SWG - Power Consumption

[SteveiB]

I'm considering a SWG and have focused on the RJ60. However, my wiring setup has me concerned. The pump is really far from the house so I suffer from a fairly large voltage drop. With the pump running the voltage drops from 123 to about 113 to 114. I'm concerned that adding a SWG will cause an even greater voltage drop and cause the motor to run hot.

Would anyone with a 115V setup and a similar sized SWG be able to tell me what kind of voltage drop you experience?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Please add more details about your equipment ... can't help you if we have no clue as to what equipment you have ...

Generally speaking, it sounds like your electrical setup is not up to code. If you are experiencing significant voltage drops like that, then you need to reconsider the wiring and look to a professional installation of a sub-panel to help with power distribution. An SWG only uses a couple of hundred watts of power and it is typically intermittent as the SWG runs on a duty cycle (50% output means that the SWG runs ON for 50% of the time cycle and OFF for the other 50%). It's not a continuous process unless you set the SWG to 100% output which you should rarely ever do.

Give us more pool details and we can help. Fill out your signature and your equipment/pool specs

 

[ajw22]

RJ60 will use around 200 watts max which is about 2 amps at 120 volts.

What model pump do you have?

Your pump wiring 14 gauge or 12 gauge?

 

[SteveiB]

RJ60 will use around 200 watts max which is about 2 amps at 120 volts.

What model pump do you have?

Your pump wiring 14 gauge or 12 gauge?

I have a Pentair Dynamo 1.5HP pump. The wiring is a mixture of 12 and 8 gauge. I tapped into an existing outside outlet to power the pump. So, the wiring inside the house is 12 gauge and the wiring from the house to the pump is 8 gauge.

I'll add pool and equipment details to my signature.

 

[ajw22]

How long is the wire run to the pump?

The circuit the pump is on have a 20A or 15A CB? The CB GFCI?

 

[SteveiB]

How long is the wire run to the pump?

The circuit the pump is on have a 20A or 15A CB? The CB GFCI?

20A GFCI breaker. The run to the pump is about 120 feet.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I have a Pentair Dynamo 1.5HP pump. The wiring is a mixture of 12 and 8 gauge. I tapped into an existing outside outlet to power the pump. So, the wiring inside the house is 12 gauge and the wiring from the house to the pump is 8 gauge.

I'll add pool and equipment details to my signature.

Understand why you might do something like this but that kind of tap is a serious No-No under electrical code. You are asking that outlet (and any other outlet on that run from the panel) plus all of the wiring inside the house to handle a huge inductive load. Worst-case scenario - you cause a house fire.

The only real fix is a dedicated run from the main panel to wherever the pool equipment is located. If you want to keep it simple and just have an outdoor rated outlet plug hanging from a piece of fence post, so be it. A small sub-panel would give added flexibility. But what you have now is a disaster waiting to happen. I would urge you to spend the time and money to do it right and stop trying to patch it with band-aid solutions ....