Warrior SE - Power usage?

[BenB]

Hey all.

Does anybody know what the power draw/usage is for the SE? I've tried Maytronics and Pentair's website but no luck. All it says is that it runs off 110VAC, and outputs 28VDC. But nothing on current, or a 'kWh per run' or anything like that.

Obviously the total power usage will depend on how long the unit runs for, but I'd like to and at least roughly compare runtime vs. the pressure-side Polaris cleaner that I currently have running off a booster pump.

Thanks!

 

[mknauss]

My controller shows Input of 120VAC/ 2A and output of 28VDC 120W.

Each cleaning cycle runs for about 2 hours.

 

[BenB]

As always, Marty, you're here in seconds with exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

 

[capricatunes]

Ben, I’m trying to do the exact same math. What did you figure out? Was there a significant difference in energy usage on average?

 

[Jimrahbe]

Why would you want to know?? It is so low it can't possibly make any difference in cost or even wire or breaker size.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[capricatunes]

Why would you want to know?? It is so low it can't possible make any difference in cost or even wire or breaker size.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Well Jim, I don’t know what I don’t know... I have a Polaris that may be seeing it’s last season. I borrowed a robot from a friend and liked it as a cleaner.
I’m doing my best to buy things that use electricity and have low energy consumption.

So, my next thought was to compare energy consumption - starting from scratch. Would there be a difference? If so, how much? Are they both so low it doesn’t matter? I’m still a bit new to my pool, I hadn’t yet figured how much my booster pump is consuming.

 

[BenB]

Yes, a massive difference!!

120W for 2 hours is 0.24kWh.

My PB4 pump says it needs 6.4A @ 240V, so 1,536W. Zodiac confirm this number in a reply to a question on Amazon for the pump.

For the same 2 hour cleaning cycle, that would be 3.1kWh.

So the robot uses just 8% of the power of the Zodiac, and I think does a much better job too. It's more deliberate about where it goes, scrubs the walls and tile line and picks up a load more through its fine filter.

I'm a solar net producer so I don't see any payback directly, but if you're paying for electric then the savings could add up very rapidly.

 

[Oly]

The bot also removes dust and debris from your pool system and does not load your pool filter.

 

[Rich807]

Going robot is a no-brainer. I was / am amazed @ how much better of a job it does vs older methods of vacuuming. Low power use is another bene.

 

[capricatunes]

Thanks so much, Ben. That’s really helpful! Even though the cost savings is significant, in Minnesota we're only running the pool for about 4 months out of the year so it'd take along time to recoup the costs. But, we're working on being a solar net producer, so part of this question is coming from a desire to reduce environmental impact wherever possible.

And thanks to Rich and Oly for your input. I just got a demo unit from my PB and I am loving the results. You're right about the dust, Oly. It's really impressive what it traps. I'm demo-ing the Dolphin S300, but looking at the Pentair Warrior SE from Maria...

 

[scdaren]

I put a Kill-a-Watt on mine to check it... I don't remember the exact numbers, but I do remember my conclusion that it used about as much power as a light bulb. 120 watts for a cleaning sounds about right. It's ridiculously low compared to a cleaner powered by the pool pump.

 

[reggiehammond]

Yes, a massive difference!!

120W for 2 hours is 0.34kWh.

My PB4 pump says it needs 6.4A @ 240V, so 1,536W. Zodiac confirm this number in a reply to a question on Amazon for the pump.

For the same 2 hour cleaning cycle, that would be 3.1kWh.

So the robot uses just 11% of the power of the Zodiac, and I think does a much better job too. It's more deliberate about where it goes, scrubs the walls and tile line and picks up a load more through its fine filter.

I'm a solar net producer so I don't see any payback directly, but if you're paying for electric then the savings could add up very rapidly.

My former pool service insisted the PB4-60 and cleaner should run for a minimum of 6 hours per day. Between the weekly service and electricity savings, I think I pay for my Warrior and SWG in about 10 months.

 

[BenB]

My former pool service insisted the PB4-60 and cleaner should run for a minimum of 6 hours per day. Between the weekly service and electricity savings, I think I pay for my Warrior and SWG in about 10 months.

Sigh.... It's so easy to spend other people's money isn't it? 6 hours is INSANE. That kind of advice is just giving themselves an 'out' if you ever admitted to not doing it, and had some kind of outbreak (which would have much more likely been their fault and nothing to do with a pool cleaner running around the bottom).

Agreed though - that's how I justified the cleaner to my wife - told her that doing the pool care myself was saving $120/month, so would pay for itself in 6 months.

 

[capricatunes]

Wait...I want it to pay for itself, but I don’t see that happening for a long time. Maybe my math is wrong...? I have a $699 unit paying for itself in 10 years. I’m estimating running the Polaris and the robot 2 hours per day, which is probably high. Here in Minneapolis the pool is only open about 4 months of the year - 5 tops.

Energy prices are about 8.73¢/kWh here. What do you come up with?

Reggie, I have a pb4-60 also.

My former pool service insisted the PB4-60 and cleaner should run for a minimum of 6 hours per day. Between the weekly service and electricity savings, I think I pay for my Warrior and SWG in about 10 months.

 

[reggiehammond]

Wait...I want it to pay for itself, but I don’t see that happening for a long time. Maybe my math is wrong...? I have a $699 unit paying for itself in 10 years. I’m estimating running the Polaris and the robot 2 hours per day, which is probably high. Here in Minneapolis the pool is only open about 4 months of the year - 5 tops.

Energy prices are about 8.73¢/kWh here. What do you come up with?

Reggie, I have a pb4-60 also.

Sorry, I wasn’t clear. Pool service was $220 a month. Firing them, plus electricity savings (they were also constantly changing my VS speeds) is what I’m using to “pay for” the SWG and Warrior. Not solely just electrical savings…

 

[capricatunes]

For the same 2 hour cleaning cycle, that would be 3.1kWh.

Ben, just to confirm (new to all these numbers) are you saying the PB4 uses 1.55kW per one hour of use? So 3.1kWh for two hours? Or 3.1kW per hour? Feel like this is a pretty dumb q...

 

[capricatunes]

Sorry, I wasn’t clear. Pool service was $220 a month. Firing them, plus electricity savings (they were also constantly changing my VS speeds) is what I’m using to “pay for” the SWG and Warrior. Not solely just electrical savings…

Ah that makes sense. Thanks. Nice move!

 

[BenB]

Ben, just to confirm (new to all these numbers) are you saying the PB4 uses 1.55kW per one hour of use? So 3.1kWh for two hours? Or 3.1kW per hour? Feel like this is a pretty dumb q...

No stupid questions here. We're all learning.

Watts is an instant reading - a measure of energy per second. A kWh is the amount of energy used to run 1000W i.e. 1kW, for one hour, so 1 kWh

So the pump uses 1.55kW (every second), which is 1.55kWh for 1 hour or 3.1kWh for 2 hours.

Energy prices are about 8.73¢/kWh here.

Out here in California, PG&E marginal rates for some folks are north of 30c/kWh.

Also consider that energy prices are only going to go up as environmental policy adapts over time to pricing and energy consumption more equitably.

At the end of the day, we pick whatever justification we need to buy our shiny pool toys. But the robot is objectively a better tool. So even if you won't "earn it back" it's still better and therefore worth some premium.

 

[scdaren]

Energy prices are about 8.73¢/kWh here. What do you come up with?

Good lord your power is cheap. In California, I have the extra special electric vehicle rate, and ours ranges from $0.14 per kWh in the middle of the night off-peak (when we charge the car) to like $0.54 peak in the afternoon.