I can assure you that your pump is not using significantly more power than it used to.
If the energy use is higher, it is due to running longer.
Polaris Pump Electricity Usage Increase: From 1.32 kWh to 5.92 kWh
- Thread starter LoneStarPool
- Start date
If the energy use is higher, it is due to running longer.
Based on this, it looks like the energy used per 15 minutes is about 0.9 kwh, which is about 3,600 watts.
The Polaris Booster uses about 1,125 watts and the 2HP Century B130 pump uses about 2,400 watts, which is a total of 3,525 watts.
Add on 75 watts for everything else and there is your 3,600 watts.
In the below example, the booster ran for 4.25 hours, which is 4.78 kwh.
The Polaris Booster uses about 1,125 watts and the 2HP Century B130 pump uses about 2,400 watts, which is a total of 3,525 watts.
Add on 75 watts for everything else and there is your 3,600 watts.
In the below example, the booster ran for 4.25 hours, which is 4.78 kwh.
If you want to lower the energy bill, get a variable speed pump.
What is your electricity rate per kwh?
- Jul 21, 2013
- 64,749
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
HIs timer is set to run the filter pump 4 hours a day in non-freezing conditions.
I doubt a VS pump pencils out until the SS pump dies.
And then it may just need a VS motor replacement.
VS pump is something I plan on buying in near future. I'm paying 15 cents per kWh. Ideally I'd like to run the pump for at least 8 hours a day, if not longer, but my electricity bill was crazy high last month and the two pumps were the major contributors, and since I'm not using the pool right now, I figured I'd do the bare minimum. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of what causes this increased usage from the Vacuum pump. Using the same methodology main pump only increased from 2.12 kWh to 2.28 kWh. In any case, I'll get the measurements tomorrow to confirm it one way or the other.
The Polaris Booster uses 0.28 kwh per 15 minute block.
It ran for 2 hours and used about 2.25 kwh.
The main pump uses 0.6 kwh per 15 minute block.
It ran for about 6 hours and used about 14.4 kwh.
The booster and main are about 0.9 kwh per 15 minute block and about 3,525 watts combined.
The red "M" line is the main pump and the green "P" line is the Polaris Booster Pump
The blue box identified as Vacuum Pump is not the Polaris Booster Pump.
The blue box is about 4,800 watts above the reference of the main pump and the booster pump.
The highest use was a total of about 8,400 watts.
8,400 - 3,525 = 4,875 watts.
The power company just guesses about what is on and they do not know for sure.
What else could have come on for a short time that uses about 1,600 watts, 2400 watts or 4,800 watts?
Something using about 1,600 watts turned on for about 1 hour and then something using 2,400 watts turned on for 30 minutes.
It ran for 2 hours and used about 2.25 kwh.
The main pump uses 0.6 kwh per 15 minute block.
It ran for about 6 hours and used about 14.4 kwh.
The booster and main are about 0.9 kwh per 15 minute block and about 3,525 watts combined.
The red "M" line is the main pump and the green "P" line is the Polaris Booster Pump
The blue box identified as Vacuum Pump is not the Polaris Booster Pump.
The blue box is about 4,800 watts above the reference of the main pump and the booster pump.
The highest use was a total of about 8,400 watts.
8,400 - 3,525 = 4,875 watts.
The power company just guesses about what is on and they do not know for sure.
What else could have come on for a short time that uses about 1,600 watts, 2400 watts or 4,800 watts?
Something using about 1,600 watts turned on for about 1 hour and then something using 2,400 watts turned on for 30 minutes.
Last edited:
When I did my calculations I've normalized to 1 hour. I'm assuming the initial higher values correspond to higher energy required due to the system first starting up. I suspect the high DE filter pressure may have something to do with that as well (32 psi after complete clean).
- Jul 21, 2013
- 64,749
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
I use a twig in the sand. Easier to fix all my errors or start over.
That makes zero difference.
The initial inrush current is high, but extremely brief.
What is the pressure when the pump is off?
Also, a dirty filter would cause lower power use, not more power use.
The maximum power the Booster can get to before overheating is about 1,500 watts.
The booster is not using more than 1,500 watts.
The booster is not using more than 1,500 watts.
When the pump is off it's about 10 PSI. I have a way to depressurize the system to check if it goes down to 0, but don't want to get any air into it for no reason now. I did order a new gauge when I cleaned the filter 2 weeks back, but won't be getting it till next week.
MSchutzer
Silver Supporter
Are you using any portable electric heaters? They are typically 1500 watts of power draw.
The subpanel is 100 amps. What is on the subpanel?
Why does the furnace need (2) 80 amp breakers?
Cooktop 50 amps. Stove elements can use between 1,000 and 3,000 watts, depending on the type of burner and the size of the element.
Water Heater 30 amps. 10–20 gallon: 1,000–2,000 W. 30–80 gallon: 4,500 W.
Oven 30 amps. An electric oven is about 4,800 watts (21 amps).
Why does the furnace need (2) 80 amp breakers?
Cooktop 50 amps. Stove elements can use between 1,000 and 3,000 watts, depending on the type of burner and the size of the element.
Water Heater 30 amps. 10–20 gallon: 1,000–2,000 W. 30–80 gallon: 4,500 W.
Oven 30 amps. An electric oven is about 4,800 watts (21 amps).
- Jul 21, 2013
- 64,749
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
- Dec 13, 2020
- 899
- Pool Size
- 19600
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Aquapure 1400
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that it may be very safe to remove the cleaner booster pump from freeze protection entirely (or manually turn its breaker off when it's cold). Some time when your filter pump is running normally, and the booster is not, pull the robot out onto the deck. If even a slow trickle of water continues coming from the robot, you've proved you're good to do this. Even a very slow flow will prevent the feed lines from freezing up.
Mine is set up like this. In January we had a couple of weeks mostly below freezing. Water made it down to 32F for days with 1/2 inch of ice. No problems with the booster circuit (or anything else so far; fingers crossed).
Mine is set up like this. In January we had a couple of weeks mostly below freezing. Water made it down to 32F for days with 1/2 inch of ice. No problems with the booster circuit (or anything else so far; fingers crossed).
The pressure should go to 0 when the pump is off.
There is no residual pressure in most systems.