Finally got my act together and went for the variable speed pump. Got the Pentair variable speed pump on ebay for $850. I called a bunch of places to install this thing. I would say 90% of the pool places refused to install pumps they do not supply. Going rate for pumps retail ranged from $1100 to $1500. Then on top of that they wanted to charge install and programming from $200 to $500.
Finally was able to find a few folks that were willing to install pumps purchased elsewhere. Prices ranged between $450 to $700.
Decided to watch a couple of youtube videos, got some additional supplies from home depot + amazon and installed the new pump myself. This is my first time playing around with PVC pipes so there was some apprehensions. Took about half a day, pump in, and all programmed. Going at 1000 rpm for 10 hours with 2500 rpm for the pool cleaner to run for 1.5 hours. Projected saving of around $70/mo. Counting the $200 SDGE rebate, break even should be about 10 months.
Just in time for the September SDGE rate hike too!
