Pump & Filter Choices

First let me state, I have been reading this forum for the past six months and have learned so much from all of you, Thanks. Sorry for the lengthy post..

Just started building a pool last week. I had requested a 2 speed pump because I thought it would save me money on electric costs. The president of the company called me yesterday and said he wants to talk me out of it. He stated they have already choose the most efficient pump (Pentair Whisperflow) and if I go with a 2 speed, I would have to put it on high speed to use my Polaris and also it would have to be on high for the heat pump to be able to utilize it’s thermostat feature. Any one have any thoughts?

Also we got to talking about filters. We had settled on a DE after considering all 3 types. They also use Pentair filters. They will put whichever filter I want on the pool, but I asked for his opinion and he gave it. Not really surprised, but he has a sand filter on his 36,000 gallon pool for the last 21 years. He has Never changed the sand, he believes it is a myth that sand wears out. He has put on 2 or 3 pressure gauges and a couple of back wash hoses, but no other repairs or costs. He also told me of a public pool that had sand filters installed in 1969 and just replaced the filters 4 years ago, they also never changed the sand. Sounds like sand would be the least costly to maintain. With DE, you have to add DE and clean the elements and replace elements every 5-7 years. Cartridge requires new cartridges every 5 years or so at the tune of $500. Any thoughts?

Thanks

well, there is one other guy on here for sure who believes sand will basically never wear out...i don't have enough experience to make that claim as i wasn't the original owner of our house, but i do know the sand filter i have (sta-rite) is the original filter going back 20 years anyway. i've had the pool 4 years now, don't know if the sand was ever changed. i did change the sand out this year as i was renovating my entire pool equipment setup and thought now i'll know when everything "got started". i am good at backwashing regularly (at least once every 2 or 3 weeks whether i think it needs it or not) and put filter cleaner in every fall before close down. the sand i took out had a little put of clumping here and there but i'm sure would have been serviceable for another season anyway.

the fellow i'm referring to who basically believes sand can last forever has taken all his sand out, cleaned it and put it back in..your guy maybe the same type..me, i'd rather change out sand if necessary every 5 years or more if i have it out anyway.

i'm not using sand anymore by the way.i've become a big believer in zeobrite since i put it in in july.

I had also asked him about zeobrite and stated he did not have enough experience with it to recommend it. From what he has seen it seems to work well, but you have to change it more often than sand.

What your PB says makes a lot of sense but I'm not sure it negates the use of a two-speed pump. His thoughts on the Polaris and the heat pump both make sense to me but what about the times when neither of those are operating? (which would probably be maybe 70%) Seems like low speed would be fine then....assuming both pump and filter were sized appropriately.

All that said, the PB sounds like a common sense type and I would tend to trust his opinion since he has a good overview of the project. I like his thoughts on zeobrite, too.......no "rush to judgement". The marketplace will determine it's ultimate value. I've seen nothing negative on this forum about it, incidentally.

Pentair makes some nice 2 speed and variable speed pumps. Why not ask him for the differential to put in the 2 speed and see for yourself. My PB talked me out of a 2 speed and now I am putting in an Ikeric multi-speed myself (after 1 year). The single speed Hayward Superpump I have is LOUD and sucks electricity (even though it is the Energy Efficient model).

While I agree with the PB that you *probably* won't use it much, what if you do? If you don't have the 2 speed, you can't even try! Since you are here on the forum, I think that automatically qualifies you as smarter (or at least more diligent) than the average pool owner, so I would think that you are willing to try to do things a little differently than the average pool owner (hey, maybe we can use APO for this one). In my case, I now realize that my PB (whom I really like, BTW), puts in the pump he does because he always has, he has them in his stock and it is just easier for him. Plus, he gets credits from Hayward for selling their "matched equipment" setups. None of those reasons help me!

Why a PB doesn't just tack on an extra $100 on top of the difference and just install the 2 speed when asked is beyond me. What does he care if you never flip the switch! Plus, in some areas, you can get a significant credit from your electrical company for installing a 2 speed (or better) energy efficient pump (you might want to check that out as well).

Great comments from everyone, I think I will have to bend the PB's ear some more on this subject. Sometimes I feel I have enough information to be dangerous but not enough to be intelligent.

Electric companies all messing around with tiered billing, and time of day billing as well. A two speed gives you some options if they go that way in your area. If building fresh, the incremental cost in the total scheme of the build isn't much.