Pump & Filter Choices

[duraleigh]

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.

[tphaggerty]

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).

[wbrady]

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.

[Spensar]

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.