I have no experience with the constant pressure pumps. The submersible uses far less electricity for each gallon of water delivered than does a jet pump and the electric bill will be a bit less-- but not dramatically so. I think the constant pressure system will use more electricity. There are long stretches each day when no water is used here. During the night, for example, and during the day for 9-10 hours if no one is at home. The constant pressure system will be running during all those hours, It would not be my choice at this time.

lostinCT...I would recommend starting a new thread with your question and also include pump symptoms (why do you need to replace it). You may not need to replace the entire pump. If you would like to replace the entire pump with a more efficient pump, I would also include in the thread: 1. the type of pump..AO Smith makes the motor on the pump..not the actual pump 2. what kind of floor system do you have 3. what kind of filter do you have (model number if possible) 4. size of pipes to and from the pump. For what it's worth...our pool is 34K gallons and our single 2 speed 2HP pump runs on average 18 hours per day at low speed. High speed is only used for 1.5 hours each day to operate our floor cleaning system. This adequately cleans the pool floor and provides filtering and chlorination for the pool. Hope this helps.

I wanted to start a new discussion regarding the thread subject line: In this thread http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pools/msg040056297501.html?15, I posted some information regarding my setup. I thought it would be good to start a separate thread. My current setup is as follows: I have a 3-phase motor installed on my Hayward Super Pump. That motor is driven by a Vacon 10 VFD (variable frequency drive). My house only has single phase power. The reason that I installed this setup was primarily for the purpose of reduced power consumption. In addition to reduced power usage, I also benefit from being able to run my pump 24x7 and I can do so without the typical noise involved in running a pool pump at full speed. The benefit to running my pump 24x7 is continued filtering which equates to cleaner, non-stagnant, water. Also, I live in a climate where we do get freezing temps in the winter. This past winter was especially cold for us. I don't close my pool for winter. For 2 - 3 months, I ran my pump at a very low speed (15hz, or 1/4 of the speed that most single speed pumps run) during this time, and saved a great deal of power as a result. Since the water was continually moving, I didn't worry too much about freezing pipes, etc. Is anyone else running a setup similar to mine? How about those of you that are running pre-packaged systems from pool pump manufacturers that have 2 or more speeds? How has your system been working for you? Are you seeing the same benefits that I have listed here? Frank

Just watched the XF video from Vegas....the new XF pump now looks more like my 5 year old Jandy Stealth pumps in my backyard...a larger diffuser/impeller housing for improved efficiency, 3" fittings finally (what has Pentair been thinking for the last few years limiting their pumps to a 2.5" fitting), a larger basket for improved efficiency (still small by Jandy standards), cam-locking pump lid which I like a lot, it even has ribs on the sides of the pump housing just like the Stealth...I presume this is to keep sound down. Also just compared the 3HP XF curves to the Jandy Stealth 3HP and the Jandy still delivers more flow at lower power...it appears to me the XF was an effort to catch up to the Jandy Stealth in terms of a modern design and efficient wet end. From my technical perspective and experience as a pool owner over the last 5 years....the Jandy 2 speed pumps still look to me like the best overall value in terms of efficiency and initial costs (I only wish they made a smaller 2 speed to further reduce initial costs and improve energy efficiency) Variable speed options from Pentair, Hayward and Jandy still continue to be too expensive for the marginal gains in efficiency over today's 2 speeds. Clearly, I'm a big 2 speed fan and don't like any of the variable speed pumps from any of the Big 3. My 2 cents.