Two Speed Pump

[AnnaK]

I have a two-speed pump on my 12,000 gal AG, made by Pentair.

It has a manual toggle switch. I run it on LO for a few hours during the day for general filtration and circulation. I switch to HI after the dogs have been in the pool because it does a better job of moving water through the skimmer basket on that setting. After the dog hair has been removed from the surface of the water, I switch back to LO. I use the HI setting when I vacuum, backwash and rinse.

On the LO setting the pressure gauge reads 6 psi and the pump housing is barely warm to the touch. On HI the gauge is at 12 - 14 psi and the housing is too warm to keep my hand on it. I've not had a problem with it overheating and shutting down.

Once the timer is installed I plan to switch the toggle to HI in the evening and have the pump run after midnight for a couple of hours, when the rates are lower.

[tphaggerty]

Go to http://www.poolplaza.com/ for a good explaination of 2 speed pumps and also some pricing comparisons. Its a good place to see a whole bunch of pumps in one place. My PB talked me out of a 2 speed pump, one of the dumb things I did. Same reason as your poolstore, too expensive, never used.

So, I now have a multi-speed pump that I installed myself this year. Since we use solar for heating, our pump runs during the day when we are swimming. The 2 HP Hayward Superpump was WAY too loud. I installed my pump so that it goes to high speed when solar is on (I have a large array of panels) and low speed when solar is off. In low speed, you almost cannot hear the pump, even though it is still pumping close to half the amount as high speed, and the electrical use is about 1/4.

PLUS, many states (such as CA) have energy rebates and soon will REQUIRE 2 speed pumps, so you might look into that as well (unfortunately, NY does not have such a rebate).