walleye Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Is it important to have a separate circulation pump, or is it OK to have the other pumps circulate for filtration? Pros and cons? I was hot on a tub a while back but it got put on the back burner. Now I am thinking about it again. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PreservedSwine Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 There are alot of varying opinions on this. Each salesman will tell you the pro's of what they're selling. From a service standpoint, both are perfectly adequate, and do the job efficiently. To me, noise is the biggest issue. Some 24 hour circ pumps are silent, some are noisy. Some 2 speed jet pumps are silent, some are noisy. It's not necessarily the type of pump, but also the quality of the cabinet. You've really got to see the spa wet and running. I can play devil's advocate to both choices, but really, each has been used for decades and there is no "right" choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark SC Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Circ Pump Pros and Cons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walleye Posted September 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Circ Pump Pros and Cons Thanks for the reply and link. Has there been any improvements on circ pumps as far as fluid moved... since that thread is 3-4 years old? Or are the same opinions valid today as well? Sounds like both are adequate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spa_Guru Posted September 19, 2011 Report Share Posted September 19, 2011 Preserve is right in the noise factor, from a repairman's standpoint, the replacement cost of most cuirc pumps ($325-$425 many are not repairable) is pretty high, and they turn over about 1.7 billion times a year. Cuirc pumps are rarely enough filtering alone, which is why Hot Springs has a cleanup cycle button that runs the large pump for 15 min, they compensate by having all pumps draw thru filters. A 24 hr cuirc pump does not create enough flow to skim, and are very finicky about filters that are modestly dirty. Two speed pumps are typically easily and inexpensively repaired, a $16 pump seal and a couple of $12 berings and you are ready to go again. For Ozone to work best, it needs to operate 24 hrs a day, but I wouldn't bet on anyone's ozone system to keep you so happy that you smile at the pump repair bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walleye Posted September 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 Preserve is right in the noise factor, from a repairman's standpoint, the replacement cost of most cuirc pumps ($325-$425 many are not repairable) is pretty high, and they turn over about 1.7 billion times a year. Cuirc pumps are rarely enough filtering alone, which is why Hot Springs has a cleanup cycle button that runs the large pump for 15 min, they compensate by having all pumps draw thru filters. A 24 hr cuirc pump does not create enough flow to skim, and are very finicky about filters that are modestly dirty. Two speed pumps are typically easily and inexpensively repaired, a $16 pump seal and a couple of $12 berings and you are ready to go again. For Ozone to work best, it needs to operate 24 hrs a day, but I wouldn't bet on anyone's ozone system to keep you so happy that you smile at the pump repair bill. So by your comments, I have to interpret that you recommend a two speed pump over a circ pump? Correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spa_Guru Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 Correct, I reccomend the two speed pump configuration, several manufacturers have tried and discarded the cuirc pump method, it only works really well in Hot Springs designs, where all pumps go thru the skimmer/filter to make up for its inadequecies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatech (the unreal one) Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 Correct, I reccomend the two speed pump configuration, several manufacturers have tried and discarded the cuirc pump method, it only works really well in Hot Springs designs, where all pumps go thru the skimmer/filter to make up for its inadequecies. Just make it simple and say you recommend spas be built exactly like Marquis. Everything about your posts is slated toward recommending Marquis so there was never any question you were going to prefer the 2-speed pump over a circ pump since thats how they do it. Persoanlly I'll take the energy saving, FAR quieter circ pump in my spa but otherwise I like Marquis and put them in my top 5 or 6 brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spa_Guru Posted September 22, 2011 Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 Correct, I reccomend the two speed pump configuration, several manufacturers have tried and discarded the cuirc pump method, it only works really well in Hot Springs designs, where all pumps go thru the skimmer/filter to make up for its inadequecies. Just make it simple and say you recommend spas be built exactly like Marquis. Everything about your posts is slated toward recommending Marquis so there was never any question you were going to prefer the 2-speed pump over a circ pump since thats how they do it. Persoanlly I'll take the energy saving, FAR quieter circ pump in my spa but otherwise I like Marquis and put them in my top 5 or 6 brands. I am a service tech, I live in a logical world and look at everything based on what I see in back yards. Nobody pays me to come here, I didn't drink anyone's kool-aid. I get feedback on customer satisfaction and have been getting this feedback for two and a half decades. Later today I am going out to replace a cuirc pump in an old Marquis, something I do far more often than replace a two speed pump. There is no doubt that a cuirc pump is quieter, but only nominally so depending on the cabinet design. As for energy savings, that is debatable, depending on how many hours a day you run the two speed pump. It takes X amount of energy to filter Y amount of water whether you take all day to do it, or just a couple hours. The Laing cuirc pump on my desk is .95 amp 95 watts 115 volt and will turn over 1,787,040,000 times in a year. Wear anyone? The two speed pump on low speed uses 3 times the juice, but moves three times the water while turning half the speed, and can therefore be use 1/3 the day (8 hours) and you actually get skimming action, turning over 302,220,000 times a year. I'd love to see an actual independant analysis of the electrical use of spa pumps, not the tripe dealers of all types put out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PreservedSwine Posted September 23, 2011 Report Share Posted September 23, 2011 Remove please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE SPA GUY Posted September 29, 2011 Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 both styles work well ... but i woill take the 24/7 circ pump , it injects ozone 24/7 not only 4 hours a day... noise is a consideration you do not hear the main pump kick on in the middle of the night. If the circ pump filters are kept clean and the prescreen you would not have to replace that circ pump,,,, i had circ pump in my 20 year old spa and just replaced for the first time 2 years ago... matter of fact that is only the mechanical failure i had repplaced my cover twice.... most spas will have an automatic cleanup cycle on there spas after the bather exits the spa. but the standard filtration that comes on every 12 hours works, but its a matter of preference.. the other thing that the circ pump has an advatage is if the bather wants to just soak in the tub in say 20 degree weather the circ pump system only runs and heats,,, on the main pump filtration the heater will kick in and turn on the jets unless you drop the heater temp..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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