok and give the savings I am looking for. The Pentair Intelliflo, Jandy FloPro, Hayward TriStar would work because they're all going to be installed essentially bypassing my existing controller and running from their own internal, programmable keypad.

I think I have been able to determine that:

- The Hayward TriStar's controller can be removed, or the orientation changed on the pump, and put on a wall tethered to the pump - program from there.

- The Jandy apparently has a similar keypad, but in lieu of a keypad you can add a iQPUMP01 (street price around $100) wireless interface and program/control from your smartphone from anywhere on earth. I think if you are going with their little iQPUMP01 from the start you should not buy the model with the keypad as it is just wasted $$.

- The Pentair Intelliflo has a keypad on the pump (model 011018 orientation can't be changed, model 011028 keypad orientation can be changed, but the new model appears not be in the pipeline yet), and that is about it. Nearly the same pump.

Online pricing somewhere between $900 and $1900. Dealer prices my be 2x that, based on some of the estimates I have seen.

I don't think you can buy a bad pump out of these. Good luck on your decision. I would DIY if my back was in good shape, but then beware the mfg all try to trip up your warranty when buying through the inexpensive channel online rather than going through "dealers", notwithstanding the fact that you may personally have plenty of skill and experience over the kid installing your pump.

Please let me know what you decide to do. All I can say is I am glad it is March and and not August - putting pressure on the decision to keep the water clear.
 
Thanks for your reply. I hadn't given much thought to the keypad orientation but that is interesting that they can be wall mounted. I know they can be a point of failure on some units so it might be good to get them out of the elements as much as possible. I've more or less decided to go with the OmniLogic controller and a Tristar pump. I need to figure out which pump and see what the best option is regarding the warranty. I'd prefer to do the installation myself.
 
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RS, I have a Tristar VS pump installed. I could have easily installed the pump myself, but Hayward was offering a 4 year warranty on the pump IF installed by a professional pool company. So I bought the pump online, and paid $200 bucks to have it installed. Now I don’t have to worry about it for 3 more years. I even kept my old pump (it was working fine, just not efficient) and have it ready to go should this one go down. :cheers:
 
RSKelme said:
I like the idea of a variable speed pump but my Aqua Logic control system can only support a one or two speed pump.
Click to expand...
If the software version is >=2.65, the AquaLogic can support a Hayward VS pump. Mine is running on an AquaLogic system.
 
RSKelme said:
Thanks, good to know that’s an option. I need to explore that further.
Click to expand...

djw said:
I would also be interested in finding out about this warranty.
Click to expand...

I only found out about the warranty through a local pool company when I was having an inspection done on my pool.
So I would say to call around to see what both Hayward and Pentair are offering if you have it professionally installed.

I will say that the price gap between buying the pump online and buying it from a brick-n-mortar, is closing.
When I purchased my pump from Amazon back in Nov 2017, I paid $765 for it. That same pump is currently $998. I think the manufacturers are getting pressure from the dealers, as at the time, they couldn’t even buy that pump from their supply house for the price I paid.
 
Arizonarob said:
I will say that the price gap between buying the pump online and buying it from a brick-n-mortar, is closing.
When I purchased my pump from Amazon back in Nov 2017, I paid $765 for it. That same pump is currently $998. I think the manufacturers are getting pressure from the dealers, as at the time, they couldn’t even buy that pump from their supply house for the price I paid.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pointer.

Yes, the big three are all trying to get to "lowest advertised pricing" schemes and other tactics to block the deep discounting/self installing market for pool equipment. Whole 'nother subject. Crazy strategies for price fixing and dealer install incentives.

On the few proposals I have looked at for my stuff, the price difference between the local company's hardware and online pricing is still large.
 
mas985 said:
If the software version is >=2.65, the AquaLogic can support a Hayward VS pump. Mine is running on an AquaLogic system.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'm running v2.66 and I did find a variable speed pump option listed in the config menu. I had been referencing an online manual which only referred to 1 and 2 speed pumps. It looks like the variable speed pump interfaces with the controller using the ports labeled remote display. Is that correct? Guessing that must be an RS485 interface then. Do you happen to know what the latest software version is for the GLX-PCB-MAIN board? I've seen reference to a version 3.0.

