AG Pump recommendations?

[tcora]

All: Looking for recommendations - I have a 1/2 HP Hayward Power-Flo II on my 15x30 AG. It's worked great (even with the solar panels on the roof of the garage:-}), but the bearings have gotten grotty and the thru bolts on the motor have rusted in place, so I can't replace them (3 of the 4 bolts broke when I took it apart and no amount of work will get the remains of the bolts out of the pump housing).

Aside this rust issue, I've been pleased with the Hayward and have no real qualms about buying another one, but would like to solicit opinions on other makes - pros & cons.

And I have learned that, regardless of what I buy, I will pull the motor bolts and apply some anti-sieze to them as soon as I pull it out of the box:-}

Thanks,
Tom C

[mas985]

The Powerflo II isn't a bad pump and since it works for you, it wouldn't be a bad idea to replace it with a like model. There are other alternatives depending on your objective. If you are trying to lower energy costs, which should already be pretty low with that pump, you could go with a two speed pump but you would need to get a slightly larger pump to get the lower speed. Running at lower speed saves energy costs and may improve filtering some but usually at the expense of skimming ability because of the lower flow rates. So there are some trade offs.

As for manufactures, many pros think that Pentair makes a more reliable pump than Hayward but most of the opinions seem to be perception rather than reality so it is hard to tell if one is actually better than another. From what I can tell, both manufactures use A.O.Smith motors for most of their pumps so the motors should have the same reliability. But it is possible that they may use different seals which could explain some of the reliability issues.

[tcora]

Thanks. Best I can see @ the 1/2 HP level is this: Pentair uses 10% more power than the Hayward, but will push more water (for my 25 GPM design point, we are talking 50 ft dynamic head vs 35 ft) and costs, best price I can find, 70 bucks more. The Hayward worked just fine, as I noted earlier, so I don't see much point in a higher purchase price with a higher electric bill, for the same number of runtime hours - note that my runtime hours are really tied to the solar heat, rather than filtration... Sooo, a new Hayward looks like the right answer for me.

[mas985]

Your current pump should well exceed 25 GPM. More than likely your current design point is closer to 40 GPM @ 27' of head for typical AG plumbing.

Also, how do you know that the Pentair uses 10% more power and which Pentair are you talking about? Motor ratings don't really give you a realistic view of the actual power usage. Have you measured your Hayward pump's power? For typical AG plumbing, the 3/4 HP Pentair Optimo uses about 830 watts on high speed with a flow rate of about 41 GPM.

[tcora]

Your current pump should well exceed 25 GPM. More than likely your current design point is closer to 40 GPM @ 27' of head for typical AG plumbing.

Also, how do you know that the Pentair uses 10% more power and which Pentair are you talking about? Motor ratings don't really give you a realistic view of the actual power usage. Have you measured your Hayward pump's power? For typical AG plumbing, the 3/4 HP Pentair Optimo uses about 830 watts on high speed with a flow rate of about 41 GPM.

I was purely comparing faceplate numbers (8.0A for the Hayward vs 8.8A for the Pentair).

As far as all the rest goes, no I haven't measured any of it. I'm an engineer, but what I know is that what I have works, and that is good and I have no call to over-engineer it. My AG plumbing includes about an extra 100' run to and from the solar panels, which are, low side, approx 10' above the level of the pump (they are on the roof of the garage).

I've ordered a Hayward to replace the one I already have.