Hayward Northstar pump install: Review

[salinda]

I'm confused about the pressure increase. Could someone help me here? I thought that a lower-powered pump would decrease head loss and thus the total dynamic head would decrease? I am considering a switch from a current 2hp Whisperflo, which is a good pump running well, to save on my bills ($0.35/kwh here!), but my filter is already running at 21-22 psi with the solar off and 28-29 with it on. I don't want my pressure to increase.

[pj1016]

Salinda,

I think that my pressure increase is because my old pump was "plumb wore out".

I didn't see any damage inside the old pump head, so I can't give you any technical reasons for the increase other than it must be a combination of the old pump being worn-out and the new pump being vastly superior in efficiency.

If your 2 hp is fairly new, I would expect that it is operating closely to its pump curve, and that a comparison between the old pump curve and the new pump curve will tell you what to expect in terms of any pressure increase/decrease.

HTH,

pj

[mwsmith2]

Salinda,

First you have to understand that pj and I both have OLD pumps. Apparently they weren't very efficient designs. I don't think you'd reap the same benefits as we will, since you have a pretty current-model pump.

$0.35/kwh? Ouch!

Edit: I see you also have a sta-rite heater. I'm thinking of getting one of those, how do you like it?

Michael

[salinda]

I LOVE the heater. My spa heats from stone cold in 15 minutes or less. I love having no pilot light. The heater is smaller than my old one, but very high power. Our gas costs are high too, so I figured it costs about $6/hour to run the gas heater. I also only run the gas to heat the pool before a big party or in the early morning. I am not using all of the heater's controls though...my Jandy Aqualink controls the setpoints etc.

You can pm me if you wish.

[mwsmith2]

Awesome. Man, this thread has turned out to be a real gold mine for me. I've got great info on a pump, confirmation of that and good info on the sta-rite. Thanks guys, my wallet is going to be screaming for mercy soon!

Michael

[Davenj]

I also have a Northstar 2hp 2spd pump. Very happy with it. Sand filter 500lb and 2 1/2 piping. 4 returns, 2 step jets, 2 swim out jets, spill over spa. High speed 20psi and low is 8. Run it on high 1hr to start then low for 8hrs an high again for 1 hr. This gets the spill over going and moves everything to the skimmers. The low speed works well for the SWG and filtering.
Was a bit scary to see the Sand filter and pump lid flex when you change speeds thou. Moves an amazing amount of water.