It's nice to know I don't have to upgrade my controller to support a VS pump. I was looking forward to having internet access with the new controller though. I may still pull the trigger on the OmniLogic upgrade :) I know I could upgrade to the GLX-PCB-PRO board and add AquaConnect which would be cheaper but at that point I'd just go with the OmniLogic. I've also been wondering what I could recoup from selling my complete AquaLogic setup then switch to Pentair. Not sure what I'd really be gaining with the IntelliCenter over the OmniLogic to justify the additional cost and effort though.
 

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According to Hayward, the highest AquaLogic version is 2.85 and version 3.0 is when they started to introduce ProLogic functions. The ProLogic boards are very similar to AquaLogic boards and will fit in the same housing. However, if you upgrade to ProLogic, you may need all new displays and remotes to obtain all the new features.

The digital control lines in the pump connect directly to the "Remote" terminal in the upper left corner of the board (see manual). You just need a digital cable and the weather proof grommet adapter.
 
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Mine is on v2.85 right now, the highest. You can download the AquaLogic manual for the latest version and see all of the features:

https://www.hayward-pool.com/shop/en/pools/manuals

I think the main limitation is that you have only two speeds to work with, High and Low. However, you can program any speed want for those two speeds in %. Also, the spa can have it's own two speeds that can be different from the pool. But I don't really need more than two programmable speeds anyway. Also, the display does not show energy usage or flow rate but those aren't all that useful anyway.
 
The Hayward TriStar VS 950 (SP32950VSP) and OmniLogic (HLBASE) were installed this weekend. So far they're great! I still need to dig into all the fine details of the OmniLogic and get things dialed in but I'm happy to have our pool back up and running. I really like being able to adjust the speed of the pump in small increments as it solves the issue of not being able to make small adjustments with the valve actuators. For example, the valve for the deck jets can open fully via the actuator and then I can adjust the pump speed to control the output of the jets. Before when the deck jets were on a manual valve we typically kept them off. When we did use them the water sitting in the lines smelled awful. Now I should be able to set a schedule to flush the lines a few minutes each day.

Being able to control everything from my phone is another thing I've wanted for a while now. We have a lot of other smart home devices so it's nice to finally add this to the mix. I haven't tried out the Alexa functionality but I plan to set that up at some point.

For internet connectivity I plan to eventually hardwire the OmniLogic but for now I have it plugged into a Ubiquiti UniFi AC Mesh AP. We already have a Unifi environment in our home so this ended up being the cheaper and likely more reliable option versus the HLWLAN.

I'm debating what to do with our old AquaLogic setup. Not sure if there is much value in it whole. I'll likely part it out since a lot of the parts are compatible with the newer systems. I need to check but I think I should be able to reuse the relays with the OmniLogic.
 
RSKelme said:
The Hayward TriStar VS 950 (SP32950VSP) and OmniLogic (HLBASE) were installed this weekend. So far they're great! I still need to dig into all the fine details of the OmniLogic and get things dialed in but I'm happy to have our pool back up and running. I really like being able to adjust the speed of the pump in small increments as it solves the issue of not being able to make small adjustments with the valve actuators. For example, the valve for the deck jets can open fully via the actuator and then I can adjust the pump speed to control the output of the jets. Before when the deck jets were on a manual valve we typically kept them off. When we did use them the water sitting in the lines smelled awful. Now I should be able to set a schedule to flush the lines a few minutes each day.

Being able to control everything from my phone is another thing I've wanted for a while now. We have a lot of other smart home devices so it's nice to finally add this to the mix. I haven't tried out the Alexa functionality but I plan to set that up at some point.

For internet connectivity I plan to eventually hardwire the OmniLogic but for now I have it plugged into a Ubiquiti UniFi AC Mesh AP. We already have a Unifi environment in our home so this ended up being the cheaper and likely more reliable option versus the HLWLAN.

I'm debating what to do with our old AquaLogic setup. Not sure if there is much value in it whole. I'll likely part it out since a lot of the parts are compatible with the newer systems. I need to check but I think I should be able to reuse the relays with the OmniLogic.
Click to expand...

Good info. I noted the lack of wireless and thought about using that or a powerline adapter when it came time.

There's always ebay for peddling your parts.
 

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