Pond Pumps Vs Pool Pumps

By Author: Danielle Dickinson
Total Articles: 7
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Pond Pumps Vs Pool Pumps

Often people install pool pumps to run their water feature
because of the initial cost savings of purchasing such a
pump. This is ill-advised for a variety of reasons; most
importantly, the use of a pool pump can lead to massive
increases in your electricity bill.

Also, many unscrupulous landscapers and some retailers
provide quotations that include the supply of a pool pump
rather than a pond pump in order to reduce the final cost of
the quotation in an effort to win the work. They do not
inform the recipient of the quotation of the running costs
of a pool pump.

Simple arithmetic proves that the initial cost savings of
purchasing a pool pump to run your water feature can cause a
blow out of staggering proportions in your annual budget.
This is especially true when keeping fish or plants, which
requires that your pump is running 24 hours a day to
oxygenate the water.

Running Costs

To calculate your operating costs per year multiply watts
your pump uses per ...
... hour, by the number of hours you run it
per year (if you run it 24/7 then use 8,760 hours per year),
then divide by 1,000 to convert it to kilowatts, then
multiply by your cost per kWh (kilowatt-hour) ($0.1447 in
QLD - see www.energexinstitute.com).

watts x 8,760 / 1,000 x $kWh = $ operating costs per year

Example 1:

A Blagdon Amphibious P8000 Fountain Pump (169 watt)

169 (watt) x 8760 (hours per year) / 1000 x $0.1447 =
$214.22 per year

Example 2:

An Average 1.0 HP Pool Pump (750 watt)

750 (watt) x 8760 (hours per year) / 1000 x $0.1447 =
$950.68 per year

Total Cost Savings = $736.46 per year ($184.12 every
quarter!)

Below we have compared the smallest pool pump generally
available against the largest pond pump generally
available:

Example 3:

An Aquashift 15000 Pump (210 watt)

210 (watt) x 8760 (hours per year) / 1000 x $0.1447 =
$266.19 per year

Example 4:

A 0.75 HP Pool Pump (550 watt)

550 (watt) x 8760 (hours per year) / 1000 x $0.1447 =
$697.16 per year

Total cost savings = $430.97 per year ($107.74 per
quarter!)

Above we have only considered operational costs; however
there are a number of other considerations when comparing a
pond pump to a pool pump:

Guarantee/Warranty

All Pond Pumps supplied by Water Features Online are quality
pumps and are backed up by Continuously Rated Guarantees of
varying lengths (2-5 years). Continuously Rated means that
the pump is guaranteed to run 24 HOURS A DAY for the period
of the guarantee.
Conversely, while Pool Pumps may be of good quality, the
guarantees are NOT continuously rated and they are usually
guaranteed to run for approximately 6 hours a day (read the
fine print!) for the period of the guarantee. If a pool pump
is run for 24 hours a day then this effectively reduces a 2
year guarantee to a 6 month guarantee.

Noise

This is a factor often overlooked. Pond Pumps are generally
submersible and therefore silent. Pool Pumps are generally
dry mounted somewhere near the water feature and can be very
noisy. This is counterproductive when introducing the sound
of water into a garden.

Maintenance

Both Pool and Pond Pumps require some basic maintenance,
they need to be kept clean and free of debris. However, Pond
Pumps have fewer moving parts than Pool Pumps, therefore the
likelihood of breakdowns are greater in a Pool Pump. Often
the seals on Pool Pumps degrade and need replacing regularly
whereas a Pond Pump generally does not have a seal.


About the Author Danielle Dickinson is an avid water feature enthusiast. She is a regular contributor to Gardening Magazines. Visit her website http://www.waterfeaturesonline.com.au for more information on building and maintaining any type of Water Feature as well as a huge range of water gardening products.