Question on Energy Efficient Pump Driving Caretaker In-Ground Cleaning System

[PoolDoc]

Mark, I just emailed you.

Thanks for the post.

Ben

[djcjdad]

Hi Ben and Mark,

Thank you so much for the prompt replies. They were both very helpful. After furter inspection my pump is a Hayward RS 1500 1.5HP or 2.0THP. After I had it replaced about 1.5yrs ago the power bill went up (1/4 to 1/3) immeadiately, leading me to believe that the pool guy installed to big of a pump. However, like I said before my old pump was a pentair and a 1.5hp. Having said all of that this pump from day one had a lot of turbulence at the pump basket until he diverted a lot of that flow away from the caretaker side of the T valve and instead moved more water through the 3 returns in the top of the pool. Weird, I never had this problem before he installed the new pump. I still wonder if its to big. Besides the one station with 6 heads...all the rest of the stations have 3 or 2 heads. Is there anyway I can get around this issues with the in-ground cleaning system being a power/PSI hog? I know eveyrbodys pool is different, but I was thinking maybe if I bought a new Hayward Ecostar I could run the pump at or close to top speed for a few hours(3-4) a day and then back it down to a much lower RPM for just circulating the water and chems through the filter. My pool is 2" plumbing with a Hayward pro series sand filter model # S244S.

Once again thanks for the advice.

Jeff

[mas985]

Is there anyway I can get around this issues with the in-ground cleaning system being a power/PSI hog?

The heads need a certain flow rate and pressure so there really is no way to get around that.

I was thinking maybe if I bought a new Hayward Ecostar I could run the pump at or close to top speed for a few hours(3-4) a day and then back it down to a much lower RPM for just circulating the water and chems through the filter.

That will help to reduce your energy consumption but another option would be to swap out the current motor for a two speed motor and do the same thing. Also, if you wanted to, you could just stick with the single speed and run it for 3 hours per day since that is at least a single turnover. That could be enough. If not, then a the VS or two speed is a good option.

[djcjdad]

MArk,

Thanks again for the reply. I have no doubt the pool will turnover in 3-4 hrs @ 3450rpm's, but I worry about alga build up. I've tried to get away with just 6hrs pump time in the summer months here in Phoenix and I start getting algae. It seems like 8hrs is bare minimum for my pool in the summer. That's why I was thinking of the VS pump to share duty time if you will. Program it to run close to top speed to drive those head for floor cleaning 3-4hrs, then drop the VS pump back to a lower speed for just filtration. I think I might take a stab at buying the ecostar. Online for $850 now and I get a $200 rebate back from the power company after install. Seems like a deal...might take a few years for the pump to pay for itself, but I'm here for at least another 10yrs.

Listen, I've learned an awful lot from with your guys knowledge here.

Thanks again for all the help.

Jeff