Replacing Pentair WhisperFlo EE 0.5HP

[cody21]

We have an old(er) Pentair pump that has gotten very noisy. Presumably nearing end of life. (We inherited it when we purchased the house - so probably 10-15 years old).

Reading thru this forum, I'm not convinced it would be a good idea to move to a Variable Speed pump. It seems like many things in our system would need to be taken into consideration with a VS .. Solar on the Roof (so pumping 10-12 feet high), PVC pipe sizing, water turn over, etc.

Am I reading too much into those issues? In your professional opinions, would you just replace the existing Pump with the same pump ? I can get a new one for less than $600 ... it looks like the VS pumps are nearly twice that ... (We are not TOO concerned about electricity costs. We run the pump about 6 hours in the summer, and have Electric Solar as well.)

Thanks in advance

 

[JamesW]

You should be able to use a 1/2 hp Whisperflo because it has a total hp of less than 1.0.

The pump has to be less than 1.0 total hp or variable speed.

You could do a Superflo vs for about $750 and it might qualify for a rebate from Pentair and a rebate from your utility.

 

[cody21]

Thanks ... But point is whether I should really consider changing this out for a VS Pump ... or just replace it with the exact same Pump ... It would be a lot easier if I just do a swap ... but everyone seems to suggest a VS is the way to go ... I'm just concerned that a VS won't be able to handle moving water UP to the Roof Solar panels.

 

[JamesW]

You can use the same pump if you're happy with it. The VS should work with no problem if you want to go that way. If you only run while using solar, the same pump should be fine. If you run a lot without solar, you should consider going to a variable speed pump.