Best energy efficient pumps out there

[Poconos]

A few general comments. Probably measuring the DC resistance of the windings won't tell you anything unless it's a dead short. If you get shorted turns the DC resistance won't change a noticeable amount but when AC power is applied you get one heck of a current flowing in the shorted turns and they will smoke. Same principle as the Weller soldering guns. A transformer with one big copper turn to power the soldering tip. You may want to invest in a clamp on ampmeter. Prices have become very reasonable and they can have options to measure peak, RMS, frequency, etc. Frequency is handy if you have a generator. A simple way to check a starting cap is to disconnect it, discharge it, and with a VOM on a high resistance range (10K or so) measure the resistance. You'll see it low at first then increase to very high as the cap charges. Reverse the leads and you'll see the resistance bang negative then increase again as it charges in the reverse direction. Obviously a short is bad and if it doesn't charge it is open.
Hope this helps.
Al

[msm859]

does anyone have experience with the Pentair intelliflo pump? it is suppose to be the most energy efficient.

[Big_D]

I am running an Intelliflo, and three Whisper flows. I was really feeling like a bone head for spending so much for the Intelliflo, and the whole pool in General. I did get a small amount of relief after the Power companies raised our rates through the roof. Based on our current rates in North Texas I will recover the pump cost in 1 year and the additional cost for the Intellitouch Control system in 1 more year. Currently using approx 500 watts to get 50 GPM flow. This is a simple pump operation cost calculator provided by Pentair you might find handy.

http://www.pentairpool.com/pool_pump_calc/index.htm

The pump is a neat piece of equipment, if you live in CA I understand there are incentives that will help with the cost of the pump. Whisper flows are also very quiet. The intelliflo is extremely quiet, and this alone would be worth the additional cost if you have an area that you are noise sensitive. My friend is in the middle of a remodel and is going with this pump just because of how quiet it is.

[tphaggerty]

Another option, especially in CA, is the IKERIC line of pumps. These are multi-speed pumps that use a controller to vary the speed at any of 4 settings. These are very much like the Intelli-flow, but possibly less expensive. These qualify for the CA rebates.

I am putting one in sometime this fall.