[AA702]

Originally Posted by jet757f

I keep hearing about the variable speed pump. Maybe this is the time to switch.

It will save you money in the long haul if you get a good variable speed pump. Since your pool is a simple pool without infloor cleaner you should see big savings.

[jet757f]

Originally Posted by AA702

It will save you money in the long haul if you get a good variable speed pump. Since your pool is a simple pool without infloor cleaner you should see big savings.

Let me know if you find a good deal.
I need to talk to you anyway about pool cleaning in June.

[KD Hawaii98]

They've replaced the motor. it works well. We need to drain the pool but couldn't find the sewer line access. Where can I find it? I've searched on my property and couldn't find the sewer line access where I can drain the pool.

[MediocreButArrogant]

Originally Posted by KD Hawaii98

They've replaced the motor. it works well. We need to drain the pool but couldn't find the sewer line access. Where can I find it? I've searched on my property and couldn't find the sewer line access where I can drain the pool.

It's usually near your front door, by the water shut-off. If I walk out my front door and turn right to follow the path to the garage, it's right by the corner of the garage. It might be buried under some vegetation. Mine was hidden under an out-of-control rosemary bush for years. When the rosemary bush was taken out, the cover was there, clearly visible.

[KD Hawaii98]

Originally Posted by MediocreButArrogant

It's usually near your front door, by the water shut-off. If I walk out my front door and turn right to follow the path to the garage, it's right by the corner of the garage. It might be buried under some vegetation. Mine was hidden under an out-of-control rosemary bush for years. When the rosemary bush was taken out, the cover was there, clearly visible.

how deep was it?

[AA702]

Sometimes it is impossible to find the sewer access if it is burried. What i've done is actually put my hose to the manhole in the street and put cones and signs up so no body drives or falls into it. The other alternative is to drain it to your neighbors if they give your permission or drain it to the street but that is a no-no if you get caught.

[WestieJeff]

NV Energy has a $200 variable speed pool pump rebate if you buy thru vendors in town (Leslies, NPS, etc.). I recommend the Pentair variable speed pump.

I think they're around $1100 installed after the rebate. Call NPS and they should be able to tell you over the phone a ballpark price.

I've been saving around $30-$40/month in electricity since I installed the pump (almost a year now). They are dead quiet too and I expect it will last a long longer since it runs slower and much cooler than my old single speed pump.

Originally Posted by jet757f

Let me know if you find a good deal.
I need to talk to you anyway about pool cleaning in June.

[nightnurse613]

I thought I read something the other day about the City of Phoenix requiring you replace old pumps with variable speed if yours should break. They run about $800 plus a couple hundred to install (I have no idea but aren't there just two wires to connect?) I hear people say they save about $30 a month but most of them only have a year or two warranty and I am worried about the heat and the electronic exposure of the controls (I think some of them have control units away from the pump but, that's more wiring expense). As pointed out, most of the energy companies are allowing a $200 rebate (which is probably reflected in the $800 asking price).

[WestieJeff]

I paid $750 after rebate out the door from NPS and did the install myself. It's not difficult, but it is more than screwing in two wires. You have to connect the plumbing which in my case it was close in dimensions to the old pump but I still had to cut the pipes, glue on couplers, etc. In some cases, depending on your plumbing, you might not have room to simply cut the pipe and glue in couplers (mine barely had enough room). Also on mine the electrical connection on the variable speed pump was in a different spot than on my old pump and the wire barely had enough length to reach the old one, so I had to do some rewiring to get the cable long enough to reach the new pump. And I had to bypass the external intermatic timer my old pump used since the new pump has the timer built in. Finally you have to calibrate the pump, which you can use the calculators online, but you have to do some calculations with your plumbing head and RPM to guesstimate the flow rate. In my case I was trying to get the pool to turn over 1x per day. I also had to adjust the flow rate to be high enough to cause the salt water chlorinator flow switch to flip on and see that water was flowing and allow the salt cell to work. On the lowest flow setting my salt chlorinator didn't turn on.

Probably sounds more difficult than it was, but I still spent 2-4 hours working on it and while I'm no super DIY'er, I have done a lot of DIY projects.

Originally Posted by nightnurse613

I thought I read something the other day about the City of Phoenix requiring you replace old pumps with variable speed if yours should break. They run about $800 plus a couple hundred to install (I have no idea but aren't there just two wires to connect?) I hear people say they save about $30 a month but most of them only have a year or two warranty and I am worried about the heat and the electronic exposure of the controls (I think some of them have control units away from the pump but, that's more wiring expense). As pointed out, most of the energy companies are allowing a $200 rebate (which is probably reflected in the $800 asking price).

[AA702]

Originally Posted by nightnurse613

I thought I read something the other day about the City of Phoenix requiring you replace old pumps with variable speed if yours should break. They run about $800 plus a couple hundred to install (I have no idea but aren't there just two wires to connect?) I hear people say they save about $30 a month but most of them only have a year or two warranty and I am worried about the heat and the electronic exposure of the controls (I think some of them have control units away from the pump but, that's more wiring expense). As pointed out, most of the energy companies are allowing a $200 rebate (which is probably reflected in the $800 asking price).

From my experience the Pentair/Starite VS units are pretty solid. I've seen a few of them fail due to electronics issues (mother board went bad but pump and motor was fine). Very expensive to fix unless its under warranty. I would avoid the Hayward or Jandy systems since i've seen more of the Hayward VS (tristar) units fail. I've seen moderate failures with the Jandy units.