Pentair Intelliflo - $1500 Pump

Well, I'm in the final phases of pool construction and just hit on an expensive idea. My pool is about 30k gallons and will have a waterfall/slide feature. I currently plan to have two seperate two-speed pumps. One pump for the pool and one for the waterfall/slide.

I just ran across the Pentair Intelliflo information. They claim power savings of 90% with custom variation on the exact water flow. So, I could have numerous exact flow rate settings which I could select. The nice thing is it operates on flow rate, not power selection, so it should match my power needs exactly. No excess. According to the web site calculation I should save ~$1K dollars a year based on the flow rate accuracy and efficiency of the motor.

OK, so that's the solution based on the Pentair web site sales pitch. Now for the reality check! Anyone out there actually have one of these pumps on their pool? I would greatly appreciate any feedback before I drop and extra $600 on this pump.

There was an extensive discuss on the forum about this pump a while back. At first I thought it was a waste of money. I thought it waould be best to just match the pump size with the pool requirements but after reading the thread, I beleive the pump is worth the money.
I believe you need to have the Pentair IntelliTouch automated control system to take full advantage of this pump. That's another $1200 bucks.

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Originally Posted by mshumack

I believe you need to have the Pentair IntelliTouch automated control system to take full advantage of this pump. That's another $1200 bucks.

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According to Pentair, the only functionality you're going to lose by not having the IntelliTouch system is the inability to control your settings from inside of the home. According to the Pentair rep I spoke with, you can still control everything directly at the pump, if you do not have the IntelliTouch. This was important in my application, because it's an existing pool that already has a ComPool digital control panel, so I wanted to ensure that this pump wouldn't be rendered useless, by not having the IntelliTouch. She assured me that I didn't just waste $1500!


John from Boston

This is a post from another forum, but what Deek says is pretty accurate.
"Posted by deeker (My Page) on Sun, Apr 1, 07 at 16:55


Please remember the main goal of the IntelliFlo pump line is to use less energy while running the pump. Let me state a couple of things the IntelliFlos cannot do and then talk about a few things it can do.

The IntelliFlos cannot overcome undersized plumbing: meaning the pump cannot supply anymore water than the pipe allows. The IntelliFlo cannot replace every pump on a pool if the flow requirements for the pool exceed 140-160 GPM when all the pools features are called for at the same time. Also remember the more GPM you require the higher the RPM of the motor. The maximum RPM's of the motor is 3450 - same as any single speed pool motor. The closer the pump operates to the 3450 RPM the less energy that is saved.

All that said and those parameters followed the IntelliFlo easily has the capability to benefit any pool and any pools features.

The IntelliFlo only works with an IntelliTouch automation system and the 4 speed version works with an EZ Touch and IntelliTouch. Using the automation actually gives you more set speed opportunities. For example: if the 4 speed is a stand alone pump with no automation and is used with a manual time clock you are limited to the number of speeds a manual time clock provides.

If you use an EZ Touch you have up 4 speeds that can be set for various features. If you use IntelliTouch automation you have up to 8 speeds you can set. Both EZ Touch and IntelliTouch speeds can be controlled by wireless technology, spa side iS10 or indoor controller. EZ touch can also be controlled at the outdoor panel.

Now for the a few things builders are doing with the IntelliFlo line:
- Infinity edge (negative edge) pools. No more guessing on what size pump to use. IntelliFlo flows can be easily adjusted to size the water needed easily. Another plus for infinity edge pools: The edge of the pool where the water falls into a trough has very thin layer of water going over the edge into the trough. Often leaves or debris gets hung up on the edge interrupting the visual effect of the infinity edge. Builders now set the IntelliFlo to "flush the edge" by boosting the GPM once an hour or so to give the infinity pool more water and sending the debris over the edge into the trough.
- Waterfalls now can be controlled flow waterfalls. Builders set 2-3-4 speeds so you can have a quite a water fall all the way to the party waterfall.
- Spa Jets – no more just high, pounding jet action. With the IntelliFlo builder are giving you a few different jet speeds to use in the spa.
- In Floor cleaners. Many require 2 pumps. Not anymore as the IntelliFlo can easily work with any in floor and eliminate the need for that extra pump.

Remember the gift of the IntelliFlo is it saves money in energy costs compared to ANY pool pump that has ever been in the pool industry. The speeds are all available and it is up to your imagination and pool applications on how they are applied.
Deek “
“End rip from another forum “

I have an Intelliflo and I am happy with performance and based on my power savings I will recoup the additional cost in 1-1.5 years. Back when I purchased it was a big laugh by most of the pool subs that anyone would pay that much for a pool pump. Then electricity cost went through the roof, and you know what it was not them laughing it was me. :) It is nice to have flexibility and efficiency. I did go with the Intellitouch system with the Screenlogic interface. Neat stuff, not necessary but handy. I can log in from my notebook and see what is going on and if there are any problems make corrections to my program, turn off or on equipment, or stop operations until I get someone there to fix the issue. Since I travel a lot this is a nice feature.

One of the discussions about the Intelliflow is a technical one at this thread. If you want to either manually turn on your water features or to have them go on at a fixed time of day, then the pump alone should work. If you want your water features to be turned on by an external control voltage signal, then the IntelliComm is the inexpensive solution that can translate "trigger" signals into something the pump understands (it is not true that only the IntelliTouch works with the IntelliFlow, though it is true that the EZ Touch does not work with the full IntelliFlow). As was pointed out, if you want full function with remote access, then the more expensive IntelliTouch should do the trick.

Richard