Wiring a 2-speed pump motor

[wack70]

I originally had a 2-speed but they were too expensive at the time it failed so I decided to replace it with a single speed. Well the single speed is costing too much in energy so I bought a 2-speed and can't recall how it was wired (three wire setup).

I have green (ground), red, and 2 blacks. When testing with a multimeter, I tap the multimeter black lead to the green ground and the multimeter red lead to each of other 3 wires:
Black 1: hot (120)
Black 2: zero reading (assume this is neutral/common)
Red: hot (120)

The motor has connections for L1 (Hi), L2 (Com), and A (Lo). Does the Black 1 go to L1, Black 2 go to A (Com) and Red go to L2?

I'm attaching a snippet from Inyo Pools article on wiring a 2-speed like my AO Smith/Centurion plus a pic of my actual motor wiring.

 

[BMerrill]

Any reason you did not go with a variable speed pump. They usually pay for the cost difference within a year on saved electricity.

 

[wack70]

From what I saw they were just too much and I got this motor for less than $400 so it wasn't a huge investment. If I recall, a variable motor was around $900.

 

[wireform]

CaliMar® Variable Speed Pool Pump | 3HP | CMARVSP3.0

Pool Supply Unlimited has some of the best prices when shopping for CaliMar® Variable Speed Pool Pump | 3HP | CMARVSP3.0

www.poolsupplyunlimited.com

 

[wack70]

CaliMar® Variable Speed Pool Pump | 3HP | CMARVSP3.0

Pool Supply Unlimited has some of the best prices when shopping for CaliMar® Variable Speed Pool Pump | 3HP | CMARVSP3.0

www.poolsupplyunlimited.com

Well I really wish I would have posted here sooner. I already have the new motor and can't return it but I have it running in low speed now and it cut the wattage usage down from 2000 to 400 so I'm not too disappointed. Thanks for the link though.

 

[BMerrill]

You'll save the cost difference the first year in electrical usage alone.
Using my system as an example below:

At top speed (3450rpm) my VS pump uses 2400 watts @ $0.15 per kW = $0.36 per hour to filter 105 gallons/minute.
In 24 hours = $8.64 or $259 a month.
If it only ran for 12 hours a day at max rpm = $129.60

At 1550 rpms it uses 240 watts @ $0.15 per kW =$0.036 per hour to filter 50 gallons/minute.
In 24 hours = $0.864 or $25.92 a month.
If it only ran for 12 hours a day = $12.96 a month.

But my pump only needs to run from 8am to 3pm daily @ 1550 rpm to run the SWG and filter 21,000 gallons.
Cost is $7.56 a month.
Have not added any liquid chorine or MA since opening in April.
I truly have a crystal clear trouble free pool.

 

[wireform]

Have that calimar @1500rpm 24/7 @206 watts. That's $26-$27/month. Free compared to the single speed Hayward SP it replaced.

 

[wack70]

Have that calimar @1500rpm 24/7 @206 watts. That's $26-$27/month. Free compared to the single speed Hayward SP it replaced.

If what I'm seeing holds true, with this 2-speed motor I'll be cutting my monthly pool filtering cost down from about $60/month to $12/month. The single speed was running at 1900 watts/hour for 8 hours a day, so 1.9kWh x 8hrs = 15.2kWh per day, or 456kWh per month, totaling $60.64 at my current 13.3 cents/kWh rate. Do the same math with 390 watts/hour and it's $12.45, give or take a dollar or two since I'll run it on high speed and with the Polaris cleaner a few days a week (no trees thank goodness).