I think I can answer questions you might have about the variable speed IntelliFlo pump. I retrofitted one to our pool as part of a major equipment upgrade in April. To date I am very pleased with the product. I choose the variable speed pump as part of a plan to upgrade our existing pool with an integrated spa later this year and wanted the flexibility that the variable speed pump offers. I am able to work within the capabilities of my existing plumbing and now have the capacity to work with any future upgrades that will require higher flow.

Having said that, at present I run the pump at its lowest available flow rate (15 GPM) for my 10 hr filter cycle. I also run my suction side cleaner isolated from the returns for an additional hour on top of the filter cycle at a slightly higher flow rate. Yes, it is a small pool at only 10K Gal. Running at 15 GPM the pump consumes between 125-150 watts and it is virtually impossible to hear running at those flow rates. As a result of the long duration filter cycle I am able to run my SWG at 10% with low CYA levels (under 50 ppm) and also relatively low FC levels. I have seen about a 10% reduction in our overall electric bill but it is difficult to determine based on such a short period of use. It has to be lower as the prior pump even at ¾ hp consumed something on the order of 1+ kw to perform the same task over an admittedly much shorter duration.

The pump interfaces well to my IntelliTouch controller providing virtually all of the information in the house that is available on the pump at the equipment pad. There are some limitations in terms of the ability to run the various flow rate programs available from the pump PLC that are not available when integrated with the IntelliTouch controller but it isn’t a major loss to the overall functionality.

I don’t see anything about the pump that would suggest that it won’t have the longevity of existing equipment. The only item that gives me any concern are the electronics that control the pump motor. The pump is more or less built around a 3 hp WhisperFlo wet section which I believe to be fairly reliable. The motor is new design but is based on motor technology that is commonly used in other industries. It also has an integrated fan that helps to keep it cool. Since in my application the pump is only running at a fraction of its rated capabilities 99 % of the time I would expect that both mechanically and electrically the pump should last considerably longer than an equivalent pump running closer to rated capability. I also believe that Pentair trialed these pumps for a number of years in the Las Vegas market. If the electronics didn’t fail under that high temperature environment I would expect that they will work in almost any US application. We’ll see as I live in AZ and the pump is certainly subjected to very high daytime temperatures.