I need to replace my old 1.5HP pump motor. It burnt out and the housing is in bad shape because it overheated after getting covered in sand.
My pool maintenance company is pushing me to get a Pentair Superflow VST, which costs around $1300-$1400. However, they want to charge me $2200 for installation and plumbing. I’m not thrilled with this company, but they’re the only reliable ones in my area for pool opening and closing.
They’re also discouraging me from replacing my single-speed motor.
What should I do? I need to fix this before closing the pool in a couple of weeks.
If you like the pump you have now and it’s still sold, you can easily replace it yourself if you have some space around your equipment.
I had a single-speed pump that broke, and a local pool company wanted around $1200 plus extra for labor and pipe changes to replace it with a Hayward.
I found the same pump on Amazon for $225. You don’t need to change any pipes. Just turn off the power, unscrew two pipe connections, swap the pump, reconnect everything, and turn the power back on. It took me about 45 minutes to do it.
If you don’t know much about PVC plumbing or electrical work, let the experts handle it. Companies often double the price of the pump and charge $300-$400 to install a variable speed one.
There are cheaper pumps available, like those from Jandy and Pentair, which are energy-efficient. Pentair has TEFC pumps, which might save you money. Installing a pump could take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on how it’s set up. Just keep in mind that you’re paying for their skill, knowledge, and the ease of having them do the work.
For $1300, if you do it yourself, you get a 30-day warranty. If you have it installed with brick and mortar, the warranty is 1-3 years and might be better with Pentair.
For $2200 installed? That seems right. I can finish it in under an hour, but if there’s a problem like a wire corroding, bad conduit, or any issues I need to fix, it could take longer.
Sometimes I can get in and out quickly, but it all averages out in the end.
I replaced my old 1.5 hp pump with a new 1 hp Black & Decker Variable Speed Pump, and I’m really happy with it! It uses only 70 watts of power on low all the time, unless I need to do extra skimming or vacuuming. My old pump used 945 watts. I had to make a few small changes to the pipes, but since they’re just PVC, it was easy.
@BreaststrokeBuff That’s useful info, but I’m not really good at doing this myself. I might need to look again for someone nearby who can do it for me.