1/2HP pump to 1HP costs $1800 more? Really?

So, I'm building for the first time in MN and I am pretty sure I am getting taken for a few bucks. I requested a larger pump for my residence as I have 1.5 acres that I will be setting up with lawn irrigation. Anyway.

I asked them to bump me from a 1/2HP to a 1HP--possibly on faulty advice, but it's in now, so forget that for a moment.

They are charging me $1800 more for that jump. A small portion is of course slightly larger pipes/fittings/etc but that is MAYBE $40. The meat of the change is this:

original:
1/2HP Grundfos Pump at $536.50
1/2 Control Box at $88

upgrade:
1HP Grundfos Pump at $1146 (this isn't what I see online for pricing. . .)
1 Pentek Drive for constant PSI at $1241 (again pricing is much more than I see online)

So, it is $1762 more now.

Is that pricing remotely reasonable?

Was the Pentek drive necessary?

As always in this situation they know I don't know spit. . .can someone ease my mind or get me all fired up that they are hosing me?

Thanks!

I know with pool pumps, the normal 1 HP pump costs about $400. Purchasing the new "variable speed" pump will run about $1600, but this price is offset by the electric company because they use about 1/4th the electricity. Sorry, this is all I know, and have no knowledge of irrigation pumps.

It is actually just the well for my residence as I am out of the city limits. . .but I will also run my lawn sprinkler system off of it which is why I wanted it beefed up a bit.

I am afraid you just stepped in it, and it will be very hard to get off your shoes. Those variable speed drives are designed to squeeze as much money out of you as possible. They are expensive up front, don’t last very long, and shorten the life of pump/motors. The initial cost is just the beginning. You will be replacing this type system at least twice as often as you should. Sometime 3 or 4 times more often than a standard pump system.

Your pump man doesn’t know spit either, or he wouldn’t be pushing those. A $200 Cycle Stop Valve would have given you the same constant pressure with variable flow capability as that $1200 variable speed controller. But the CSV actually makes pumps last longer than normal, which is why Pentek pushes those expensive and short lived variable speed computers instead.

Variable speed drives are a cash cow for the manufacturer and a money pit for the end user.

And I am sorry havasu, but anytime you reduce the speed of the pump it uses more energy per gallon produced. Look closely at those so called “energy saving calculators” by Pentek and others. You will see that in order to show a reduction in energy, they have to compare to a pump that runs 24/7 at full speed. Of course a pool pump only needs to run about 8 hours a day. The other 16 hours it is off and not using any energy.

Those “calculators” won’t even let you turn the pump off. So they show the pump running at full speed for 8 hours and barely any speed for the other 16 hours and say it is saving 75% energy over a conventional pump running 24/7. At the really slow speed these pumps are not moving enough water for the skimmers to skim or the filter to filter. So it might as well be turned off and not using any power.

Turning off a conventional pump when not needed would save a lot of energy compared to running a pump 24/7 at a speed slow enough that it is not doing any good anyway.

They will also claim the same kind of energy savings for variable speed well pumps. But that is a pump that may need to run only 30 minutes per day. There is no energy saving with variable speed pumps. So it is impossible to show any kind of a pay back, just additional cost up front and more frequent pump and control replacements. That is why variable speed drives are good for the manufacturers and installers. But it is not a good thing for the homeowner.

This I didn't know Valveman. Why on earth does the Government promote the variable speed motor?

I'm wondering why they went from a conventional 1/2 hp pump to a vari-speed type pump just for an extra 1/2 hp. Somebody must have authorized the extra expense. Who authorized it?

speedbump said:

I'm wondering why they went from a conventional 1/2 hp pump to a vari-speed type pump just for an extra 1/2 hp. Somebody must have authorized the extra expense. Who authorized it?

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When they know you "don't know spit" about it, they just put in what makes them the most money. Of course the manufacturers are telling the installers this should become the normal way to do things. Talk about the fox guarding the hen house.

havasu said:

This I didn't know Valveman. Why on earth does the Government promote the variable speed motor?

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The same reason they “mandate” adding Ethanol to our gasoline. It makes it look like the government is “here to help us”. Adding 10% Ethanol reduces gas mileage by 10%. Not only is Ethanol energy negative no matter how you look at it but, it is hard on engines, waste food stocks, water, and promotes the cultivation of ground that should not be disturbed. You just as well add 10% water to your gas tank as 10% Ethanol.

If the government would stay out of it, the market would correct itself. We wouldn’t purchase things that are energy negative like Ethanol, wind energy, variable speed pumps, and the list goes on and on.

Most government engineers (local, state, and federal) have no real world experience and no common sense. When they finally get old enough to have a little knowledge, they retire will full pensions. Then we get another batch with no real world experience and no common sense, and the cycle continues to repeat itself.

The bigger our government gets, the more they feed off of themselves. Uh oh! I see a black NSA helicopter hovering overhead, and it looks like the IRS is pulling into my parking lot. And you wonder why no one questions our government? Those of us who understand this stuff are afraid to speak out. For everyone else, ignorance is bliss. There is no need to worry our pretty little heads about stuff like this when the government is taking care of everything for us.

Understanding the “myths” or garbage they feed us about variable speed pumps is a good place to start, but it is just the tip of the iceberg.

Damn Valveman, You are speaking my language now. I'm nominating you for President!

havasu said:

Damn Valveman, You are speaking my language now. I'm nominating you for President!

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I second the nomination...Valveman, pack you bag. your headed to Washington.

Sorry boys I need him up here with us. Pump talk gets me all warm and fuzzy inside